Thoughts of a Common Man

Do you know that the NFL doesn't pay taxes? Well, they don't pay their cheerleaders either. The Buffalo Jills made headlines over the weekend and they are not the first group of NFL cheerleaders to cry foul, but since they are literally in my backyard, I listened. First off...as stated here before...this is a multi-billion-dollar industry. Very multi! The Jills allegedly were paid $150 per game. They were hardly ever paid for their personal experiences. They were subjected to jiggle tests and dehumanized... ...this is according to a disgruntled member, of course, but where there's smoke. Let's start at point one. Women are awesome. I have always felt that way. They don't deserve any of the scorn that is sometimes thrown their way. Do you realize that there are still people out there who believe that women don't deserve equality when it comes to social stature, pay and other things? There are a ton of men that feel that way, honestly. Yet t...

So...deep breath...what's been happening out there? 1). The weather is still horrific here in the East. 36 degrees the other freaking morning. Frost on the windows. The dogs thought I was yelling at them after I had used my Tops card to scrape the ice...it freaking broke. "It isn't supposed to be frosting in freaking May!" I yelled. (Melky and Paris agreed). 2). What about Michael Pineda of the First-Place, 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized Sports? To backtrack...the Suck Sux...who have two pitchers who lather themselves in Vaseline and pine tar every single time they pitch...spotted pine tar on Pineda's palm a few starts ago. Less than a week later, Pineda had it all over his neck. The Suck Sux told on him, and Pineda was suspended. And I may sound like a real homer here, but the Suck Sux telling was the real shame of the story. The use of pine tar, for grip, is pretty well accepted throughout the league. Lest...

We've all been watching Joan Rivers for a lot of years. Quick, what do you think of when her name pops into your head? The bad face-lifts? Her banter with her daughter? The fact that she sat in for Johnny all those years ago? For me, it's always been about the fact that she'd say anything at any time, she is usually funny, and she has an acid tongue. That's her job! She tells jokes. The jokes sometimes cross the line into bad taste. Yet, she's not a bad lady. She is a joke teller. Last week she was on the Today Show and she told a joke about her living quarters being smaller than those of the Cleveland hostage and rape victims. It probably wasn't the right place to deliver that line. The joke is certainly in bad taste, and it's not a joke worth pissing everyone off because it isn't that funny, but it's a joke nonetheless, right? Wrong. Evidently. The outcry has been harsh. The Today Show issued an apology. Rivers refuses to d...

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Clippers basketball team has long been known as something of a idiot. He was sued by his former general manager, Elgin Baylor, who claimed that there was discrimination of the age and race variety. A whole bunch of women that he employed also claimed that he was particularly abusive, bullying them in sexual ways. His players always claimed that he was exceptionally cheap. The fans raged against him, and for years and years he has been long considered the worst owner in sports. But nothing has ever stuck to him. Because he's a billionaire. He's bought his way out of things. The rest of the owners have put up with him. The NBA has kow-towed to him. The players just don't have that sort of power. He behaved badly. Oh well. Deal with it. He's the Donald of the West. Money controls a whole lot of situations. But I think the 76-year-old alleged racist, alleged sexist, alleged bullying pig has finally stepped into a big enough ...

Absolutely love this song by Mark Knopfler and I always think of the same guy when it comes across the I-pod. When I was just getting out of college I worked with a guy in California. He spoke to me about not judging what another man does. He would jump from job to job and town to town....just like the guy in the song...and he was a pretty happy dude. Makes you wonder, when your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold, about how much easier it would be to live a real simple life. So, wherever you are, Zane Conway...hope you're getting lucky...now and then. Zane also told me something I'd never forget and I remember it word for word. He said: "All these guys in suits and ties are making judgments, but let me tell you, some of the most intelligent people in this world sweep floors for a living." Get Lucky I'm better with my muscles Than I am with my mouth I worked the fairgrounds in the summer And go pick fruit down south And when I'm feel them c...

The driving around the City of Pittsburgh is brutal! We were following the voice of the GPS lady and she was taking us down side streets, up hills, down into valleys and through construction work where the guide rails were inches away from both sides of the truck. "I feel like I'm in a video game," I said at one point. But we made it. We swiped my credit card and headed for the escalator, figuring we'd have to go up a level. "You're in the premium section," the usher told us. "How the hell did you do that?" I asked my beautiful wife. "I don't know. I just ordered them off the computer." And we headed to our seats. Our vantage point is shown above. We settled in and the woman behind me tapped me on the shoulder. "How many have you been to?" She asked. "This is number 33," I said. I was a little embarrassed as it makes me sound like a nutcase, but it's been over 30 years! "I lost c...

The first step through the tunnel to catch a glimpse of the field is awesome. PNC Park in Pittsburgh is a true gem. It's just a beautiful park that was perfectly designed. We were fortunate to be in great seats. I'm talking tremendous seats. We were in the second row just 15 feet from first base. My beautiful wife did a great job of planning the trip and grabbed the seats along with help from Sam. It's a great place to see a game. Joey Votto is one of the best players in the game and he was doing his thing less than 20 feet away. The game looks simpler from that vantage point. We could gauge the speed of the pitches, we saw how quickly the players move around the bases. There was a throw from the deep outfield to the plate that made us all just shake our heads. Yet the game was secondary to the memory that we made on Monday night. The boys brought one glove in order to grab a foul ball (none came close) but Sam also brought a clean hardball just in case there w...