Mid-Week Meditation

First of all, wilkommen zuruch, Deutschland! (Welcome back, Germany!) Bienvenue, France! (Welcome, France!) Witamy z powrotem, Polska! (Welcome back, Poland!)

Second of all, RUSSIA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And don't come back until Snowden has left your country and flies home to stand trial!

Show of hands,how many of my American readers have seen the GEICO spot about a talking camel who asks his co-workers, "WHAT DAY IS IT?" and then answers, "IT'S HUUUUUUUUUUUMP DAAAAAAAAAY!"
THAT many?!?!?

It IS Wednesday, or Hump Day, and I AM ready to celebrate the fact that we're about to go "over the hump" (Wednesday being similar to a camel's hump) and get that much closer to the weekend, but this Wednesday, I'm taking a rain check on the festivities and meditating on a VERY important topic. SERIOUSLY!

My friends in Germany, France and Poland have one thing in common with us Americans: WE LOVE OUR SPORTS! It pains me to know that there are more than a few rotten apples in the bunch who try to ruin our enjoyment.

I'm sure even my overseas friends have heard about A-Rod, alias Alexander Rodriguez, alias Alexander the Not-So-Great, who wears #13 for the New York Yankees, who is one of many players either suspended or awaiting suspension for using performance enhancing drugs. After last night's debacle in Chicago, banning him FOR LIFE from baseball would make even more sense than ever. A-Rod, give us baseball fans A-Break and just say goodbye!

No matter whether you call it soccer, football, futbol, pilka nozna or fussball, it's still the beautiful game, prompting its supporters the world over to call in sick, raise a pint for your favorite side, or, in the case of South Africa, BLOW THOSE DANGED VUVUZELAS AND DRIVE MY FORMER TRAINER ANNETTE TOTALLY CRAZY! But, unfortunately, violence and racism have left their scars on the beautiful game, most of it coming from those supporters. Come on, fandom! Your favorite players deserve better! It's time to stop this name-calling and re-embrace footy as the uniter it truly is.

Speaking of racism, I'm truly surprised to find out that Hugh Douglas, an ESPN analyst for OUR brand of football as played by the National Football League, called his partner on The Worldwide Leader's daily show NUMBERS NEVER LIE, Michael Smith, an Uncle Tom and the N-word at, of all places, the National Association of Black Journalists convention, and this hasn't been the first time. Douglas also levelled some not-so-nice remarks at his and Smith's partner, Jemele Hill. Hugh should be penalized for illegal use of the mouth!

Finally, staying on racism, the statue of Jackie Robinson, a worldwide symbol of equality, that guards the entrance to MCU Park, the home of the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones, has been covered with racist grafitti. I won't even dignify that with a comment except to say, THE NERVE.

Remember, sports fans, play hard, but play fair, and let's be nice to each other. After all, we're the only human race we've got!

See you on the weekend!
Steve