sabugo

Hahahahahaha, I loved that movie! Such good memories!

I feel we're getting a bit into a left vs right argument, which I don't think is a productive way to get somewhere. To me, that's just gang mentality. Either you're with us, or against us. It's just very limitative. In some things I'm more conservative, and in others I'm more liberal. As I think any normal self-respecting human being should be. You can't just put everything in a box. I hope that my views as someone on the outside are taken as a nothing more than a different perspective as opposed to me telling you that you're wrong and I'm right. Anyway, these guys - the shooters - are just going to pick whatever 'cause' or 'movement' that appeals to them for some particular reason. There's all kinds. Right wing, left wing, some are religion fueled, you name it. Saying that it was because of this guy or that may not be the entire story. People in Europe love to hate Trump, they just love it. I think he's just like every other politician, except he could care less about what people think. He'll just say whatever he wants. You could argue that some of his more inflamatory remarks fuel people to commit atrocities. But people will get their ideas from almost anywhere. The Son of Sam was taking orders from his dog, just to name one. While I think someone in his position could be a little more restrained because there is always a spolight on him, just blaming Trump seems easy and jumping to a conclusion. Like it or not, Trump's words echo what a lot of americans think. Obama, contrary to what seems to be the general opinion, is not God. He is not the Devil either. He's just a politician and acts like all the other politicians. He's from CHICAGO, what the hell would you expect?! That he acted like mother Theresa?

How would you tackle this problem then? I understand your concerns, and I agree that a lot of people in mental health care are way too liberal for their own good. Politics shouldn't play a role in this field, but it does. These are the people that create all these new-age agendas. You have to have some sort of screening, wouldn't you agree? I pretty much agree with everything KC wrote.

First off, as you know, I am not an american. I live in a small country which was recently named the 3rd safest country in the world. That being said, through my job and through some friends (mainly from Brazil and other parts of South America), I'm very well aware of what daily and senseless violence is. I am the one who said 'no guns = no violence'. I know this is not doable, specially in the US, where you are passionate about your right to bear arms. To me, there are a few important issues: - First off, I understand when Gordo is saying that bad people are always going to do bad stuff, and it will be incredibly hard to stop them. No argument there. If you want to do something really bad, chances are you're going to end up doing it. The problem is that if it's easy to have access to tools that can kill dozens of people, the higher the chance of something like that happening. You can say that stabbings have gone up in places where people can't have guns. Not completely true in my point of view. Here in Europe stabbings by refugees have gone up exponentially, but that is whole different subject. And again, yes, if they didn't have access to knives, they'd do something else. Just last week some illegal pushed an 8 year old kid and his mother to the subway tracks in Germany. I just think that with the killing potential that a firearm has, we're just making it easy for the crazies to kill indiscriminately. If you start your barbecue with a flamethrower instead of a match, there's a bigger chance for burning, right? - Then, you really have to check who can buy guns better. A lot better. Many of this spree killers or mass murderers have been diagnosed with mental conditions. Many are known to law enforcement or by some kind of authority as potential threats. These people simply cannot fall through the cracks. They need to be spotted and treated and if that fails, incarcerated - both for their own safety and for the public in general. Better training for teachers, social workers and even cops is a must. Prevention is key. - As for the places where you can't count on readily available law enforcement, I totally understand the necessity of having a gun. Or several. But there has to be a limit. If you feel so unsafe that you need to buy an AK-47 and an Uzi, then something has gone totally wrong somewhere - another different problem. People in Brazil don't do that and their homicide rate is way higher, I can tell you that. I mentioned for example that in Australia, they had one terrible incident some 20 years ago and then changed the laws. They haven't had one since. A lot harder to do in the US, but surely something to think about. I read somewhere that there have been something like 280 mass killings in the US. Something needs to be done. All these shooters are inadequate, pathetic losers who sometimes almost randomly pick an extremist point of view to support and validate their meaningless existence. I have been to the United States twice, both in the LA area. I didn't feel unsafe once.

