What Tim Tebow Should Have Said

Hi, my name is Tim Tebow, and I’d like to tell you my story.

When my mother was pregnant with me, she suffered a dangerous pregnancy complication called a placental abruption.  The complication put not only my life in serious danger, but hers as well.  The doctors counseled an abortion, as they always do when a pregnancy puts the life of the mother at risk.  My mother faced a difficult and painful choice. 

She decided to continue with the high-risk pregnancy.  The doctors worked very, very hard to keep my mother and myself healthy and alive.  Fortunately, they were successful.  My family was very lucky.  Many others in that situation aren’t.

Since then, I’ve tried to see every day of my life as a gift.  I’m blessed to have the support of my friends and family, and everything I’ve accomplished on the field and off has been a reflection of their love and devotion.

Recently, my family was approached by a large right-wing political group, asking for us to tell our story as part of a larger initiative to turn public opinion against the currently legal practice of abortion.  My family and I obviously have strong feelings on the subject, and as Christians we have a special fellowship with the organization in question.

Nonetheless, I have declined their offer, and I’d like to tell you why.

My family’s story is real.  It is the story of unimaginable agony, sleepless nights, countless tears and silent prayers.  It is a story of the beautiful, fragile triumph of hope over a despair that seemed insurmountable.  It is a story shared by many people, repeated countless times over the globe, every day.  Many times these stories don’t end happily.

So I cannot in good conscience allow any organization, however well-meaning, to manipulate my story into a cheap morality tale for the furtherance of a political cause.  How could I?  How could I look my mother in the eye, and tell her she made a “right” choice as opposed to a “wrong” one, as if it were a simple binary equation?  To look my mother in the eye is to see a woman whose love was so strong, she was willing to sacrifice her life for a child she might never meet.

I wonder if Focus on the Family, nominally a Christian organization, is familiar with a certain individual who made a similar choice, some two millennia ago.

————————————-

In a perfect world, perhaps.

The actual Focus on the Family Super Bowl commercial was tame (ironic when a FotF ad is among the least overtly misogynistic ads in a given time slot), erring on the side of vague flufferies and subtext.  I haven’t bothered to see the continuation of the Tebow story on their website, partly due to fear of driving up their web traffic, and partly as a self-preservation measure designed to stop me from throwing up.  I doubt I’m missing much, but if you’ve a stronger constitution than I, let me know if I’ve missed some startling plot twist.

So what should we do with you, Tim Tebow?  It’s cute that FotF thinks your ability to accurately throw an oblong ball over long distances somehow qualifies your conviction that 50% of the American population should be stripped of their reproductive sovereignty as “worthy of consideration in the public discourse”, but… but YOU, Tim Tebow.  You you you.  What should we make of you?

It’s easy now, +2 decades after the fact, to reflect and think “My mother made a moral choice in accordance with God’s will, and she was blessed because of it.”  Easier still, perhaps, because the situation turned out in your favor.  The storm passed, the clouds broke, everyone survived.  Hosanna.

But to acknowledge the danger of the situation is to acknowledge that people frequently perish in said situation.  Did they all make the “wrong” choice, Tim?  Would you tell that to my aunt and uncle, holding their stillborn daughter in their arms for the first and last time?  Would you tell that to a would-be father coming home to a silent house and a sweet-smelling depression in the sheets where his lover used to lay?

And are you wondering, Tim, why Focus on the Family isn’t talking to those families?

There were a million reasons to say no when Focus on the Family came knocking, only some of which I mentioned in my idealist counterfactual exercise above.  All of the reasons valid, not all of them pro-choice, some of them even *GASP* biblically sound!

But no.  You hocked your family’s suffering to the highest bidder; you allowed them to commodify that suffering and sacrifice it on that high altar of mass consumption – a Super Bowl commercial break.  Which, I suppose, was the Christian thing to do.

[Via http://jawsforjesus.wordpress.com]

A Haitian That Could Knock You Out: Andre Berto

Fight Club

Yo! So there is a classic, classic hip hop tune by Ahmad called “Back In The Day” in which the chorus recites “back in the days when I was you, im not a kid anymore but some days I sit and which I was a kid again” — Unfortunately, those lyrics don’t fit me. I’m sometimes reluctant to be a kid anymore because I remember days growing up as a Haitian immigrant in South Florida was harsh discrimination and hate among the “Afro-American” community, residual effect of the Willy Lynch doctrine trying to make blacks hate each other. I used to fight all the time.

