Michael Axelrod

Did you see the incident with the Bulls/Knicks game yesterday? A fan, Michael Axelrod, and player Antonio Davis' wife got into a confrontation yesterday. While playing, Davis looked up and believed that someone was threatening his wife. He entered the stands to protect her and see what was going on. He didn't throw punches, he was calm. Security was no where to be found. Davis was thrown out of the game, as was the fan. Davis' wife was removed too. Today Davis was suspended five games.

Now this dude, Axelrod claims that Ms. Davis threatened him and put her hands on him. For this he threatens to sue for one million dollars. One million dollars - are you kidding me? Looking at the video there were words exchanged but it didn't get out of hand. Surrounding fans said some of the things he said to her. This kind of thing pisses me off - one million dollars? I hate reading about crap like that. People today are too damn quick to try to make a buck and sue just for the hell of it. Was anything that transpired yesterday worth one million dollars? No - someone need to just kick some sense into him. Jesus - one million dollars? If I were the judge I would throw it out and sue his monkey ass for wasting my time. I have your millon dollars up your ass tool boy. Why don't you get your monkey ass to work and earn some money instead of looking for a free ride handout. How about I shove my foot up your ass a million times?

Are you Ready for some Football?!

The 2005 NFL season kicks off in just two days. My CDFL page has been revamped and ready to go (at least later today). I have three more teams to do, then I will eventually work on the team archives and draft stuff. Check it out at http://www.geocities.com/cdflinisider
The Silver Dragons are ready for action and we go up against Ed Rollin's Moscow Maulers in week 1. It looks to be a balanced game. The Silver Dragons look to snap a 10 game losing streak.
Some of my thoughts for this coming season and my pre-season picks.

I am excited to not be working weekends any longer, so maybe for once I can actually watch some football. I would like to watch Lions RB Kevin Jones in action. Barry Sanders was my favorite player and I think this kid may be a good one to watch.

Here are my picks: AFC East - has to be the Patriots. AFC North - Cincinnati Bengals! AFC South - Indianapolis. AFC West - Kansas City. Wild card teams - Baltimore and Jacksonville. NFC East - Philadelphia. NFC North - Minnesota. NFC South - Atlanta. NFC West - St. Louis. Wild card team: Detroit and Arizona.

My fantasy baseball team, Area 51 Invasion secured the 4th seed in the playoffs, which begin this week. Go Invasion!

Also, I start ACC/529 today at UoP. I received my economics grade yesterday. The 4.0 is gone :(, but I did receive an A-. So, 3.92 is not bad considering I am a 2.75 GPA high school and college student. I don't know what my final grade point wise was. I am hoping that Iget that when I get back to work tomorrow. This accounting one has me nervous. Most people that I have seen on my team have not done too well in this class. Mostly a C or lower. I will need to work hard on this one!

New Orleans

Another news event, more bitching. First, just to show I am not completely heartless, I sorry that those affected by the hurricane lost family members and property that they spent a life time amassing.

Now to all of the bitching about race. Find a new crutch. First off, who would want to live in a city on the water that is below sea-level? Second, New Orleans was a hole to begin with. I have yet to see a city more dirty and nasty everytime I went there. Next, when you are told days ahead of time to leave, why not leave? One of my old co-workers used to live in New Orleans. She told me whenever a hurricane would come, they would get drunk and have hurricane parties. Get the heck out of town! Obviously from the long lines on the news before the storm, many did get out.

People critized the length of the response and blame George Bush. It isn't his fault. States have the responsibility to govern themselves first, then ask for Federal assistance. He declared it a disaster area when the storm hit, so there was money available. The people that are bitching now are the same ones that call for less government until they want something. Then it is "Where's mine", "What's the government going to do for me?". Also, if the Federal government stepped in immediately, then people would complain about state's rights and how the Federal government is trying to take over. Then you see Kanye West. Shut up dude - go get a shovel and sell some of your bling bling on EBay. I haven't seen you do anything except complain. Go help out. That's the other thing, not to be racial, but in watching CNN, Fox News, MSNBC the only black people I saw that were not being evacuated was the Mayor and a few policeman. I see a bunch of black leaders on tv complaining, but so far I haven't seen any helping out. I didn't see any outcrying last year when the old white people in Florida were hit by four hurricanes.

