An Open Letter to Randy Moss

I remember watching the NFL station one evening not too long ago when the commentators were discussing the fact that your contract was coming up for renewal with the New England Patriots.  I watched you as you answered questions for reporters.  You reiterated that you would work your butt off regardless of come what may with your contract.  I thought it was a fair and succinct statement given the circumstances.  I'm not sure why the Patriots didn't come clean with the contract negotiations, but hey, professional football is a business, right?

Suddenly, you are sent to the Minnesota Vikings.  Things don't seem to be working well there either.  Why?  Who knows.  Office politics is an ugly game that most people don't care to participate in.  I'm one of them.  In fact, I'm willing to bet that if I had been dealt the same hand as you, I would play them the same way as you did too. 

You probably feel like once again, you are shuffled off to another lame pro football team.  Let me fill you in on the Nashville fans and the Tennessee Titans.  We WANT you here.  That's why Fisher snapped you up as quickly as he did.  Do we already have great players?  You bet we do.  Adding you to the roster only makes our team better, not a liability. 

Nashville is beyond excited by having you on the team.  We may have a "country bumpkin" reputation due to our musical history and geography, but we are also a metropolitan city with an exciting football team that just got better within a blink of an eye.  We want you to work your butt off.    

In exchange for your hard work, expect to see:

• Fans snapping up jerseys with your name on the back.   
• A rowdy, supportive crowd at the games
• A fiercely loyal fan base.
• A sold out crowd at our home stadium, as well as  every sports bar in town to be packed to the rafters cheering for you and the rest of our guys.

We may be "boring" or not "metropolitan" enough for some players, but we're loyal, rowdy and we're dying to win a Super Bowl.

Ya With Us?   We need to go just ONE MORE YARD.

Welcome, Randy Moss.

Not so Fast...

Hmmmm, the Steve McNair case wrapped up pretty quickly didn't it?

What do we know about what happened? Here is what I picked up and I'm not a legal nor criminal expert in any shape form or fashion.

B A C K G R O U N D

Apparently, Steve McNair and his wife had not been living in the same home for at least the last 3 or 4 months. TMZ has reported that Steve had a girlfriend (Kahzemi) with whom he had taken on vacation (see the parasailing photos on their website) and purchased gifts such as a Cadillac for her. He apparently met her at Dave and Busters where she waitressed at Oprymills.

Also, he opens a restaurant on Jefferson Street that serves comfort food where he takes on an active role as owner.

He also rented a condo from a good friend off of Lea avenue in downtown Nashville where they would meet and spend time together.

INCONSISTENT F A C T S FROM POLICE

• July 2nd, Kahzemi buys a gun in the Dave and Busters parking lot. She is depressed and thinks McNair is cheating on her. (I know).


• Kahzemi and McNair are pulled over by the same cop that slapped McNair with a DUI a year or more ago. Kahzemi is booked and waits for bail from McNair. McNair is allowed to leave and take a cab home. (as co-owner of the vehicle, they should have both been booked).


• According to police, McNair had been barhopping on 2nd avenue in the wee hours of Jul 4th. He reportedly went to his condo to sleep.


• Police also stated that a mere hours later, he had taken 2 of his sons fishing at Percy Priest Lake. Did the sons not smell liquor on him? Could they not tell he was drunk? Nothing was out of the ordinary?


• The friend who rents the condo to McNair stopped by to "check on some things" at the pad. He notices nothing out of the ordinary, he sees McNair seated on the couch and assumes he is sleeping. Meanwhile, his girlfriend is on the floor lying in a pool of blood.


• He does what he needs to do at the condo and turns to leave and notices blood on the carpet. He now realizes that McNair isn't asleep. (DUH)


• He immediately calls a friend - NOT 911. 45 minutes to an hour later, they call 911.


• Then the police come in and begin investigating and people start milling around wondering what is going on.


• the NPD question neighbors and no one heard a gunshot, shouting, screaming, etc. Nothing.


• McNair is shot in the right temple, left temple and twice in the chest. Kahzemi has a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound to her right temple.


• The case is ruled murder/suicide.

Now, Here is the WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE VERSION.

• I don't believe he took his sons fishing. I think that is a feeble attempt at a "feel good" story about McNair. Besides, wouldn't the sons mention his drunkeness to their mother? I'm just saying...


• Michelle McNair stated she hasn't heard from Steve in "days". She is currently living in their mansion in Green Hills. The sons (except for 1 I think) are underage. Wouldn't McNair need to call his kids or come by the house to get them? Wouldn't someone mention this to the Mom? I'm just sayin'.....


• His "Gridiron 9" restaurant was opened just a couple of weeks ago to the public. She still hasn't heard from Steve in days? The kids didn't go to the opening? hmmmmm.


