The Padres Beat The Dodgers Last Night

What a game it was. Tuesday October 29, 2009. Petco Park. Jimmy Mann, John Gibbs and I had some great seats; slightly above left field. It is notable that the starting pitcher for the Padres was Los Angeles native, Cesar Ramos, who was making his first major league start against the team that he has pulled for most of his life. Ramos pitched 6 innings. He did a fine job, limiting the Dodgers to only one run.Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a homer and also stole second base. Bunts, a homer, stolen bases, a pickle, double plays, excellent pitching. What a game! The Padres got a Dodger in a pickle between first and second, they got him out. The runner on third who tried to take advantage of the situation was thrown out, resulting in a double play. Heath Bell struck out three in a row to end the game. The Dodgers failed to clinch the Western Division for the third staight day. We prefer that no rival team be celebrating such an event on our home turf.

Because He Is A Champ

He works hard. He trains hard. He postpones pleasure because being the best brings him pleasure. He hurts sometimes. But hurting is part of the trip. The "trip" is a major adventure. The trip represents preparation. Winning is the goal. It is the destination. He trains. He practices. He trains and practices hard. He takes care of his body. He eats well. He sleeps well. (if he can) Winning is his way of life. He must do what he must do to win. He must "will himself" to win. Losing is not an option. He must be mentally prepared as well. He must think of as many possible scenarios in the contest that could occur. He must train for them, practice them; and then if they come up; he knows what to do. They say "practice makes perfect." But I submit to you that practicing well, practicing at high levels, practicing with the pursuit of excellence; and being consistent with that pursuit "makes perfect." It has to do with love. We make sacrifices for love. We make sacrifices for the one we love. We make sacrifices for the thing we love. A champ loves to compete and win. It won't happen without sacrifice. But he will do it. He will do it because he is a champ.

Immigrants Declare It Is A Great Country

We have all heard the phrase: "America is a nation of immigrants." It certainly is. Some have crossed the Mexican border. Some have crossed the Canadian border. Some arrived on the coasts of Florida, Texas and California. Some arrived via other coasts. Millions arrived through Ellis Island. Some were brought by force. All came for one of two reasons: To improve their quality of life or to improve or maintain the quality of life for someone else. All who stayed assimilated in varying degrees. Their children assimilated to a greater degree. All of those children born in this great country are or were Americans. Some refused and refuse to call themselves by that title. Many served and serve in the armed forces of the United States. Many sacrificed their lives and limbs. The majority of them have served with honor. They wouldn't have it any other way. Many of the immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America are termed "illegal" because they snuck across and did not go through the legal procedures to obtain the legal documents to be in this country. Some have been caught, arrested and sent back. Most of those sent back have returned either to be rearrested or to stay for good. Some have been deported many times. Some have been robbed by their own countrymen. Some have died of starvation or dehydration. Some have been murdered. Some have been maimed. Some of the women and children have been sexually abused. The immigrants keep on coming. Why? Because of the possibilities. Because of the hope. Because of the dream. Because of the freedom. It is a sacrifice. It is a sacrifice whether they leave their families behind or bring them. Many will give their life savings to a smuggler, only to be disappointed. They continue to come. Some commit crimes and go to prison. Some of those in prison have actually told me: "I would rather be in prison in America than go back to my country." Through their actions; the immigrants continue to declare: "AMERICA, IT IS A GREAT COUNTRY."

What Serena Williams Should Have Said

Serena Williams is one of the greatest female tennis players in the world. She has proven it time and again. But recently at the US Open she really lost her composure. She yelled obscenities at the line judge. She used the "f" word. When asked to repeat what she had said she was neither gracious, humble or honest. She should have apologized to the whole world for her rude behavior. She should have said the following words: "I am so sorry for conducting myself the way I did at the tennis match. I should have been more respectful. I should have told the judge that I did nothing wrong, if I did not agree with her decision. I should not have said anything intimidating to her or anyone else. I was wrong. I have no excuses. Please forgive me. I must play a higher quality brand of tennis and not place myself in that type of situation. The fans of tennis deserve better. I also apologize to all young athletes who aspire to take their talent to great levels. Please don't conduct yourself the way I did that day. Thank you."

