Mike Singletary

As a Hall of Fame NFL player, Mike Singletary was an intense, hardhitting linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Whenever the cameras would zoom in close to Singletary's face during the game, you could see the intensity in his eyes. The man was a dominating force on defense for Chicago.

On October 20th, Singletary was named interim head coach of the San Francisco 49ers after the firing of head coach Mike Nolan. In his first game as a head coach in the NFL, Singletary showed that he is just as intense as a coach.

During the game, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Singletary pulled Davis from the game and sent him to the locker room, benching him for the remainder of the game. Here are a couple of quotes that I particularly liked from Singletary:

"I told him that he would do a better job for us right now taking a shower
and coming back and watching the game than going out on the field. Simple as
that."

"It was something that I told everybody at the very beginning of the week. I will not tolerate players that think it's about them when it's about the team, and we cannot make - we cannot make decisions that cost the team and then come off to the sideline and it's nonchalant. No."

I love Singletary's attitude. If there were more coaches in the NFL that would demand the type of discipline and commitment from their players, the league would be better off. I hope that Singletary does a good job in San Francisco. If they don't improve, it won't be because of Singletary.

How Desperate Do You Have To Be?

In August, I posted about a Malaysian man who tried to enlarge his penis by attaching a metal nut to his penis. Now there is a story about a 29 year old Michigan man who was recently arrested for "receiving sexual favors from a vacuum."

A concerned citizen of Thomas Township in Michigan called police to report that somebody was acting suspicious at a nearby car wash. The officer parked his cruiser away from the car wash and approached on foot, where he caught a man in the act of trying to satisfy himself with a vacuum at the car wash.

My first question would be, "How do you get to the point that you think it is a good idea to try to achieve an orgasm through the use of a vacuum cleaner?" The second would be, "Once you get to the point where you decide it is a good idea to masturbate with a vacuum, why on earth would you do it in a public place instead of the privacy of your own home?"

Happy 47th Birthday Wynton

Happy 47th birthday to Wynton Marsalis. Marsalis has won Grammy awards in both Jazz and Classical music playing the trumpet. His music gave me my first appreciation of jazz. I am particularly fond of his traditional slow blues as featured on the Marsalis Standard Time series of discs.

I had the pleasure of seeing Wynton live at Blues Alley in Washington DC. There is nothing like seeing a legendary performer in an intimate setting like Blues Alley. At one point during the set, Wynton walked off the stage while the band kept playing. He walked through the crowd, shook some hands, as he made his way to behind the bar where he poured himself a beer before heading back to the stage.

Below is Wynton Marsalis with "Delfeayo's Dilemma", featuring Marcus Roberts on piano. Marcus had an awesome album called "Deep in the Shed" which featured some great bluesy jazz.

Kristen Pass & Hope

Every time I turn on the news I see all the bad things going on in the world. The country is in economic turmoil. We have two Presidential candidates that really don't have a clue as to what is really going on with the every day American. It is easy to get discouraged.

If you look hard enough, you can find something good. One of the good things is the story of Kristen Pass of Laredo, TX. Kristen is an 18 year old girl with Down's syndrome, and last week she was named her high school homecoming queen.

As the father of a child with special needs, the story touches me deeply. Not just because a young lady with special needs gets to experience something she will probably remember for the rest of her life, but because it gives me a feeling of hope that the future isn't all grim. These high school kids saw beyond the superficial and selected a homecoming queen based on her personality and friendliness.

Below is ABC news coverage of the story. As the story says, she hasn't taken the crown off since she was named homecoming queen. I dare you not to tear up when watching it. Congratulations, Kristen and God Bless. Don't ever take off your crown.

McCain-Palin Tradition

First, John Rich of Big & Rich fame released his John McCain campaign song and video "Raising McCain." Now we have Hank Williams, Jr. performing at a Sarah Palin rally yesterday in Richmond, VA reworking the lyrics of his classic country hit "Family Tradition" to become "McCain-Palin Tradition." The performance is below, and I think ol' Hank slipped into the original lyrics a couple times. On a side note, looks like Bosephus has on a Redskins jersey for the performance.

Exercise

For anybody that needs a little incentive to hit the gym.

Hangin' with Sasquatch

I just spent the last three days in Chicago to attend the National Association of Convenience Stores trade show. There were a lot of meetings, seminars, new vendors to meet, and new products to look at. While the show was mostly work, there were a few opportunities to have a little fun. Here I am getting to hang out with my main man, Sasquatch, and yes, he is giving me the old wet willie treatment. As you can tell, Sasquatch is just an all around fun loving guy, as long as you stay on his good side. It is much better to be Hangin' with Sasquatch than it is to be Messin' with Sasquatch like the poor sap below.

Joe Torre and the Yankees

I have always hated the NY Yankees. When my Washington Senators left town, I eventually adopted the Baltimore Orioles as my favorite team. That is until the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals.

While I have always hated the Yankees, I have always respected Joe Torre and his demeanor while in NY. Joe always exhibited a lot of class. In 1996, his first year as manager of the Yankees, Torre led the Bronx Bombers to their first World Series title in 15 years. They missed making the World Series the next year, but then picked up three straight titles.

During the remainder of his 12 year career, Torre and the Yanks wouldn't win another World Series. They would make the Series in 2001 and 2003, but ended up losing. In the last four years of Torre's tenure with NY, they would make the playoffs each year, but fall short of making the World Series. With each elimnination in the playoffs, the speculation began on whether or not he would be fired. Finally, after the end of the 2007 season, the Yanks offered Torre a contract with a paycut with incentives and bonus incentives for each post season series the team won. Torre turned it down.

That is why I take pleasure in the fate of the Yankees in 2008. Torre moved on to manage the LA Dodgers, and Joe Girardi took the helm in NY. During all 12 of Torre's seasons as manager, the Yanks made the post season every year. This year, they failed to make the postseason. Meanwhile, out on the left coast, Torre and his Dodgers have won the first three games of their playoff series against the Chicago Cubs. Nothing against Joe Girardi, but it serves NY right for getting rid of a class act who did nothing but get the most out of his team, and did it with class.