Most of my idols let me down. Andy Rooney was an exception.
He died Friday night, only a month after delivering his 1,097th and final televised commentary. One his best quotes was "I obviously have a knack for getting on paper what a lot of people have thought and didn't realize they thought, And they say, Hey, yeah!' And they like that."
Rooney opinions occasionally got him in trouble, but he was always honest toward his audience and more importantly to himself. He said he probably hadn't said anything on "60 Minutes" that most of his viewers didn't already know or hadn't thought. "That's what a writer does," he said. "A writer's job is to tell the truth." He was grumpy, blunt, rude, obnoxious, but when it came to the Truth he never let me down.
He will be missed and I vow to keep his journalistic commitment to truth alive.
My favorite new fall show is Homeland (highly recommend)
which is a dramatic and psychological series where the lead CIA operations officer (Carrie) has come to believe that an American Marine (Brody),
who was held captive by Al-Qaeda as a prisoner of war, was turned by the enemy and now poses a significant risk to national security. Even if I didn't get free showtime I would get it or go to someones house to watch it. Heavy Duty Show
Picking a TV show is no different than picking a softball team. Let's explore:
Top Ten Ways Picking a TV Show is Similar to Picking a Softball Team
10. Investment of TimeBoth take up your valuable time so make sure they are a right match for your entertainment needs.
9. Imagination - Plot
If a show just copies the same format over and over again it gets tired and boring. I mean how times can you watch Three's Company? It's the same thing every episode. No imagination. Same thing in picking up a team, Does winning the league capture your attention or are you just showing up to get at bats?
8. Characters
You need talented, diverse, and believable characters on TV show and a team that you can connect with
7. Chemistry
Good interaction/teamwork between actors and softball players is a must - related to #8 above
6/5. Provocative Programming & Goals
Does the show and your team tackle difficult issues and challenges (teams) or are you just selling out for ratings and easy wins.
4/3. Emotional Connection and Commitment
If you miss a show do you care? If not quit. Same thing with a team. I know everyone misses games but deep down true players hate missing action on the diamond.
2. Eye Candy
Does the TV show have hot girls? Does playing softball in this venue let me meet hot girls? Sorry I had to put that one in there for my single readers
and the Number One Ways Picking a TV Show is Similar to Picking a Softball Team
1.The Social Factor
After the show is over do you have someone to talk to it about? If not, the show may not be worth it. Same with softball, if no one you know or plays on the team deems its play worthy of conversation/planning then it may simply be a waste of time.
I've been asked a lot recently"Why so much economy and politics in your blogs? I mean dude your supposed to write about softball".The answer can be found in every new post I send out: "It's more than just a game"
I'm a little sicker than most as I see a lot of parallels betweensoftball-life, and the recent unprecedented political/economic issues in our country clearly impact the readers of this page. So let's get down to business as I have no time to play around, everyone knows I've always prided myself as softball's most purest, rawest, and hardest known artist, and when I see the game in a state of 911 I write a story to promote awareness and inspire thought. One such parallel that I currently see between both worlds is the importance of Confidence.
Two of America's biggest CEO's John Stumpf (Well's Fargo) and Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase) "think the No. 1 challenge today in America is confidence. We have a confidence deficiency," Our mojo has been visibly shaken by the following :
Despite unemployment falling in half of U.S. states last month, the National joblessness remains above 9 percent
Main Street continues to battle a sunken housing market. Growth prospects aren't all that promising.
Despite strong corporate earnings stocks were plummeting until recently,"It's crazy how much the markets dropped in two days, considering that the data of the U.S. economy has actually looked pretty good,"
For much of the summer, investors were worried that the U.S. economy was on the verge of another recession.The Federal Reserve said Wednesday the economy was likely to expand modestly over the next two years. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke cautioned that the pace of economic growth will likely be "frustratingly slow."
Loose lending and other abuses by many banking institutions contributed heavily to the meltdown and it took taxpayer-funded bailouts to salvage the economy. Millions of homeowners are struggling to pay their mortgage and the housing market is glutted with repossessed homes. Then there's the foreclosure documentation scandal. "If you are the average American citizen, you had to be looking at what happened and saying to Wall Street, 'What happened? I thought you guys were smart,'
People are hurting.
I worked on Wall Street. I thought I was smart. I am currently begging for work.
I am hurting.
If you want to break a slump or strengthen your Confidence, step number one is to take control of your self and your actions. You have to be open to change and new thinking. Sometimes you have to unlearn what you have learned and take a multi-pronged approach, tackling different issues one step at a time.
Dimon recommends taking control with a new "Marshall Plan," that would fix the national economy and get people working again. One of the first places to start, he said, is fixing an antiquated tax code. Major companies and small businesses are paralyzed by uncertainty because of future tax policy and pending regulation. I agree, we need to create advantages for starting and maintaining existing business because it will restore confidence in entrepreneurs and get the economic engine going again.
Confidence is the engine, time to make changes to rev it up
One of the game's most famous sayings is "It's ain't over till its over", and that very essence of that mantra was on display in this year's fall classic
as the Cardinals mounted not one, but two
of the greatest elimination game comebacks ever.
Football does have a clock.
Time does matter in football.
The game is 60 minutes and limited to four fifteen minute quarters.
Getting off to bad starts is not only an uphill battle against your opponent, but you also have to battle time. Each and every week my beloved goon team,The Jets, get of to a slow start. They haven't played four good quarters all year. It is a reflection on the coaching staff as to why this team comes out flat on both sides of the ball in each and every week. Shottenheimer isn't exactly Bill Walsh in terms of scripting plays and Rex vaunted D isn't exactly swarming.
This week the Jets come off a http://softballinsider.blogspot.com/2011/11/buh-bye.html week to play a lo and behold surprise 1st place Bill team. Hope someone teaches Rex and the goon crew some simple math : Play four good quarters of football and we will beat the Bill this week. I'm sick of waiting till the end of the game
to play our best ball. Can we play a complete game? Like a championship team is supposed to do.
10 Reasons Bye's Suck in Softball and should go Buh Bye
10. The Season is too short, especially in the fall. The saying is "Play Ball", not "BUY BYE"
9. Less "Family Time" is a good thing. C'mon dudesoftball is good for the family and your relationship -Haven't you heard that familiarity breeds contempt? Leave it to the Beaver isn't reality. You need softball time, not bye time
8. You lose your softball swerve with all the time off - Softball Atrophy
7. Hurts the ebb and flow of a season. Momentum is only as good as your next game, Bye's stop momentum.
6. Boring
5. Drinking/Smoking at home or in a bar isn't as much fun as it is at the ball park
4. Too much time on your hands to blog, spend money, view porn, talk shit
3. It's an annoying interruption that usually has no real use/value. Kind of like the emergency broadcasting system
you just can't wait for it to be over and get back to your normal existence.
2. Players on your team are so dumb and lazy that the time off makes them even more difficult to motivate.
and the #1 Reason Bye's Suck in Softball and should go Buh Bye
1. Isn't Obvious - You wanna play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Players on your team are so dumb and lazy that the time off makes them even more difficult to motivate.
and the #1 Reason Bye's Suck in Softball and should go Buh Bye
1. Isn't Obvious - You wanna play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
was an exception. 