Now the evacuees are being distributed all over the country. If they did have insurance, I am not sure how the companies will find them to get them the money. Hopefully there are records being kept as to who is being sent where. If I were them, I wouldn't move back. This is a bad event, but good can be made from it. It is a new chance. Many times people that grow up in the projects don't leave the hood. That is all they know, which is keeping them down. Now they have a new place, a new opportunity to start anew. Find these people jobs, get them off welfare and allow them to prosper. They are now in a new environment with new people and new surroundings. This is an opportunity to change their lives around.

I have seen that the hurricane would affect the economy next year. I think that it will help out eventually. Just think of the new jobs that will be needed to clean up and rebuild New Orleans. Plus, if the evacuees can be given jobs, that will help lower the unemployment rate. Plus, it will cut out Federal expenditures if you get those on welfare and food stamps off of the system. When New Orleans is rebuilt, I imagine it will be cheap to move in there. They will want to invite people back. Citizens may be hesitant to come back, so the prices will have to remain low to attract business and citizens to come back. It does have the possibility of a new start for the city and its people. It is a good way to turn a bad situation around.

Cindy Sheehan

This lady is still on the news. Almost as much as the Alabama girl missing in Aruba. There are always protests and Sheehan out there among them. Don't these people have jobs? I do feel bad that she lost her son and has to deal with that. That part should not be questioned. But asking why President Bush killed her son? She also mentioned that Bush should send his own daughters into war. That's where I draw the line. Go get some counseling and shut up. I am cold hearted, but after a while most people would get tired of it. We have been at war since the end of 2001. Her son first joined in 2000, when granted things were pretty slow. Oh sure, Clinton sent the boys to a few places, but nothing as massive as Iraq and Afganistan. He re-enlisted in 2003. There is no draft. He didn't have to re-enlist. Maybe she didn't like him being in the Army. The fact is that when you sign up for the Army (as I almost did in 2001), you know that there is a chance you could be called into action. If there is action, you could be shot. If you could be shot, you could die. Same goes with fire fighters and police officers. If a wife loses her police husband, does she cry out to the mayor? Why are did you kill my husband? No, she doesn't. It is a part of the job. If you don't like it, don't enlist. They will not call you to fight if you are not in the service. Granted, if I were in charge, the war would be over be now, but then again the war is fought differently that I would. People are too concerned about humanities and other people's impressions to be worth anything lately. The world is getting tougher and we need to take tougher actions. The war needs to be dealt with, the immigration issues and a lot of social issues.

For the war - Iraq and Afganistan are dry, deserts. From living in the Southwest, and you see every year on the news, dry deserts burn. You know the people are hiding out in caves - set the hills on fire. They will either leave or burn. They are probably hiding in Pakistan anyway. Clean that place out next. Pretending to be allies, but probably hiding the enemy. Step two - announce that on a specific date, let's say September 25 (since it's my birthday) that we are pulling out our troops from Iraq. That will no doubt cause joy in the streets, Anti-American rallys will gather in the streets of Iraq. Many of the bad guys, but a few regular citizens will be there. Sorry about the next few minutes regular citizens. The war is brought on by crazed extreme religious folks in the Middle East and their ideals. While they are gathered in the streets celebrating our departure, drop a little jihad on them. Bombs away boys. That will stop those protests. The next step is to freeze all funds going to Iraq, Saudi Arabi and Iran. It they don't have money, they will need to find other means. It is funny that many come here and use our education system and resources, then go home to bitch about it. Next, spend money researching alternative fuels. If we create a fuel source and revamp cars to not run on gasoline, other countries will come to us for the new fuel, which will create jobs and money for the US. Not to mention, we will no longer be needing the oil, thank you Abdul. That dry, piece of crap piece of the world will no longer have value to anyone. Enjoy the sand fellows. Now that the troops won't be needed there, bring them back to the US and guard the border. Hello Senior Fox! No more illegals coming into the country. I don't have a problem with people coming in legally. Take the proper measures to become a citizen. Take that history test that probably half of the Americans couldn't pass and become a citizen the right way. If not, back you go. While we are at it - put some up near Canada. Who knows what those mounties are up to anyway? If the Mexicans thought about it, save up some money for a flight, go to Canada and come across that way. No one would notice.