… but I wasn’t too much of a good fighter… but I was good at blocking my face and the rope-a-dope, in my hood it would prolly be called the grass-a-dope or wall-a-dope and even bus seat-a-dope considering I never fought in a actual ring

I never was pummeled but I bet if I had a big brother like WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto teaching me some combos for some self-defense then they would have been a whole lot less fights. Check out his moves below

Andre Berto Tribute Video

FACTS

*** Professional Record of (26-0) with 19 Knockouts

*** Represented Haiti in the 2004 Summer Olympics

*** Was to defend his title against “Sugar” Shane Mosley for a WBC, WBA welterweight title unification bout on January 30, 2010. However, Berto announced that he was withdrawing from his title unification bout against Mosley on January 18, 2010 due to family loss in the earthquake that hit our country of Haiti

PEACE

[Via http://saywordsaypeace.com]

Back from California

I’m back from my trip to California. I enjoyed seeing my grandmother even under the unfortunate circumstances. I will continue to pray that everything goes well for her.

Sabrina Montez back home in Cali 02-05-10

I wrote a brief article on Mayweather -Mosley tonight. I told everyone Floyd would take this fight why wouldnt he? This is a perfect opportunity to show he is willing to fight any top welterweight.

Shane Mosley is no joke by any means. He was all smiles when I saw him last week and looked pretty fit. I think if he comes in well conditioned and prepared anything is possible.  I believe Floyd is one of the best out here right now. 40-0 enough said until someone erases that 0!

Tomorrow I’m planning to interview Heavyweight Travis Kauffman regarding his upcoming fight this month.  After his first loss on ShoBox late last year, he has been more focused than ever before. All is well and I’m excited to be back home in Vegas.

BTW Im still catching up to my facebook messages he he holla!

[Via http://sabrinamontez.wordpress.com]

When Will They Learn?

There is nothing better in any sport than a close competition. If it all comes down to the last game of the season as to who wins, who makes finals(In Australia) or who comes last and faces relegation. It epitomises sport, and how it reflects life, full of highs and lows and mixed emotions.

This year the Hyundai A league has gone down to the last game as to who will be league champions – yes we know they are classed as Premiers, but as stated before on this site, the team that comes top are the ones who have the right to call themselves champions.

Not only that but there are three teams in with a chance of securing fourth spot and a lucrative home final.
Yet unlike most leagues in the world, and even major tournaments when the final group games are played at the same time, the FFA have the fixtures spread out over three days. So should Newcastle and Wellington lose on Friday evening, the Perth Glory will know on Saturday whether they need a win to secure that spot or not. Surely these games should have all been played at the same time?

Depending on the scores on Friday night Perth Glory’s game could be meaningless in terms of the outcome, and will probably be reflected in the crowd, this hurting the owners financially. We are not saying they will not be up for the game, but the intensity would be greater if they did not know how the other teams were faring.

Not only does it add to the drama but avoids a team rolling over or a contrived result as played out by Austria and West Germany in the World Cup of 1982, that meant Algeria were eliminated.

Some will say television dictates the games be played at different times, but surely with viewer’s choice you could do all the games and allow these at home to flick between games to see who is winning against who and the impact it could have on the final standings?  

If the A league is an evolving league that is improving each season, let us hope that this is the last season we witness the final round of matches spread over three days, as it is not good for the game as a whole.

[Via http://notthefootyshow.wordpress.com]

Saints Win Super Bowl XLIV

The Saints beat the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV (43), in case you haven’t heard. The Who played the half-time show, and rocked it! Also, the ads were pretty funny, this year. My personal favorite: the orca in the back of the pick-up truck (Bridgestone Tires ad). Runners up include: the E*Trade baby ad, and the Doritos “keep your hands off my mama, and keep your hands off my Doritos” ad, the beaver Monster.com ad and all the Carmax ads.

[Via http://noonien.wordpress.com]

Sports Myopia

I just finished a game of Scrabble in which I was handed every opportunity to win, and I did. My opponent tends to take losses pretty hard even when he shouldn’t, and there’s no question he thoroughly outplayed me. I got three “bingos” for 150 bonus points, owing to outrageously good tile fortune, and he got only one, for 50, and I won by about 12. While planning for and around the bingos is certainly part of the game, the higher your score without them, the better you probably played. I was going to write him and tell him this, but I know he doesn’t want to hear it—he just wants to win, and would take it as gloating on my part, not because it would be per se but because we’ve been over this enough to understand how he would feel about it.

