Crackin' Up

My blog this week centers around a one-time star basketball player of the town of which I grew up nearby. Emanuel Mayben of Binghamton University has just recently been arrested for the selling of CRACK COCAINE! This was beyond a shock to me, as I can't believe someone with a promising future would throw their lives away in such a careless matter. His attorney stated in an article that Emanuel was released and back in class by the following day, which is almost unbelievable in my mind. Since when does someone convicted of selling hard drugs get released by the following day? His bail money certainly couldn't have been cheap, but someone obviously paid it, which leads me to my next point. WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU SELL CRACK IF YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY?! Couldn't he have just borrowed some from his parents? A coach? Hell, he was the all star of the 2005 high school basketball team in Troy NY, where he then got a scholarship to play for Syracuse, although his grades were too low for him to ever step out onto the court. After being transferred around for a while he recently found himself in Binghamton for at least one more year of college ball. He might not have been a top round draft choice for NBA teams, but whatever chance he had to become a professional player is now out the window. I think it should go without saying that he should never wear a team jersey again if he is found guilty. I have plenty of friends who live in Binghamton and have been in and out of that town my whole life, and it's no secret that there are certain streets that you just do NOT go down because of the serious crack problem's in the ghetto districts, I've even had friend's who lived in the city get robbed by men who were looking for things to sell for crack money (the robbers were all caught and convicted and, luckily, my friends survived). I guess the real question here is whats happening to our youth? How can someone be so willing to absolutely destroy their future, especially after we've grown up in a time that's seen and exposed us to the sad and serious dangers of hard drug abuse. I'm extremely angry with Mayben's actions, he's disgraced himself and further damaged the reputation of a college that is trapped within a declining city. But at the same time I feel a small amount of sympathy for the young man, because this is a mistake he is never going to recover from. Never.

F***** Role Models

Although Tennis is a sport considered by many to be a “gentleman's game,” we have all seen or heard of John McEnroe and his, putting it lightly, unorthodox style of playing the game. But when famed female Tennis superstar Serena Williams went on her own tirade of verbal abuse, she shocked the nation and disgraced her name in ways McEnroe could never dream to achieve. “If I could, I'd take this f***** ball and shove it down your f****** throat,” what a terribly immature and unprofessional way to express your opinion. Serena later got further upset with the line judge when the judge claimed Serena threatened to kill her, which Serena denies. Shoving a ball down someone's throat would likely result in death, so she basically did indirectly say she wanted to kill this woman. Her penalty was a mere point given to the opponent, which just so happened to be the deciding point in the game. The game wasn't close or anything, Serena was badly losing by the time of her outburst and any chance of a miraculous comeback was highly unlikely. So to say she got off with one point hardly does any justice. If I remember correctly, back in high-school if a student made alleged threats to kill someone, that student was punished severely, often suspended. Is Serena's expulsion from this year's U.S. Open satisfactory? Maybe, if she had a chance of actually winning. But she didn't, she knew she was likely about to lose, and knew there were thousands of Williams fans watching world-wide. So why would she do something so childish? We've all been upset when facing defeat, but to get violent about it, especially to someone who has nothing to do with your loss, is irresponsible and downright foolish. This is another example of what Sports Talk mentions as the “decay of moral's in today's sports,” and the rapidly decreasing number of athletic role-models who actually fit the mold. I think Serena should face a more serious punishment for her actions, say expulsion from the next few Tennis tournaments, to help her get a grip on herself the next time she gets upset with the fact that she's no longer a very good tennis player.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Anyone who has turned on ESPN at all over the past two or three weeks has noticed that Michael Vick has been authorized by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to be allowed to play for the Philidelphia Eagles by week 3 (even though he has already technically played for the team during pre-season matches). This will be Vick's first official return to the NFL since his run in with Johnny Law back in 2007. Vick, who served 18 months in prison for the dog fighting charges he was convicted of, recently spoke to a group of high school kids to both apologize for what he did and to steer them in the right direction. During the speech, clips of which have been broadcast on both ESPN and Youtube, Vick states what he did was, “so foolish,” and also claimed, “I wish I could take it all back”. My question for you the reader is this, do you believe him? Do you honestly think this man has changed his ways and is ready to come back to the NFL, even if it is just as a second string quarterback? A part of me say's no, and to my surprise, a part of me is saying yes. I believe wholeheartedly that what Vick was involved in and the things he did to those dogs, such as killing the weaker ones by electricution and hanging, are unforgivable. Anyone who can take a loving, loyal creature and turn it into a vicious monster can only be a monster themselves. It takes a sick mind to be able to go through with treating an animal in such ruthless manner, and so it is easy to portray Vick as an evil man. But two years is a lot longer a time than it sounds, and just considering how much I know I've changed in two years helps me sympathize with Vick today. He has done his time and now, it seems, he just wants to move on. The fans at Philidelphia cheered when he took the field during the pre-season, and I think this was a large factor in Goodell's decision to let Vick return to the NFL. His return will obviously result in an increase in ratings for Phili games, and I'm sure that didn't hurt him either. But ultimately the question remains, should Vick be allowed to return? Honestly, I think he may have actually learned his lesson this time and is trying his best to turn his life around, but that still doesn't make up for what he's done. Just because an animal can't speak back doesn't mean it can't feel pain or sadness, when you get involved with dogfighting you're still playing with lives and treating them without love or respect, so why are we giving Vick so much of both? I don't care how talented he is, Vick is not a man I want on my roster, and if I were Goodell I'd tell him to keep striving to make a difference for another couple years and then maybe we'll talk about his reinstatement as a third-string running back. But as it is he's been given a second chance, and I can only hope he doesn't take this one for granted.

