Support the Fight Against Brain Cancer!

Many thanks in advance for your significant contribution to the fight against brain cancer.  Please don't spare any expense.  And please join the walk!

When: Saturday, October 2, 2010. Registration at 8 a.m. and Walk/Event at 8:30 a.m.


Where: East Potomac Park, Washington, D.C.

What: Voices Against Brain Cancer Three-mile Walk
 
Donate:  http://www.firstgiving.com/doctoraction
 
On the day of the event, registration begins at 8:00 am, and the walk will begin at 8:30 am. New registrants are welcome to sign-up. The location is East Potomac Park, also known as Hanes Point park, in southwest D.C. The nearest metro stop is SEU Waterfront on the green line.

See below a message from Paul Knepper, one of the founders of Voices Against Brain Cancer:

As some of you know, my close friend Gary Lichtenstein died of brain cancer in 2003 at the age of 24. When Gary was sick he told me that people often asked him if there was anything they could do to help. He always told them they should donate money to cancer research to help prevent other people from suffering from this terrible disease. I've spent the past seven years trying to fulfill my friend's wishes.

Five years ago Gary's family founded Voices Against Brain Cancer, a not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to find a cure for brain cancer. I've been a member of the board of directors since its inception. Over the past five years we've raised close to three million dollars, which we have used to fund studies at some of the most prestigious research facilities in the country and set-up support groups for people afflicted with the disease. Unfortunatly, it's not nearly enough. Brain cancer continues to devastate thousands of families each year and the disease is terribly underfunded.

Most of VABC's work has been in the New York area, but we're making our way to D.C. this fall. The details of the walk are listed below. Don't miss this opportunity to join me for my last public appearance as a single man. You can create your own fundraising team, or join my team and walk with us on October 2. Bring your family. Bring your friends. If you can't make it for the walk, you can still contribute to the event. Here's the link for my team's fundraising page: www.firstgiving.com/paulknepper. If you aren't in a position to donate but still want to participate, we need volunteers for the walk, and would love to have you alongside us on October 2 as we cheer on walkers.

I hope you're all doing well.

Thanks,
Paul

A True Man of Action

Wears a helmet!!! Kudoz prez. 

A History of Action: Holy Mackerel

This history of action post brought to you by an awesome book, "the story of sushi - an unlikely saga of raw fish and rice" by Trevor Corson (if you like sushi, you will love this book!)

And now on to the history... of action:

Sushi chefs began categorizing fish by color and shine in the early 1900s: red, white and blue. Red is a narrow category of blood-red meat fish - primarily tuna (and swordfish); white includes fish with pale flesh - snapper, flounder, sea bass; Blue refers to fish with silvery-blue skin, such as mackerel.

Historians think that geisha's in Tokyo's entertainment district may bave been the first to popularize these categories by using them while dining with clients.  In Tokyo today, young people use a variation of the term "shiny fish" as a form of slang. They refer to gals who wear glitter and shiny clothes as "mackeral gals" because they look like shiny-skinned fish. In fact, mackerel have a reputation the world over for their ostentatious shine. In england, calling a man a "mackerel" meant he was a dandy. In France, it meant he was a pimp. It is from the  latter usage that we get the term "mack daddy." - from the story of sushi, page 154.

An Open Letter to Chicago Cubs Management

Dear Chicago Cubs Management:

Please trade Ted Lilly.  Your lack of run support is staining his stellar season, your losing prowess - howevever lovable - is provoking his pessimistic psyche, and further your failure of a franchise is fizzling my fantasy baseball future. 

Sincerely,

Doctor Action

Defending The Decision

Still upset about the Decision?  Angry at Lebron?  Why?  Because Cleveland won the lottery the year Lebron entered the draft, and drafted him, and he played for that crazy-man-owner for 7 years - therefore he had an obligation to the team, the city, the fans. That's bullshit.


Its not like Cleveland gave Lebron a chance when no one else would. Its not like Udonis Haslem, who went undrafted and played in Europe before the Heat gave him a chance to play for his hometown.

Compare with Dan Marino. His legacy in South Florida is secure - but he's not in the discussion of greatest QB of all time (outside of SoFla). What happened to Dannyboy when Jimmy Johnson came to town - Jimmy said - whoaaaa, see ya. Past his prime, barely able to walk, but still with the passion and heart to try to win a ring, he retired rather than sign with a different team that late in his career, got fat, got skinny, and is now known as a peddler of nutrisysem.

While the decision lacked tact, Lebron earned the right to make that decision; just like all of us that are fortunate enough, or work hard enough, or are lucky enough to have choices in life.

Lebron played the system, they all did.  Lebron should be celebrated. On this point, check out this article on Adage.com, which provides some background on the Decision - http://adage.com/article?article_id=144882.

This paragraph called out to me:

"Nielsen said overnight ratings for the Thursday-evening special averaged a phenomenal 7.3 in the nation's top 56 markets. The telecast peaked with a 9.6 rating from 9:15-9:30 p.m. when the program shifted to Mr. James' interview with freelance sportscaster Jim Gray and Mr. James officially made the announcement. That marks the highest non-NFL rating on ESPN this year and blew away the network's exclusive interview with shamed golfer Tiger Woods on March 21 (0.4 rating) and its interview with baseball star Alex Rodriguez in February of 2009 (0.9 rating) after he admitted using performance-enhancing drugs (for other comparisons, see chart, P. 2-3). Visitors also spent a 130 million collective minutes on espn.com on Thursday."

Lebron is being vilified for what? Cheating like A-Rod? Cheating like Tiger?

No, for playing by the rules.

