The Blog Cabin

Adios Amigos

drhenderson — Mon, 24 May 2010 00:43:35 +0000

With the new immigration laws in Arizona, comes an anger and opposition from many and controversy in baseball. The 2011 MLB All-Star game is scheduled to be at Chase Field the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and as you may know, there are many players in baseball of foreign decent. According to the Major League Baseball Player’s Association, 30% of the players in the MLB are of Latino, Asian or other decent, along with 33.4% of coaches being Latino, Asian or other. As you may have seen coming, the players who aren’t from the U.S are already starting to try and boycott the All-Star game next summer because of the new immigration laws.

Bud Selig, as the commissioner of the MLB has a huge issue to deal with. Players in the league are here legally, the teams make sure of that, but players could still be arrested if they forget their papers. This could be a disaster if an innocent baseball player is tossed in jail because the commissioner could not simply move the All Star game to any other city. Lawyers agree that the new Arizona law will be overturned for being unconstitutional, but if baseball pulls the All-Star game until this happens, they come out with a new untarnished look after all of the scandals surrounding the so called “steroid era”. Selig also needs to think about the negative affects of not moving the All Star game. If he is not proactive about opposing this new law, the players will be. Latino players have already come out and said that they will never play for the Arizona Diamondbacks nor will they play in the All-Star game next summer. Some of the most important players in baseball (Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Johan Santana, Manny Ramirez, the list goes on) are Latino and carry the game on their shoulders. If they oppose this law, they will make a big problem an even bigger problem by boycotting and maybe even canceling what is known as the “Mid Summer Classic“. Although, I do not personally oppose the law that Arizona has made, I do think that Bud Selig should consider moving the place of the All-Star game. Selig has a chance to spin baseball positively in the media and be proactive. The issue is, whether he will act in the best interest of the sport of baseball and the country who so desperately needs it or the best interest of one club in Arizona.

LeBron Sweepstakes

drhenderson — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:00:15 +0000

Not long after the Cavaliers suffered yet another disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs, the rumors were already surrounding LeBron James on the topic of where he would be playing next year. The city of Cleveland is crazy for LeBron. Ever since LeBron showed up in town the Cavs attendance doubled and the economy sky rocketed. Restaurants, and many other businesses in the city thrived off of the superstar and claim that they need him in the city. Which brings up the topic on everyone’s mind; the hometown discount or the big bucks in another city. Many look at the MLB and see a feel good story in Joe Mauer signing with the Twins for significantly less money thank he could have made with another team. He is a native of Minneapolis much like LeBron is a native of Cleveland. Joe Mauer is known to many as one of the more humble players in sports but LeBron is a superstar in a league not known for it’s humble and down to earth players.
The city of Cleveland needs LeBron, end of story. They have recorded songs and made billboards begging him to stay in town. The economy of the city needs him and the city, in my opinion needs to win a championship during the LeBron era. He should stay in his home town because he is a hero and means everything to the success overall of the city. He will really represent himself and the entire NBA in a positive way if he resigns. The NBA will have a much more humble outlook if he resigns because LeBron will have taken the city that has done nothing but good for him over his entire life and he will take a pay cut to stay in town. He will look like a much more decent guy for staying in town instead of knowingly upsetting the whole city of Cleveland and Cavalier fans every where. It will be less dramatic if he stays and will not be a crucial blow to the economy of the city. It is imperative that he stays in Cleveland for many reasons and it is not even important to me that he does. I am a Celtics fan and would root against him in a second. But this is extremely relevant to us to see how he handles it because if he stays it will show all of us how to handle a tough situation but if not it will show how to not let the fame and glory get to anyone person or it will get the best of us.

Ethics, Ethics, Ethics

drhenderson — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:27:24 +0000

Sports fans and players all play the game or watch games for the love and passion they have for it. Some athletes and fans alike, can get caught up in a big win or loss and lose focus on what is really important in life. When the “Goliath” Washington Capitals were upset by the “David” Montreal Canadiens, Capital player, Brooks Laich proved that he does realize the truly important characteristics in life. No matter what happens in things such as athletic competition, win or lose, the more important things in life are sportsmanship and ethics.
Athletics are competitive and emotions can take the best of most athletes, but forming a solid foundation as a person is more important than any win or loss. After the outstanding season for the Washington Captials and earning the first overall seed entering the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs they battled the last seeded Montreal Canadiens of the Eastern Conference, in the first round of the playoffs. The series ended up being a seven game battle that ended with the heavily favored Capitals on the losing side. The season ending loss caused an undeniable depression for Brooks Laich, but since he has formed a solid personality and knows that there are more important things in life than hockey, he did an almost unthinkable deed on his way home from the rink. On the side of the highway in a quite vulnerable position, were Mary Ann Wangemann and her daughter, on their way home from the game seven loss also. Still dressed up in his post game attire, a suit, tie and fancy shoes, Laich pulled over and fixed the tire which was flat on the Wangemann’s car while cars sped past him. The first thing that Laich asked was if he could help in an expensive suit willing to get a little dirty to help out two strangers. After forty minutes of pain staking work Laich fixed the tire and offered some advice for the drive home. Wangemann said “he was like an angel” and Can’t say enough nice things about him. Laich could have easily driven by like the several other cars, but showed his true personality and recognition that there are more important things than moping around after an unthinkable loss. This is an example of more important things in life than a game and will do more good than any outcome of any game. This is a truly amazing story of ethical greatness and generosity that should be admired by all.
Laich’s Reaction