• The friend that rented the condo comes by to check on things. Okay, then you discover that you're in the middle of a homicide setting. You call a friend? My personal opinion is you do if you need help cleaning up drug paraphenalia and other incriminating evidence. That should take about 45 minutes to an hour.


• You're the best friend of Steve McNair. You call 911 after an hour's delay and you don't know the address of where you are, although you own the property?


• McNair is shot in the left temple, then the right temple and twice in the chest. A twenty year old girl who is distraught is going to shoot her cheating boyfriend in that fashion? I don't think so. I could accept it if it were the shots in the chest OR a shot to the head. NOT execution style. Seems to me that this has the markings of a gang/mob murder.


• Seems to me that McNair was worth more dead than alive. Who could stand to gain from this? His "BFF?" business partners of the restaurant? who knows? Me thinks the cops are taking a "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" approach. Whether the restaurant is legit or a front for something else, it's going to be a goldmine. The target audience is true blue.


• Don't worry; the newscasters and the police have stated that we should remember the "good Steve McNair." And, people did just that.

Meanwhile, an impressionable, 20 year old girl got in over her head with a sports hero and was possibly caught in a crossfire. The embarrassment, shame and hurt his wife and family feel, the double life of a hyprocrite that has been discovered under the brightest of lights.

That is the legacy Steve McNair carries to the other side.

It's a damn shame.

The Definition Between Black and White becomes Muddled in Gray

Another untimely death...this time, one of my all-time favorite athletes, Steve McNair.

Steve McNair - 36 years old

I spent countless Sundays yelling at the top of my lungs for McNair and the Titans. He was amazing to watch, somewhat like watching a great dancer leaping midair and land gracefully to the amazement of the crowd. That is what he reminded me of.

He also reminded me that he was a great philanthropist. He made a point of hosting benefits for children and our community in Nashville.

He was the "go-to" guy; whether he was dispensing advice for new players or running a play to win the game in the final seconds of the game...

He seemed perfect in every way. His wife is beautiful, he has 4 sons who all seem to be very athletic and will most likely follow in his footsteps.

And, he had a girlfriend. This isn't the first time, I'm sure. The news of his death has been difficult for Nashville's citizens because of the perfect persona they know on the field and off.

In the movies, the good guys always wear white. The difference between black and white isn't hard to distinguish, he was a good guy. However, I can see where those closest to him could see the difference between black and white becoming a muddled gray.

Rest in Peace, Steve, #9.

More Musings Later-

Falls, Referrals and Boots, Oh My!

Can I say one thing I have observed in recent months?

HEALTHCARE SUCKS

Now, I didn't bitch when I got the vasculitis (Churg/Strauss Syndrome) although I wanted to! I won't post the pics of my breakout they are so disgusting...but, I am 46 and have been fairly healthy for the most part...no major surgeries and so forth. So, what the hey, I decided to grin and bear it. I kept thinking of my sister putting up with the same crap only much more so and now I was feeling some of her pain.

So, I still have a nasty rash on my legs and feet and I guess I've grown used to seeing it. I'm on my last antiobiotic (Praise Jesus) and I've weaned myself off of insulin and massive doses of steroids.

Can I say steroids SUCK? I was SO depressed while taking it in the hospital and at home. I remember when I watched a football game one evening, it was the NY Giants vs somebody that I can't remember at the moment and they lost. (I was rooting for NY). What did I do? I cried like a baby. Then when my Titans lost, I sobbed. Why???? STEROIDS. Don't take them, they suck.

Okay, then I am weaning myself off all this crap, right? Then on Sunday, I had been working and was seated with my laptop on my lap. I stood up and my Parkinson's got me. My balance was horrible and I could feel myself going down. Next thing I know, I feel something crack and my ass is on the floor. My knee is swollen and my foot was throbbing in pain. Oh, it's just a twisted ankle, I think to myself. I try to get back up and stand up on that leg....no, it isn't a twisted ankle, nor a sprain. I mean this HURT.

So, once again I go to the doctor who is trying to make an appointment with a Rhumatoid Arthritus doctor for my vasculitis. "Change in plans, doc...I hurt my foot really bad." So, I go to see a orthopedist today. I roll up my pants leg to show him my foot and he looks horrified. "Oh yeah, I have vasculitis." He puts on plastic gloves and looks like he is going to pass out examining my foot. He starts examining my foot, pressing here, pressing there....nothing too painful.

He goes to look at my x-ray. He comes back and takes his thumb and presses in the center of my foot below my 2nd toe. After he regained his hearing from the shriek of pain I bellowed, he remarks, "Did you take alot of steroid for your vasculitis?" I tell him yes.

"You know that steroids weaken your bones, right? That's probably what happened with your foot. By the way, your metatarcel bone is broken."