For doing the same thing Shaq has done throughout his career!  For doing the same as Alonzo Mourning...

For doing the same as Greg Maddux, Mark Teixeira, Ken Griffey Jr...

  ... for doing the same thing that Moses Malone did in 1982!  This, from Scoop Jackson of ESPN: 

"In 1982, Moses Malone was considered by many to be the best player in basketball, certainly one of the best of his generation, and he was still in his prime. But just after he collected the second of his three MVP awards and only one year removed from playing in the NBA Finals with the Houston Rockets, he became a restricted free agent. With his team apparently regressing (the Rockets went from their Finals appearance in '81 to out in the first round the next season), Moses decided to leave Houston and go play for the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that already had one of the other best players in the game and of his generation. A guy named Julius Erving...  See where this is going?  Dwyane Wade is Dr. J, LeBron is Moses and Chris Bosh is Andrew Toney in this analogy. The Sixers went on to win the chip the season Moses joined them, going down in history as one of the greatest teams of all time. And no one said anything about damage to Malone's legacy." - Star players have changed teams before, and the world didn't come to an end

And finally, Lebron raised over $2 million dollars for the boys and girls club for televising his decision. The MLB Home Run Derby raised $575,000 (donated by All State) for the boys and girls club. I think thats significant and is being overlooked in all of this.

Inspector Gadget: Lights, Camera, Action!

Golly do i jock the 21st century, where one can purchase a waterproof HD video camera for less than $150.  That is some crazy action.  Check it:  the Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera.  It will fit in your pocket; it is waterproff up to 10 feet; and it takes HD video and 5 megapixel still shots.  Lights, Camera, Action!

Anyone tried this? Feel free to review in the comments. And stay tuned for more gadget reviews!

Dichotomy of a Deal: Day'O Pack

Buy this daypack:  Osprey Talon 22. Pouch for 2 liter water-bladder, sweat-less mesh backing, decent pockets make this pack great for day hikes, music festivals, days out on the bike and life on the run. Additional key features include zip-pockets on hipbelt for camera, snacks, phone, and pockets and shoulder straps for same...

The only negative is the awkward straps on the hipbelt, as its difficult to restrain the slack but certainly not a deal breaker.

Pros: Easy To Load, Highly Adjustable, Comfortable

Cons: Awkward waist strap
Best Uses: Hiking, Cycling, Backpacking, Day trip
Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational/Handsome
(legalese)

Inspector Gadget

this is a new column - gadget reviews...

Don't have an iphone? Don't fret. With this new gadget you can wirelessly sync iTunes playlists with Blackberry smartphones.

(click here to check it out)

The $15 app, available for 30-day free trial, transfers the music files from your computer to your phone. Update the playlist and the app should automatically sync updates to your phone.  Anyone tried this?  Feel free to review in the comments. 

And stay tuned for more gadget reviews!

Breaking Down The Decision

i don't mean to be insensitive to Clevelanders, but i'm intrigued by a few things in this Lebronfest:

1) Dan Gilbert. although i find it to be in extremely poor form, this diatribe is amazing: http://www.cavs.com/. my question is, why the fuck didn't he channel some of that passion toward trying to keep Lebron (something similar to the We Want Wade campaign orchestrated by Pat Riley? http://wewantwade.com/)

2) The psychology of Lebron.  It's very interesting and has been raised by a few readers in Sportsguys mailbag. i thought Lebron's 1 hour "The Decision" special would be great, and i still think it could have been, but like Gilbert, boy was it executed in poor form.

riddle me this - why not spend the first 1/2 hour thanking cleveland, showing appreciation, explaining that Lebron has an unprecedented opportunity to join up with two of the best, two of his mates, in a new environment, and that for reasons other than just basketball, this is what is the best decision for Lebron. ask for cavs fans understanding, express sincere gratitude for their support over the years, and theeeeen announce that you're leaving town...  

lebron didn't do that. not even close. he totally went wrong. he barely even acknowledged Cleveland. How could he fuck that up so badly? for some insight, i've been reading interesting psychological analyses that point out, among other things:

1) lebron has no father figure to step in and say, "don't do this" (ie "the Decision"); and

2) joining his friends in miami is fulfilling the lack of a group of equals he experienced growing up--i.e., he's always been a manchild, with all these expectations, and for once he just wants to be one of the guys.

Lebron thought he could announce this Decision, raise money for charity and once again play the role of hero. he never considered that his showmanship would be perceived as awful because nothing he's EVER done has been perceived as awful.  in this respect, it's sad because IMO he means well, and he's proven to be a solid guy who tries to make the "right" decisions. 

it's easy to forget Lebron's only 25 and has never been in a position to screw up this monumentally off the court. the stakes were just too high.

fact is, there's never been a player like him. his high school games when he was 16 were sellouts at college gyms (right?). some guys i know would drive down from Ann Arbor to Cleveland just to see him play, when he was in high school.  so is Lebron's reality just way out of whack such that he has no concept of the impact of his Decision? i think so.

he didn't have--and never has it seems--anyone to tell him no ... don't do this ... this isn't in your best interest. there's big money involved, and everyone around Lebron since he was probably 13 years old (including his entourage) has seen him as a first and foremost a financial interest.

bottom line: lebron needs a hug--a big, genuine bearhug--and with Riley, Wade, Bosh, he can accept their hugs. they're love and the closest to equals on the court he's ever had the opportunity to play with. Cleveland couldn't provide that. Neither could New York or Chicago. His entourage can't provide it either.  When it comes down to it, he's a manchild who is still growing in to a man, and this Decision is a big, big growing pain. 


And this is just classic.  Dan Lebetard=genius (at least for today)