The True American Way

drhenderson — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 01:26:41 +0000

Americans are rabidly hypocritical and morally wrong especially when it comes to athletic celebrity. Membership in the pantheon of athletic celebrity is coveted by the masses not only for it the riches it brings but for the invulnerability it gives you to mortal crimes. Tiger Woods for example, made hundreds of millions of dollars from advertisers based on his golden boy image and golf greatness. However, when he was caught doing the number one thing that married men do not do, he shook the golden boy image to a more fitting scummy and hated one. He had an affair with another woman and that is morally wrong on many different levels. But when more and more women (approximately a dozen) came out and claimed that he had an affair with them too, Tiger was really thrown into an image which had never before been affiliated with the name Tiger Woods. Tiger went from being a world class athlete well liked all over the world to a sick man who (should) never be forgiven for the adultery that he committed.

Last week, on the days leading up to the Masters PGA golf tournament, the drama started stirring up again. Tiger Woods was to play his first PGA golf since the scandal first hit in the winter of 2009. Did anybody follow golf while he was gone? Better yet can anybody name one of Tiger’s opponents? The fact that the man that many could not stand eight months ago brought those same people back to watch golf to see how he handles it is simply wrong and reflects on the social and moral issues of the average American person. According to Golf.com, the Masters’ television rating went up 36% from last year and was the third highest rating of any golf tournament since 1986. Golf.com also reported that Tiger’s return caused the television ratings to raise 43% from any other golf event during Tiger’s absence. So basically, the American public gave him the grief that he deserved, then once he comes back to play golf he is treated as a god again. I simply do not get it. If any one of those fans saw him in the street eight months ago they would have verbally abused him but at a gold tournament they applaud and cheer him. Tiger Woods’ actions were considered despicable by most and he even received grief from fellow celebrities via Twitter “tweets”. Jim Carey tweeted: “Tiger Woods is a sinner! What will us decent people do?” Award winning recording artist Ciara tweeted: ” It seems like cheating is the new trend, and it you don’t do it it aint cool. What the hello is happening to America!!?? Now I am not somebody who likes Ciara nor do I know anything about her but I do know that she is right. What is happening to America? After he did what he did people were disgusted and seemed to exile him from pop culture. As soon as he comes back and plays golf he gets more attention than he ever has. This tells a lot about the rabid hypocrisy and absolutely horrendous morals of the American public.. Now that he has made his return to golf (and played mediocre) it seems as if the U.S has forgotten the grief that they gave him for the unforgivable acts he committed and that is simply wrong.

drhenderson — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:10:56 +0000

The Verdict

drhenderson — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 23:03:14 +0000

After a few weeks on the topic of Global Warming and a few weeks of indecision, I think I have finally reached the side of the fence on which I belong. I have realized that due to some facts (or lack there of) there is no way of telling whether it is a hoax or not. The earth is in the middle of climate changes, which has happened before, and pollution issues but there is nothing that the population of humanity can do to stop this. Yes, there are ways to be greener and try and lessen the acceleration at which we litter but the smog,dirty rivers, etc. are inevitable.
Another reason why I believe that Global Warming is a hoax is simple fact that there are no facts. Scientists have been displaying the same facts to American people and for that reason, global warming ranks at the bottom of the public’s list of priorities; just 28% consider this a top priority, the lowest measure for any issue tested in the survey. And this is even before some of the recent fraud and corruption allegations against certain climate change scientists and the scandals at the U.N. So even if there were more facts the chances are that they will be wrong. If there was concrete information, it is ridiculous to blame it on the human race. I mean the oceans have risen 8 inches but in ONE HUNDRED years. Yes, some glaciers are melting but out of more than sixty thousand. These things are happening naturally to the earth and some people (like Al Gore) are forcing the issue on children at a young age. The Government attacks the same ridiculous facts and gives no alternative to Global Warming other than to believe that it is happening. So finally, after some research, some thinking and some common sense this idea of “Global Warming” is an absolute hoax to me. Facts are there but the facts used can be analyzed in so many different ways, or proven false, so as of right now I am going to go out on a limb and say that Global Warming is fictional.