Lambasting President Obama

When Barack Obama entered politics, I'm sure he knew what he was getting himself involved with. Politics is the dirtiest business on the planet earth. Unfortunately,
too many things cannot be accomplished without it. Politics exists at all levels of human groups. It is not always unpleasant, but at higher levels it is the struggle for power. It is the struggle for money and it's implementation in society. How can we not expect to have argumentation and disagreement when such things are at stake? Sometimes people feel that the way government handles it's resources will determine the very existence of the people and the nation. Is it not true that they who control the money control the power? Politics is the struggle for power, therefore it is the struggle for money's use. The money spoken of is tax money. Does government actually have money of it's own? Politics is dirty business for one main reason: because of the money needed to operate in politics. We cannot survive without politics because we cannot survive without government. Obama can handle the job as President. He is not God, but he is President of a free country. The people have rights. The people have a right to disagree with his policies. They have a right to communicate things to him in ways that are not always cordial and pleasant. He will be lambasted. He can handle the heat. Heat comes with the job. He knew that when he took it.

Mr. Homeless, please respect my school

Dear Mr. Homeless, I'm sorry you are poor. I'm sorry you don't have a nice place to live. Why don't you work and have a house? I'm a 4th grade girl at a new school in the downtown part of a city. I love my brand new school. My room smells brand new and nice. It will be so much fun at my new school! We will have recess in the parking lot. I love my teacher and the girl principal. So far everybody is nice. I just have a favor to ask of you Mr. Homeless. Please stay away from my pretty school. The other day you were looking in the dumpster and you threw trash all over the place. If you hang around during the day, you might scare the kids. If you hang around at night, you might leave more messes. Just like, the other day it was really stinky when I came to school. It smelled like poo. Yuck! Please do not leave messes. Please do not poo or pee by my new and pretty school.

Little Gangster (Part 8) First Time Cruising

The following night Jet came by Leti's house in his new Monte Carlo. "Lets' cruise around the Eastside," she suggested. He went along with the idea. She got into the car. They took off. He felt good. He was fascinated to be with such a pretty girl. It was during the month of April. The weather in Los Angeles was pleasant. Leti was wearing a mini-skirt. They were waiting for the light to change on Whittier Blvd. She searched through her purse and pulled out a joint. "Do you mind if I smoke this?" She asked, as she turned to her left on the front seat of the passenger side she revealed the light pink panties she was wearing. Jet maintained his composure but he was moved by a very natural passion that was awakened. They kept going on Whittier Blvd. Jet knew of a secluded area by City Terrace where one could see the City of Los Angeles. It was getting dark. Jet parked his Chevy. He and Lety just started to talk. Even though Lety's eyes were glassy from the marijuana she had smoked, She looked beautiful to Jet. He liked her. She seemed to like him. They continued to chat and listen to the radio. They talked about the people they knew and places they had been. Jet talked a litle bit about sports and how he kind of missed competing. He told Leti that he didn't like to get high, but that he partied once in a while. He was not in a gang himself but he knew many gang members. On the other hand, Leti had been around gangs all of her life. She was attracted to the mystique of gangs and gangsters. Her dad was locked up. One of her brothers had been murdered. Her other brother was in prison. So was her boyfriend. She told Jet that she didn't like cops. He didn't tell her that he was thinking about joining the LA Police Dept. He didn't tell her about Tiffany either. Leti smoked another joint. She became uninhibited and giggly. "I wanna sit next to you," she said." The car had bucket seats so they could not sit next to each other. She giggled as she said: "Lets move to the back seat." They did as she suggested. Jet was shy. Leti was not. She started kissing Jet. Jet had never kissed a woman the way Leti kissed him. They continued kissing, then touching, fondling and rubbing. They had sex. they talked. They had sex again.

Coach: Transfer the Passion

I think one of the toughest challenges that a high school football coach has is motivating the team. How does one inspire? How does the coach transfer the passion
that he has for the game and for winning.....to his players. It can be done. It can be done harshly, gently, loud, or quietly but it can be done. It has to be done.
It has to be done or you don't win football games. (let alone championships) The coach prepares his offense, defense and special teams. He selects his starters and his backups. He has drilled them, practiced them, run them. He works with his assistants to get the team prepared for Friday night. He has talented players. He has players who know what is required for their respective positions. Then, all of a sudden; the coach hears some bad news. No, it is not an injury. Five of his starters are ineligible due to bad grades. To make matters worse; some of the players are ineligible due to low grades both in scholarship and citizenship. It may sound strange; but this is a passion matter. It is a love matter. Why bother to "strap on" that uniform if he doesn't love the game. Why bother to make the sacrifice of going to practice Monday through Thursday if there isn't enough passion for the game to conduct himself properly in and out of the classroom? The responsibility of the coach begins to take a different dimension/direction. He needs to convince, persuade, inspire, and motivate. He needs to transfer the passion that he has for football, to his players. It may be a challenge, but it can be done. It must be done.