Reading this, it's easy to see why today's players get on your nerves so much. In your mind, you're comparing every Yankee player to Munson. It's pretty hard to live up to the legend.

Like somebody said before, The Show seems 'scripted' at times. For example, if you have a big lead, there is a big probability that your opponent mounts an improbable comeback. If that happened only sometimes I would be fine with it, but it's more than sometimes. Anyway, the last 'Show' that I played was '15 or '16, so it might have improved. Between 2K and MVP there isn't even an argument. MVP is better in pretty much every aspect of the game.

As if there was any argument to be made...

Without even reading it: Yes

I have been a fan of Gardner thorughout his carrer. That being said, I can see that he's getting old and become less and less of a threat on the offensive end. Still, I think it was a good idea to have him for one more year, for his clubhouse presence and maybe to teach some defensive skills to the younger guys. I just don't think he was supposed to be on the field this much, but with so many injuries, he's been basically forced to play a lot more than it was antecipated. Oh, and he doesn't steal bases anymore but he's still a pretty good base runner. The All-Star voting is a joke. As it is in many other sports. Guys used to play in all-star games to prove something, or at least the game was interesting or competitive. Now it's just a huge event that accounts for nothing more than popularity. I teach and coach kids. Fortunately I have a great group of parents who refrain from looking like assholes. I'm really lucky in that regard but I also enforce some respect. I have actually had a mother tell me that if we weren't so relaxed with the kids that she would have pulled hers out of our class - she had just witnessed a mother and a coach scream all the forbidden words during a 7 year old match. Just this weekend I had kids competing, and in one instance, the referee completely screwed up - not a matter of opinion, he just got it wrong - I chose not to say anything, not a word (this kid's dad is also a student of mine). No point in arguing with referees when there's 6 year olds involved. It's definitely not the message that I want to deliver to my kids. But yeah, some parents are the worse. I have personally seem them threaten referees and even other kids! As for the London series, I was at a tournament for most of the weekend and missed it. I happened to ask my wife for the score at one point and she said something like 15-7 and I figured she misread or something. I guess the lack of familiarity with the field accounted for a lot of those runs.

Coming from another sport - I never even played baseball - I can tell you this: - Do it right, but let passion dictate your effort, not what you think should be done - Be sure to put in the hours. There is no substitute for practice. 10 thousand hours of ANYTHING will make you an expert - Keeping the above in mind, make sure you get your rest. And rest properly. Give your body enough time to heal. Competitive sports are NOT HEALTHY. So do your best to minimize the impact it has on your body. And lastly, the most important tool you possess is your mind. Being an athlete is so much more than playing or having 'talent'. There is no such thing as talent. Or at least it is a very little amount of what makes an athlete. Talent is most often an excuse to justify lazyness. Hard workers get farther and more sustainable results than 'talented' people. Being an athlete requires that you give it everything you have to succeed. Forget birthday parties, forget drinking with your buddies, forget doing all the stuff that normal people do. They are not following your dream nor are they responsible for it. You are. It is YOUR mission. Every breath you take HAS to be towards that goal. Every single minute that passes, you're either getting better, closer to your objective, or you're not. It's that simple. I always tell my kids class, 'Hey, if staring at a wall is your passion, somehow you're going to find a way to make that your living. If that really is your passion, go be the Michael Jordan of staring at walls'. Whatever you end up doing with your life in five, ten or twenty years, make sure your athletic career does not define who you are, make sure you do it because you like it, because it feeds your ambitions. In the long run winning or losing is measured not so much on the field but off of it. It is measured on how you played the game, how much effort you put into it and how it made you feel. Follow your dreams, but work hard at them. Be happy, treat others well and you'll be fine.

Nothing is ever perfect. Even the Corleones had Fredo.

Now that is a cool thing to read. Best of luck for you.

Wow, flew right by me.

The shoutbox doesn't seem to be working. For me, the shoutbox it is definitely a plus.