China Stripped of Bronze Medal

Let this be a reminder to all, especially minor league sports that think they will save their leagues because mainland China is "flush with cash". No need looking to the far east for the next franchise opportunity. Mainland China is not a fair partner. In other words, the Chinese government cheats whether it is sports, business, or humanity in general.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100428/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_gym_underage_gymnast

Apparently, Dong (on the right) willingly admits her correct age. It is the Chinese system that plays fast and loose with the rules, not necessarily the Chinese people.

The Strangest Minor League in the World

What makes the Premier Basketball League (PBL) so strange? It is not because the league is disorganized. Lots of minor leagues are disorganized. It is not because member teams have come and gone (sometimes during the season). Lots of minor leagues have teams come and go. It is not because this league has a tendency of issuing rambling sour grapes type press releases. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3982349 Lots of minor leagues have trouble grasping the concept of the proper press release. The PBL is strange because it is disorganized, teams come and go, they issue WTF type press releases, AND the owner (yes, this league has an owner) apparently has tons of money to correct those problems. Yet this league plods along on its current course.

I Fought My Credit Card Company and Finally Won!

I was late paying my credit card bill in October 2009 by one day. I have not been late paying for a few years running. A $39 late fee appeared on my next statement. I did not like it and I thought it was nitpicking because of one lousy day, but I was late after all. January 2010 statement and my interest rate was hiked an additional 14%. My jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

What's going on? Why did my APR go through the roof all of a sudden? My questions were directed toward the customer service representative. She told me it was because I was late in October. I was frustrated and she was frustrated as well. Apparently, her training was limited to offering cash rewards to customers.

My credit card company was obviously trying to beat the February 22, 2010 deadline where banks could no longer raise interest rates unexpectedly on late payments less than 60 days. I made sure to remind them of this as often as I could.

The bank finally caved-in in April and returned my APR to original pre-January 2010 levels. I am a cardholder in good standings and I bugged them every chance I got. This large multi-national bank realized they were being excessive. Well, the customer service manager blamed it on the software. It's all automated. It wasn't our decision Yeah right. It was their decision to program the software though.

Add Derrick Coleman to the List

My ex-wife, ABA/NBA basketball standout George Gervin, and Derrick Coleman are all cousins. They all are either from Detroit or have lots of relatives in Detroit. Apparently, they all should be avoided when it comes to money matters. Well, I did not know about Derrick's issues until reading this:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Derrick-Coleman-is-almost-5-million-in-debt;_ylt=AhWQjcENG1V0bmaRl4ovyUEYc8UF?urn=nba,233379

Coleman's biggest debt comes from a $1.3 million lawsuit brought against him by Comerica Bank and a $1 million real estate loan from Thornburg Mortgage Home Loans. He also owes $50,000 to NBA Hall of Famer, and current Detroit mayor, Dave Bing.

I will not elaborate on my ex's inability to manage money. I will only say that I am happier now than ever in my adult life. Nor will I elaborate on George's family fundraising while I was married to my ex, only to say that my ex could not afford the family reunion money at the time (or any other time, for that matter).

Derrick Coleman? I am hoping money, or the lack thereof, has nothing to do with genes.

Tiger Woods' Return After the Sex Scandal

Is it my imagination or did Tiger Woods pump a lot more iron after the sex scandal?

Tiger Woods in his first tournament after the scandal.
Tiger Woods during the 2009 season before the scandal.
It was my imagination. Tiger Woods is an athletic specimen regardless and I hope he kicks the snot out of the golf world after his personal affairs were dragged in front of the public.

Butler's ride ends as Duke wins 61-59

Butler has a young team. If they ever learn to shoot jump shots, then they may be unstoppable in the future.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_sp_co_ne/bkc_ncaa_championship_butler

Butler, however, puts the "old" in old school. With 4,200 students, it was the smallest school to play for the title since the field was expanded to 64 in 1985 and fourth-smallest overall. Forget state-of-the-art facilities. The Bulldogs play in an 82-year-old gym, the barn-like Hinkle Fieldhouse. Practice there, too — at 6:30 a.m., no less. There are no athletic dorms and, yes, those were some of the Butler players spotted in the classroom Monday morning.