I understand that people complain about tighter security and thinking that Big Brother is watching them and taking away their rights. Well, the world is getting tougher and sometimes things need to change. If you were out watching the neighborhood block instead of hanging inside watching American Idol, maybe we would catch some bad guys.



Now that I am in the final day of ECO/533, I will have a week to get back to the blog.

Rafael Palmeiro Suspended

It will be interesting to see how things unfold for Raffi. Steroids have not given long term damage to Gary Sheffield or Jason Giambi, but neither of them are Hall of Famers nor took oath before Congress.

It is interesting as to why a player obviously at the end of his career would put himself in jeopardy. What would be gain? Another .280 season with home run totals that are now considered average? Yes, he reached two milestones this season, but he wouldn't need steroids for that.

I think that there needs to be an education program in the major leagues regarding the new policy. When you make a change to your organization, you need to train your employees on why the changes occurred, what they encompass and how it will benefit them. They obviously know why the changes are occurring. Fan and Congressional pressure to rid the sport of steroids. Not to mention the impact it may have on youths looking up to players. The benefit will be obvious as well. If the game is considered clean, they are competing on an even playing field based on talent alone. The questions that fans have surrounding players like Barry Bonds would be gone and he wouldn't have to live with that. What they encompass seems to be the big issues. Players say they didn't take anything illegal, they didn't know what it was, it was something over the counter, etc. There should be a program that says these items are bad. The stuff that Mark McGuire used to take can be bought on any GNC shelf and is not illegal. Players need to know that stuff will be read as a positive. Maybe Raffi wasn't taking steroids. We know he takes Viagra - maybe it was that?

Regarding the Hall of Fame. The numbers are definitely there, but so is a new cloud. If he is taking steroids, how did that affect his numbers? Pete Rose can't get in the Hall of Fame for betting on baseball. That was something that occurred after his playing days were over. What he did on the field should be judged against other players on the field. His off the field actions should have no effect on his eligibility. There are plenty in the Hall that have done immoral things. Willie Mays and Duke Snider were banned when they took a job with a casino. They quit and were reinstated. If Pete is not gambling any longer, what's the problem? The difference between Pete and Raffi is that his actions took place and affected his on the field performance. That should be taken into account and his enshrinement should be, at the least, delayed. I would questions whether he should be even eligible now.

Checking In

It's been a while since I last posted. I can easily quote my old diary as a 12 -14 year old and say what I wrote nearly everyday - "nothing happened".

I am in week 2 of my economics class. We have a team paper and individual paper due this week. Two huge papers are at the end of the class. I am nervous. I received my week 1 grade this weekend -100%.

Maggie wrote to me and told me that she sold the house this weekend. That's cool. I know that she and Shane are ready for a place of their own. That is a nice house. I enjoyed building it (well, I didn't actually build it) and living there. It was good times mostly. She was ahead of her time on designing. The painting and decorating ideas she had I thought were differen,t but went for it. Then Trading Spaces comes along and does the same stuff. People love it. So she said she would be able to pay off the two mortgages and a credit card. Most things in our name should be gone after this, except maybe one card which she said would be finished this year anyway.

I was reading some blogs on the bombings in London. The world should hope that I don't get power. If Ghengis Khan and Hitler had a kid, it would be me. I know that the agenda is to cause terror and disrupt business as usual. They would know no terror like me. I can't wait until we discover an alternative to fuel. If I were President, it would be fully funded and the research would be ongoing. Once we are not dependant on oil, that crappy part of the world will matter to know one. Have fun with the sand and the camels.

Another A!

I received an email from Ray this afternoon. He said that although my grades had some valleys during the course, my final grade was an A. My math was correct and I did finish with a 96.25, I dare say that 3.75 points in a six week Masters program is not too deep of a valley!

Tonight is the All-Star game. I am pulling for the National League - which is who I have pulled for my entire life. No Bonds this year, but Carolos Lee, Derrek Lee, Albert Puljols and some great starting pitching will hold the American League in check.

For the World Cup of baseball that will start next year, I will be pulling for Japan. With my Silver Dragons hailing from Japan, I have to support them.

Just a minor offsite note - Capital One Auto Finance sucks. I should take them over one day. One of these days I will get into my plan for World domination. I do need power. I will give a few target for now - Wal-Mart #1. TicketMaster #2. The banking industry in general #3.