I have my own blind spots. Yesterday my flag football team lost to the #1 team in the league in an exceptionally close game. We were ranked fourteenth coming in, and as recently as two weeks ago lost 38-0 in our second game. After that, though, something clicked, and we won last week. This week, we held our own and fell apart but most of the team was happy with the result. The one person who wasn’t was me, and no one could figure it out, because I had played at least (objectively) a decent game as quarterback. The only problem was I threw two interceptions on our “girl plays”—the mandatory once-per-four-down plays that must go to a female—when I vowed not to throw picks at the outset. One teammate couldn’t figure out why I was so down about it until he mentioned it to the quarterback of another team at the postgame bar roundup. “You don’t understand,” he said. “You NEVER forget interceptions.” And at that point my teammate knew that there was nothing he could say to me to make me happy. It’s just one of those things.

If I felt bad yesterday, I can’t imagine what Peyton Manning is going to feel like for the next 50 years.

[Via http://bryanjoiner.com]

Super Brees and Saints part of Hurricane Katrina rebuilding

Hurricane Katrina was the worst thing to ever happen to the city of New Orleans. Yet it if didn’t occur, the city’s pro football team might not still be around.

A little more than four-plus years after the devastating hurricane ravaged large parts of Louisiana, the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl champions for the first time in their less-than-spectacular 43-season history.

Prior to this postseason, the Saints had won a total of two playoff games. They won three in a row this season, winning the Super Bowl with a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Just imagine the celebrations on Bourbon Street in the hours following Sunday’s victory as a city that has gone through so much – more than any U.S. city ever should – can go crazy like never before.

So much for Mardi Gras being nine days away.

But first flash back to September of 2005 as Hurricane Katrina blew into town and overflowing Lake Pontchartrain sent water throughout the city. Think back to the images of people waiting on their rooftops to be rescued and how numerous people left homeless were living in terrible conditions inside the Louisiana Superdome, the Saints’ stadium.

Things are sure a lot different now when it comes to how the city of New Orleans feels about itself.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina, there was a very real possibility of the Saints bolting town, possibly to Los Angeles or anywhere else where owner Tom Benson was wooed by a large amount of cash. Benson threatened to move the team on more than one occasion before Katrina hit when there were conflicts between the team and Louisiana officials.

After Hurricane Katrina hit, the Saints spent the 2005 season in San Antonio and there were many reports circulating that Benson was leaning toward permanently keeping the franchise there. But NFL officials and countless others were applying pressure and there was no way to easily bail on the city of New Orleans during such catastrophic times.

So the Saints went back to New Orleans and Sean Payton came aboard as coach. The San Diego Chargers let Drew Brees leave via free agency and the Saints landed Brees after the Miami Dolphins opted for Daunte Culpepper over Brees.

Talk about good luck. Brees has become a superstar with the Saints and he and wife Brittany have done yeoman work in the community to help rebuild New Orleans. Call him Hurricane Brees if you please because without Brees blowing into town, the Saints aren’t world champions today.

You surely don’t think New Orleans would have ever won something big with Aaron Brooks at quarterback, do you?

Brees was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLIV after completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He threw the go-ahead 2-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Shockey with 5:42 to play and the Saints put a stranglehold on their first-ever title when Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning and returned the pick 74 yards to give the Saints a two-touchdown lead with 3:12 remaining.

You might recall that it was Porter who also had the big interception in the NFC Championship Game two weeks earlier, when he picked off Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the final seconds of regulation in the contest New Orleans won in overtime.

But the Saints are Brees’ team and the guy that wasn’t a championship quarterback in the eyes of Chargers general manager A.J. Smith now has won one more Super Bowl title than his former franchise. And think, all the Chargers got for Brees was a compensation draft pick used on linebacker Anthony Waters, who played in just seven games during two very forgettable seasons with the team.

Brees, of course, got the last laugh of that situation and has become the football symbol of revitalization in New Orleans. He often talks about it being destiny that he ended up in New Orleans needing to restart his career after major shoulder surgery at the same time the city was starting its rebuilding process from Katrina.