I can vouch for the small size of the campus and the lack of athletic dorms. We ran across a player in the dorm lobby on one of those moving-in days for my college kid. "Hey! You've got a great game. By the way, hold that door open for me and could you hand me that lamp cord I'm dragging? Thanks."

Butler University, Hinkle Fieldhouse, and The Final Four

Remember my college kid...again? The undergrad school she graduated from was Butler University. That means I am familiar with the Butler campus. Unfortunately I am not very familiar with Hinkle Fieldhouse, Butler's home venue (The Dawg Pound). The only time I've been inside was for graduation...and happy I was that day. No more lugging college person type belongings up and down I-65.

Since I have only been in Hinkle for graduation ceremonies, then I only have graduation pictures. Never attended a basketball game there, not even when I was a high school student and when state high school finals were held there (like in the movie Hoosiers).

Butler is in the Horizon League. There was a big push a few years back to have the Horizon League tournament held in Gary, Indiana since so many Horizon League teams (like Valparaiso University, Loyola University, UIC, and Butler) are close to Gary. That push was made when Gary had a CBA professional basketball team. That push may have been reduced to a nudge with Butler's recent success in the Final Four and the Gary team closing up shop. However, the Horizon League's baseball tournament WILL be held in Gary this spring (spring 2010) at US SteelYard. This time I will leave with something other than graduation photos.

Don't Local Celebrities Make Big Money?

Remember my college kid? The one who has been in the marketplace a few years now? She is a local television news reporter. How ironic.
http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-surprisingly_underpaid_celebrities_and_other_high_profile_people-1190

Local news anchors
Since they often become local "celebrities," many people assume their favorite news anchors earn an enviable salary. That's often not true, especially in small markets. Entry-level news anchors earn approximately $27,000 a year upon entering the profession, and can earn as little as $30,000 after 5 years of service.

The beat reporters make enough less. My daughter could not shop Wal*Mart in her central Indiana market without someone stopping her for an autograph. What the autograph seekers did not realize is that she was shopping Wal*Mart for a reason. She is in a larger market now, northwest Indiana, which also covers south Chicago. However, the pay is almost the same as before. She makes ends meet by living at home with her mom.

This is what four years undergraduate and one year graduate school buys you if you are not doing the news in a huge market. Home with mom where you started.

Moving Your Kid to and from College

My college kid has graduated and has been working in the marketplace for a few years now, but there was a time when I was Super Mover Dad.

Freshman year:
Never mind that you've been there and done this. It all doesn't matter because your kid apparently knows more about college life than you will ever know, but I digress. This blog is really about the physical act of moving junk from home to dorm and from dorm back home. Bringing the stuff (in two packed SUV's) to campus for the first time is a pain of course. Things have to be hauled up elevators to an unfamiliar (and super small) dorm room. These new and somewhat cheesy things that you have shared the last two hours with on the highway have to be assembled next. The entire day is shot. Not to mention the scrapes and bruises that weren't there this morning.

If bringing the stuff is a pain, then bringing the stuff back home for the summer is double the pain. First, nothing is packed. Everything is still plugged-in, food is still in the refrigerator, and dirty clothes are everywhere. "You DID know you were moving today, didn't you?" I just had to ask sarcastically. So you help unplug all the electrics, defrost the fridge, and put the clothes in Hefty bags. Takes you hours to pack. Takes you hours to get the stuff into the SUV's because this time, the stuff doesn't seem to fit quite as well. Hmmmmm. What's up with that? The drive home was interesting to say the least. Rear view mirrors were useless (WAY too much clutter this time) and visions of the opening credits to the Beverly Hillbillies danced through my head.

Sunrise to sunset worth of back breaking labor. Another day shot. Another move coming at the end of summer.

Sophomore year:
Oh HECK no! Didn't we just haul this stuff back home a few months ago? It's time to hit the highway with a bunch of college student stuff again?!? A bunch of "Girly college student stuff". Lady bug this and that, Hello Kitty all the rest and isn't that a Hello Kitty television set? That thing is heavy...and it's pink. It's not even the third week of August yet. My incidental bruises from the last move are still fresh. Well, I hope the tires don't go flat from all the extra weight.