Same Old Facts

drhenderson — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:53:26 +0000

As we move further and further into debates, we still have no answer to the question; is the earth really warming? There is no concrete evidence to support a yes or no answer but there seems to be more logical ones concerning the answer, “no”. The only year that scientists seem to use as proof that Global Warming is an actual occurrence is 1998. Wait…1998?! So we are worried about Global Warming in our futures when the hottest year recorded was in 1998? Well, not quite seeing that the whole decade what just passed was the warmest decade and I understand the when talking climate it is better to study long term scales because highs and lows could be many years long. But at least it would be nice for climate change skeptics to resist going to the extreme using 1998 as a cite, or even worse, Washington’s ridiculous snowfall last winter as evidence that science is more suspect than it is.
This leads to the fact that climate scientist are losing the American public. 35%(and rising) of Americans now say that the effects of global warming have not occurred and will not occur. This is more than double the number who had this opinion in 1997. This shows how over the years, scientists have done nothing to find more evidence than they already had. There is no concrete evidence to really show that Global Warming is a factual thing. Just the same mediocre evidence since the scare began that frankly, bores many of us. This is also why Americans are hoping off the bandwagon and starting to not trust scientists. This is depressing news for environmentalists who have spent years building a public case for Global Warming but it just seems that the same information is being used to scare and force us into believing them. It almost feels like Big Brother (from 1984 by George Orwell) is forcing this on us for his own benefit. There is no way for any blue collar person like myself to prove that this is true and there is no new evidence for an educated climate scientist either. In our generation (if it is true) it will not happen in our kid’s generation it will not happen and in our kid’s kid’s generation it will not happen. If we are talking about Ice Ages and these thousand year cycles why are we even worried? Generations before us left us with this problem (if it is true) so what is left for us to do?

True or False?

drhenderson — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:44:03 +0000

For the last 20 years or so the subject of global warming has spawned heated debate among the world’s brightest minds. Its causes and effects, if either actually exists, have been hotly debated. The most popular hypothesis is called the greenhouse effect with the agreed upon cause being green house gasses. These gasses are all naturally occurring and include water vapor, methane, oxygen, and the now infamous carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gasses exist in the atmosphere and have an effect on our global weather. They trap radiated heat and prevent it from exiting our atmosphere. This supposedly increases global temperatures and is, or will, cause melting of the polar ice caps. This in turn is expected to raise sea level and cause global coastal flooding. Now if this were to be true there are obviously severe consequences to global warming, but I just haven’t seen conclusive evidence that legitimately proves that global warming is and will occur. Al Gore did have a documentary that tried to introduce and alert Americans but even in that there was no real solid evidence that proved it. As he tells us to save gas he is private jetting himself all over the world to different events. There is just speculation and rumors that get stirred around and end up sounding worse as time goes on.
There are several reasons why global warming could not possibly be happening. Contrary to some propaganda, there are record lows of snow and highs of snow fall in places like Washington D.C. If it is so warm how could it be snowing? Another reason is the fact the glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica are in fact getting thicker and not thinner. Also, the CO2 molecule is moderately heavy and can not rise high enough to cause the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is caused by water vapor because H20 is a lighter molecule. This is what is wrong with our society today; government and propagandists force things upon us in order for us to believe them sometimes to benefit them. I am not saying that global warming is completely false but it is just too hard to even tell and for now there is just not enough hard facts to prove it.

drhenderson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:23:42 +0000

The Picture Perfect Finish

drhenderson — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:18:21 +0000

After two hard fought weeks, the Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal game was finally set. It was what all of North America and the hockey world wanted to see: USA vs. Canada. These two teams are arguably the two best teams in the world with more than twenty NHL All Stars on both teams combined. The Canadians were heavily favored going into the Olympics until the Americans upset them in the preliminary round. This medal meant everything to the country of Canada, the Canadians truly needed this medal and the Americans wanted to take it.

The game was truly amazing to watch. It was a hard fought game (as expected) and it would literally be a battle right to the end. The Canadians took a 2-0 lead early and the U.S battled back to make it 2-1. With 24.4 seconds left in the game, an American, Zach Parise scrapped his way to the front of the net and managed to tie the game. The world truly got what they where looking for and more in this game. At 12:20 of overtime, the face and symbol of hockey stepped up and does what he does best. Twenty two year old, Sidney Crosby of team Canada scored the game winning goal to win the gold.

This could not have been any more of a story tale ending to the Olympic hockey tournament. On a stage when the whole world was watching, Crosby did everything that is expected of him. The 2010 Olympic hockey tournament did great things for the game of hockey. The tournament put the hockey world on the edge of their seats and even those who do not follow hockey. This tournament could potentially do great things for the game of hockey because it put the game’s best on a stage where the whole world was watching and did not fail to perform. The average person who does not follow hockey, and watched the game Sunday, really got a treat and a taste of what hockey is all about. Even if you did not know the slightest bit about hockey, you were smart enough to keep watching because of the entertainment, and the action that truly kept the whole world on the edge of their seat. Now I am not preaching to try and get everybody to watch hockey and play it as much as I do, but that game itself was a great step in the right direction for the game of hockey after a rough decade or so filled with a lockout and disappointed fans. This gold medal game will do wonders for the hockey world and not to mention grab some more fans because how could you not want to watch Sidney Crosby. This kid came into the pros at the age of 18 and dominated from the second he got there. He is magical with the puck, and he is like poetry in motion on the ice.