LAW/529 finale

Today wraps up another class. The instructor emailed me this morning with results from my papers from Saturday. I received 2/2 for the team discussions questions and 17.5/20 for my papers. Again, little typing mistakes got me. I am assuming I will get 3/3 in participation, as I have all class. I posted tonight to add to the total. By my calculations, I should have a 96.25%, which is greater than 95%. That should mean I still have a 4.0 after all is said and done. Now I just have to wait and find out. I spoke to a student today in his undergraduate program. Just finished his last class tonight. His overall GPA is 3.98. He received 1 A-, but all else were A's. Including two statistic classes, accounting, finance and economics. Very impressive!

I am watching the Home Run Derby. I picked Aundrew Jones to win. He didn't make round 2. The Commissioner annouced today the creation of a world series, if you will. A 16 team championship made of various nations. That's pretty cool. It will have some major league players. I would actually like to see a true World Series tournament in November or so. Take the Cuban champion, the World Series champion, Japanese, Carribean, etc and have the championship team from individual countries take on each other. That would be a rue champion of the world.

Troll: The Movie

I know that I start lots of things and never finish. Just look at the stack of books from the library always on my floor. I have probably 7 from last week. I haven't completely read any. I skimmed through one teens book. And it had pictures. But it occured to me this week - my troll story, the one that I think is so great (and Jerry Starlin likes it too!) - it needs to be a movie. If you check out my personal webpage, under lifetime goals, it says Troll the movie. So I was thinking, I should write a novel. Then it came down to I should write a screen play. I can see it now. So, I am working on that. I am going back to the library tonight. Returning these books and getting others that will help me with my setting. Obviously it needs more than what I have if it is going to be a movie. I have been reading about screenplays online. Downloaded a few movie scripts to review and get an idea on how to set it up. I have some ideas in my mind. I am sure it will be good if I ever follow through.

I received my week 5 feedback today for LAW/529. I received a perfect score on the team paper, discussion questions and participation. A nice 100% brings my class total to just over 98%. Today is Wednesday, class is over on Monday. One more 20point paper, plus my DQ and participation. If I do well on that paper, I will nail it down.

My Aunt Kathie emailed today. She and Harold are getting married on August 5. They are then coming to Phoenix with my Aunt Bev & Uncle David. Sounds like they are renting a car, driving to California and then to Las Vegas. I have done that before. More power to them. She also said that my younger cousin Christine is moving in with her boyfriend and they are moving here as well. I believe his family lives in Scottsdale. That will be cool. Maybe I will have a friend.

Now I am preparing for my fantasy football draft - August 20, Columbus OH. The Silver Dragons on the way to the title. I will have the first pick. I am mulling it over (see how I can't do one project? I have school, the movie, books, fantasy football - I do have ADD!). I am leaning on taking a RB for my first pick. Last year I decided to prove the theorist wrong and take WR Randy Moss. He did okay, but no running game hurt me, as did suck ass Matt Hasselbeck with the number 2 pick. Guess what, Matt? You are not coming back! Shaun Alexander, whom I like quite mightily is threatening sitting out all year. So I can't take him. I love Edgerrin James too, but he is getting old and has contract issues. Priest Holmes' hip flared up last year, so that is dangerous. Travis Henry may be traded to who knows where. I like Kevin Jones of Detroit, but not at number 1. Maybe 2-3. Curtis Martin could be a nice steal round 2-3 too. I think that leaves me with LaDainian Tomlinson as my guy. I guess it doesn't matter if I say that - I have the first pick so no one can take that, and it is not like anyone reads this anyway.

Is anyone out there?

National Football League 2005

I still have to cheer for my hometeams of Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons and now the Arizona Cardinals, but this year my underdog is going to be the Detroit Lions. WR Roy Williams, Mike Williams, Charles Rogers along with TE Marcus Pollard and RB Kevin Williams give the team a great nucleus. They need two things - the defense to shut down opponents and QB Joey Harrington to wake up. If he fails, they have QB Jeff Garcia. Don't be surprised if the Arizona Cardinals have a good year out here too. I see QB Kurt Warner running things. If they can get RB Travis Henry from the Bills, they should be good with their core of young WR. The defense needs to play well to keep them in the game.

But the biggest story in football this year will be the Silver Dragons winning the CDFL this year, taking our second title.