May arrives. Oh heck no! No way. Nada. Didn't we just do something like this in August? Hauling clothes, pink televisions, and cheesy dorm furniture up and down the highway is for the birds. Never again. That is my vow. Never again, at least until SOMEONE graduates. We can put the stuff into the truck, but the truck goes no further than a storage facility near campus. Yeah, that's a plan. Doesn't eliminate moving completely, but this storage facility near campus thing may have potential. Hmmmmm.

Junior year:
Not much to blog about. Moving back to school is going to be a piece of cake this time. No loading up the SUV at home and strolling down the highway. All the cheesy furniture is there already. All that needs to be done is get the stuff out of storage and assemble a few items bought over the summer. Piece of cake. Once at the destination, everything is taken back to the cramped dorm room. Cheesy furniture in place--great! Assembly of the new items begins (a computer desk and chair, I think). Assembly is going well too because the instructions weren't too confusing. Assembly is going well until 2pm. Sorry about that! Gotta get back home because the baseball team (Gary Southshore Railcats) is in town and I have season tickets. Game time is 6pm and I DON'T want to miss the national anthem. Here, take this screwdriver, I said as I wiped my hands clean. The instructions are simple (well, not really). You're just going to leave like POOF, you're outta here? She asked. Don't you love me? Without breaking stride on my way to the elevator, Sure I love you. Love those season tickets too. ....Call you when I get home. Maybe I'll call from the ballpark, I'm thinking.

Late March. School's not out yet, but I've been saving my money. Here's your car--enjoy! A green Dodge Neon (okay, well I didn't have to save too much money...and how was I supposed to know Dodge Neons are notorious for engine oil problems???). May arrives. School's out, but I'M out of the moving business. My college student can cram all that stuff into her Dodge Neon and make as many trips as necessary to get it all into storage. Life is good and baseball season begins soon.

After Graduation:
Rented a big U-Haul and moved her to Springfield, IL for grad school. A grad school program where they guaranteed a job upon completion. Upon completion the following year there was no job to be found...What? What? Did we actually say JOB?!?...so I rented another big U-Haul and brought her back home. Found a job 80 miles from home later that summer, so I rented yet another big U-Haul and dropped her stuff-off for good (I think). All this was done between baseball games. Whew!

The green Dodge Neon is history, by the way. Something about leaking oil and the car was green, but her sorority colors are red and white. What type of car does she drive now? A red Ford Focus with white trim, of course.

I Don't Get It: Part II

I often say that I'm starting to understand women because of my experience and advanced age. Now I'm not understanding my own gender, maybe BECAUSE of experience and advanced age. I don't get it. A guy marries a swimsuit model after knowing her for two days (obviously for the huge breast implants). He later gets upset because the woman makes fun of him in public...I mean duh. He married a swinsuit model after only knowing her for two days. Sounds like grounds for making fun of a guy to me. The straw that broke the camel's back was the woman spending hours in a bathroom on the phone. So he murdered her and mutilated her corpse. Huh???
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090824/en_nm/us_model_murder_7
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Story?id=8374131&page=1



It MUST be my advanced age because I'll never understand the logic to commit a crime like this. I understand the part about a man's penis doing all his thinking, but this...???

I Don't Get It: Part I (The Steve McNair Murder/Suicide)

Memories are beginning to fade, but I still seem to think about this incident (if only for a few moments) everyday.

I don't get it...and it's not because Sahel Kazemi shot him, then shot herself. I don't get why Steve McNair was fooling around with 20-year old Sahel Kazemi in the first place. He was married with teenage kids. He had lots of life experience. She was practically a teenager herself with almost no life experience.



...and what's up with the para-sailing vacation??? This was totally over her understanding. She thought Steve McNair loved her. She thought wrong if she thought McNair was going to leave his wife for her. Although, I feel he should have left his wife. Why put your wife through that sort of crap? Leave her. Maybe that would have saved his life.



...and what's up with Steve McNair sharing a condo with one of his friends??? The scene of the crime. This place was obviously a pad to take chicks. This incident was so wrong on so many levels. I'm finding that it's difficult to understand my own gender. I'm finding penises are getting too many guys in trouble...and apparently others are being hurt as well.