One Bourban, one Scotch, & One Bong

OK I know this happened a while ago, but I think it's a great first choice of a topic for debate. Michael Phelps is an international sensation, he is the Mohammad Ali of today, a man unquestionably the best in his field and a household name all over the world. So I must admit I myself was pretty surprised when I first found out Phelps had been busted for smoking weed. But the way the media grabbed this photo and blew it all out of proportion was completely unnecessary. I know marijuana is illegal in the eyes of the United States Court of Law, but the dangerousness of the drug is something that had been heavily argued for decades. When the media got their grubby hands on this they made it seem as though Phelps had disgraced the entire country with his actions. The Kellogg's corporation terminated his endorsement deal and USA swimming suspended him for three months. Thankfully, the country seemed to be quick to forgive Phelps for his party antics and the issue has been very subdued within the media. But the question remains, has Phelps been properly punished? Did he handle the situation properly? If you ask me, I'd have to say the media's asinine attempts at making Phelps out to be a criminal and a bad example for children is an outrage. It goes without saying that Phelps is an influence to millions of people around the world and his every action is closely monitored, so why only show the picturesque image of Phelps as he is winning his eighth gold medal to children? Why not show him as he really is, so kids can develop a better understanding of life and how no one is without flaw. Everyone within the media believes Phelps smoking pot is sending the wrong messages to children, but who are they to say what's right and what's wrong? We should be telling middle school students during their Drug-Awareness classrooms that, yes, marijuana is a drug, but you can still smoke some and be a gold medal winning Olympic swimmer! I feel that USA swimming couldn't really have been all that concerned with Phelps' actions ruining his performance, and the three month suspention they gave him was probably just because with such massive media coverage of the topic they figured they would look bad if they didn't give Phelps some kind of a slap on the wrist. Kellogg's went off the deep end entirely, by terminating his endorsement they probably wont feel any damage done to their stock sales, but by being a company that distributes not only cereal products, but dozens of assorted munchies, such as Cheez-its and Rice Crispy Treats, you'd think they'd realize that a good portion of their sales are coming from the stoner market. There is currently a website that encourages a boycott of Kellogg's products amongst the stoned, and they're still growing in members. But the person who handled this situation the worst, in my opinion, was Phelps himself. Instead of taking a stand and fighting for his rights, Phelps caved like a cowardly dog, instantly pronouncing that he had used “poor judgment,” in a public apology. I'm dissapointed in him because he could have been the first non-musician with great status and power to tell the world, “Listen, I smoke pot sometimes. I have before and I will again, and I'm still gonna crush the spread during the next summer Olympics because I'm that good.” And if you think that was Phelps' first time smoking, you're sorely mistaken, a bong is not an amateur apparatus I assure you! If he had only said that many people would probably have begun thinking about marijuana and its legality a little deeper and the nation would have taken a step in the right direction. But as it is, Phelps shrank and hid behind his fortune and is going to be damn certain no cameras are present the next time he lights up