So, here I am hobbling out of the dr's office with a big honking foot brace. "See me in 2 weeks, it should heal on it's own," he reminds me.

Part of me is pissed and the other part thinks it's funny. I wish you could have seen the sheer horror on the dr's face when looking at my legs/feet.

I guess this long post brings me to this; I was trying to look on the bright side of all of this and it felt like it just kept coming at me. I was mad about it! But, I was brought up to make the best of things. Which I tried my best.

But tonight, I thought of a section of Roseanne Barr's book when she was detailing a similar situation. Here's the gist:

"I went to the store as a little kid and bought groceries for the family with money my mother gave me. I would walk to and from the store with 2 big bags...On my way out of the store, I saw an old lady that dropped some money and didn't realize it. I put my bags down and ran to get the money to give back to the old lady. I tripped when I ran through a pothole and fell.

It was then that I learned that God hates a kiss-ass."

More Musings Later-

A Two-Fold Musing

Okay. I look at the hits on this blog every so often and I see the numbers increase from month to month. Surely, someone is a regular reader? If you look to your right - you will see a widget that asks if you read this blog regularly and to be a "follower". See it? Please sign up...I'm feeling awfully lame with a big fat zero over there. Moving on.

Yes, I'm probably one of the only females that watches ESPN religiously (especially during football season). The other night, I was watching it at a restaurant (an event that has become rare lately) and I noticed that my beloved TITANS were listed as one of the talking points within 60 seconds. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things....WOW, I'm used to the sportscasters smirking about how bad our team is?

So, now we are getting some respect...but wait, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, they announce THE TITANS ARE THE ONLY TEAM IN THE NFL THAT IS UNDEFEATED. Yes, you read that correctly. The team that won the super bowl recently lost a game (Giants).

Our team is rock-solid thanks to our incredible defense

I'm stunned. Does this mean...? Could it be an indicator....? Are we Super Bowl bound?

I'll keep ya posted...

More Musings Later-

Where is Steve McNair When You Need Him?

After watching the pitiful Titan game on Friday night, I believe that phrase was on everyone's lips in sports bars across Tennessee.

Let me make myself clear...our defense is AWESOME. No problems there...we have some good people on offense....it's just that Vince Young ain't one of 'em. That's sad considering he's our quarterback. I saw him scramble and throw more than a couple of passes at freaking NO ONE.

What is going on here? This $56 MILLION dollar investment can't throw consistently to anyone? AND, if he gets a mosquito bite, he sidelines himself. He's the complete antithesis of Steve McNair. McNair played hurt ALL the time. Never griped, just played. If he wasn't on the field, he was in surgery. Period.

Coach Fisher even fired Norm Chow to get Mike Heimerdinger back to coach Vince. He was responsible for grooming McNair. See how his name keeps popping up? After hearing the thud of his thrown passes hit the ground with absolutely no one around it,

I listened to the after game interview to see what he had to say. ..."(sic) Well, ...How do you think it makes me feel?...People are always asking me over and over about it after the game..."

You're damn right I'm going to hound you about it. If you were in corporate America and made half the blunders you do on the field in an office, you would be FIRED by now. Poor Vince...he's a multi-millionaire....he can't throw a pass to anyone....he's got a boo-boo on his leg.... JEEZ MY KNEES! GET US A QUARTERBACK!

Anyone see the 3rd string quarterback play? He helped us WIN A GAME. What a concept.

Harumph!

More Musings Later-

Pacman is a PUNK

I'll be the first to tell you, I am a HUGE Tennessee Titan fan. I was in heaven last year when we benched our putrid QB and let Vince Young play.

Man, all was right with my football world...Henry Travis was playing great, week in and week out. Vince was well, FREAKLISHLY great. And, Pacman was finally starting to make big plays. That is, when he wasn't in jail or spitting in women's faces at nightclubs.

This guy has so much talent and he chooses, yes CHOOSES to throw it away. He makes too much money and is too priviledged.

Now, he has gone too far. He caused a bouncer in Las Vegas to be paralyzed below the waist. Now the NFL is saying to suspend him for a year.

SUSPEND HIM? Why in the hell would they suspend him? I say FIRE HIM AND FORBID HIM TO RE-ENTER THE NFL PERIOD!

Oh, and Pacman? I think they should take your $54 Million dollar package and give it to your victim in Vegas so that it will pay for his rehab and put his wife through school. That's the reason why he took that job in the first place, after all.

Albert Haynesworth gave the Titans their first black eye, and now you have blackened the other. Not to mention how the top brass treated McNair during his contract talks. I've learned one important thing in all of this: The NFL is a business. Just as calculating and nasty as Corporate America. God Help us All.

More Musings later-