Now there’s nobody more popular in New Orleans than Brees. Saints’ fans have nicknamed him “Breesus” and he’ll be serving as the prestigious King of Bracchus at one of the parades leading up to Mardi Gras. Some of the past Kings of Bracchus include celebrities like Bob Hope, Charlton Heston, Dick Clark and Hulk Hogan.

Yes, life in New Orleans is going just “Super” for Drew Brees, one of the truly good guys of the NFL. And it’s also “Super” for the post-Hurricane Katrina version of the Saints. Instead of the team being located in some other city that doesn’t share Louisiana’s deep love for the Saints, the franchise is right where it belongs.

And now there’s a Super Bowl trophy to go with it for the good folks of New Orleans.

[Via http://mrsportsblog.wordpress.com]

The Super Bowl and Nature’s ugliest creatures

Why watch the Super Bowl when you can learn about the dung beetle?

 It’s Sunday night and the Super Bowl just ended. That means tomorrow is going to be hell at work. Everyone’s going to be talking about “the game.” The good news is that by midweek , football sports talk will be a thing of the past. At least, until next September when it starts all over again. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

 Needless to say, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl. Instead, I was riveted to a show on PBS, the Beauty of Ugly, which was about Nature’s ugliest creatures, including the dung beetle.

Thankfully, Luke, my seven-year-old, watched the Super Bowl. Before Luke went to bed, I hit him up for a recap of the game so I could prepare for my fake sportsgasm tomorrow.

Here’s what I learned from him:  

• The New Orleans Saints won
• It was a close game; down to the last few minutes
• The final score was New Orleans Saint (31), Indianapolis Colts (17)

Thanks to my seven-year-old son, I should be able to fake a good sportsgasm tomorrow. I’ll have to return the favor. Maybe tomorrow after dinner, I’ll tell Luke everything I learned about the dung beetle.

[Via http://fakingasportsgasm.wordpress.com]

Wow! Saints win 31-17.

I sure as heck did not see this coming.

For a bit of Super Bowl fun: Nate Silver said to take the points and the Saints (though he picked the Colts to in straight up) and wrote a good article on the aggressive play calling.

Trivia: I saw the Saints play the Rams this year. In 1989, I saw the 49′ers play the Cowboys, and in 1982, I saw the Redskins play the Buccaneers (note: Doug Williams started for Tampa Bay that day, and went on to quarterback the Redskins to another Super Bowl victory).

So I’ve seen three Super Bowl Champion teams in person.

Key plays: 1. Saints opened the second half (down 10-6) with an onside kick; they got a touchdown. The Colts got it back to go up 17-16 but….then the Saints went up 24-17 after a touchdown and two pointer. But then they intercepted the Colts and ran it back in for the clincher.

The Colts had it at the New Orleans 3 with about 1:30 left in the game (and two time outs) but couldn’t punch it in.

[Via http://blueollie.wordpress.com]

Bloody Edwin Valero Stops Hometown Favorite Antonio DeMarco in Mexico

A bloodied Edwin Valero of Venezuela retained his WBC lightweight belt Saturday night by defeating hometown favorite Antonio DeMarco of Mexico to stay undefeated.  Seeing his bloodied face you would think he was on the short ends of the ropes but it was the exact opposite.

Valero put on one of the best displays of boxing I have seen from a young boxer in a while with the way he dominated DeMarco with ease throughout the fight.  He was the aggressor throughout the fight as he virtually outpunched and outboxed DeMarco in every round of the fight.

When DeMarco’s corner finally stopped the fight after the ninth round beating he had taken Valero was up on all three judge’s scorecards by eight points 79-72.  Valero suffered the gash of blood on his forehead in the second round, which came from an elbow from DeMarco that was ruled accidental.

It was a very dominant and impressive win for Valero with a worldwide audience of boxing fans like me watching on Showtime’s Championship Boxing.  His defense was real great to as he made DeMarco look like a stiff as he virtually landed nothing throughout the fight.

The announcers said they liked Valero to a younger Manny Pacquiao but with a little better defense and jab.  This is something I agree with myself from watching the fight.  So it’s even more interesting that Valero in the post fight said he would like to fight Pacquiao.

“That’s the fight the world wants to see,” Valero said.

I myself think it could be a good fight from the way Valero fought.  But not right away it would probably be something he should explore after he has a couple more big type fights like this that he displayed Saturday night in Mexico against DeMarco.

[Via http://sporthop.wordpress.com]