The Washington Redskins signed Albert Haynesworth.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded Cleveland some draft picks for Kellen Winslow Jr.
Fred Taylor is going to The New England Patriots.
Tom Brady got married.
The Titans gave Kerry Collins another two year contract
and my head exploded.
It has been a hell of a day.
Somebody hold my hair, I think I am going to be sick.
The Bucs just cut Derrick Brooks, Joey Galloway, Warrick Dunn, Ike Hillard and Cato June.
I don’t mean to turn this into some all Bucs all the time blog, but what is a girl to do?
Derrick Brooks is a minor deity. He and Ronde are what was left of our Super Bowl defense.
And what can I say? I like Ike.
I understand cutting old washed up players, I just don’t see Derrick Brooks and Ike Hillard fitting that description.
I hear Marvin Harrison got cut today too. Is this some sort of NFLpocalypse our am I just getting old and resistant to change?
Shahar Pe’er won’t play in the The Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this week. She wasn’t injured. She wasn’t sick. She didn’t have a
family emergency. She was not on vacation.
She didn’t play because she was denied a visa into the United Arab Emirates. She is not a criminal or a dissident.
She was denied the visa because she was from Israel.
I’ll give you a second so that you can freak out. I know I did.
Then I’ll let you read the statement released by The Barclays Dubai
Tennis Championships. (After this you may require another moment)
*Public sentiment remains high in the Middle East and it is believed
that Ms. Peer’s presence would have antagonized our fans who have
watched live television coverage of recent attacks in Gaza.*Ms. Peer personally witnessed protests against her at another tournament in New Zealand only a few weeks ago.
*Concern was raised about her well-being and her presence triggering
similar protests. Given public sentiment, the entire tournament could
have been boycotted by protesters.*We do not wish to politicize sports, but we have to be sensitive to
recent events in the region and not alienate or put at risk the players
and the many tennis fans of different nationalities that we have here
in the UAE.”
- Source
Seriously? I personally feel that the best judge of how safe it is
for Shahar Peer to compete in a tennis tournament would be Shahar Pe’er
herself.
Or possibly her mother.
But in no way do I feel like the government of The UAE should deny her a
visa because they are worried about her safety. It sounds to me like
The Emirates are concerned about their own safety.
I’m not saying it isn’t fair for a country to deny a visa based on
safety concerns but in this case it denies her access to her source of
income. I also have some issues with the Women’s Tennis Association not
coming out more strongly against this injustice.
Somebody cared. The Tennis Channel cared. They cared so much that they refused to air the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. The Tennis Channel – all they do is tennis, all day long and it is a huge deal that they chose not to air a WTA tournament.
*Sarah virtually fist bumps The Tennis Channel*
So, Shahar Pe’er will not be playing, but guess who will? Andy Ram!
Guess where Andy Ram is from… you guessed it Israel. After pressure
from Tennis:
No player, who qualifies to play
an ATP World Tour event, should be denied their right to compete on the
basis of ethnicity, nationality or religion and we are happy that the
Dubai Tennis Championships and the UAE have shown that they share that
view.
Well, after pressure from the ATP who run the Men’s Tournaments The UAE caved and issue the male tennis player a visa to play in the men’s tournament.
The ever graceful Shahar Pe’er called this a great victory and looks forward to playing in the Dubai tournament next year.
I call it sexist.
Yes, I fully recognize the anti-semetic aspects, but I will leave that to you to discuss in the comments.
____
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just announced that they would not be retaining quarterback Jeff Garcia for a third season.
As a Bucs fan I say good riddance. I am sure Garcia is a lovely person but he will be 39 next week. Thirty-Nine is the equivalent of 83 in NFL years. Look, I’m not trying to be a dick, but does anyone else remember when he used to have an epidural before games? I am shocked he can walk, let alone play football.
I am going to assume he is going to retire. Unless he is really serious about expanding his extensive Garcia NFL Jersey Collection .
Hello Friends,
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I apologize for being gone so long… or should I apoligize for coming back? Well, no matter, because today is a great day. A great day indeed, and not just because it is the beginning of a three day weekend, either.
No, today is a great day, because the Super 14 Rugby (Union) season starts once again in the southern hemisphere! If you aren’t familiar with the concept of “super” rugby, I fill you in, briefly. The Super 14 competion consists of 14 (get it?) professional rugby teams from New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. They compete in a tournament where they play in all three countries from this week until May, when one tem emerges as champions in the Grand Final.
For my money (and I am paying for it via DirectTv) it is the best professional rugby competition there is. I enjoy the Super 14 much more than I do the Europe-based Heineken Cup, Magner’s league, and others. Southern hemisphere rugby is just a wee bit different, and to me, a whole lot better.
I know that rugby doesn’t excite most of you (probably any of you), but for me, it is the height of sport… all of the speed of hockey, the physicality and hard hits of American football, the athletic skills and the requirement of full team play, is a hell of a package.
As if the start of the Super 14 season wasn’t enough, there is also the fact that the European Six Nations competition started last week! The Six Nations is an international competition played between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales. It is clearly the best European tournament there is… made all the better as you have to be a great player even to be considered a representative of your national side.
Now, you might think that all this is too much for one middle-aged former athlete to bear, but I feel that I have to add one more thing: This weekend is also going to see the USA Sevens competition, in San Diego! Sevens rugby is fast and furious and is popular in many places in the United States. Less hard hitting, but much, MUCH faster that regular rugby, which has 15 players on a side.
OK, friends, it’s Saturday… Valentine’s Day, and I have to go make breakfast for Clan Gunfighter, so that they’ll leave me alone to watch rugby in peace… that will be MY present for the day.
GF
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