I stumbled onto an internet forum (Ok, I was looking for validation of my opinion) on this subject and I see that I am in the distinct minority on this issue.
All I have to say is "Stay classy, Micah!"
Monday, January 26, 2009
100-0
Of course, this was the final score of a girls high school basketball game in Texas between Covenant and Dallas Academy where Covenant was the ill-mannered "winner" of the game.
The facts as reported are as follows. The score was 59-0 at the half. In the second half, Covenant was still shooting 3 pointers and at times employing a defensive press. An assistant coach was seen on the Covenant bench in a state of delerious rapture (it is a Christian school) and was very enthusiastically celebrating each score and urging his players to reach 100 points. Dallas Academy apparently is a school with students that have a "variety of learning problems" and I am not quite sure what that means but that is how it has been reported so take that for whatever you want.
Days after the game, Covenenant posts an apology to Dallas Academy on their website and requests that their coach, Micah Grimes also apologize. Mr. Grimes passes on this golden opportunity and refuses to apologize and instead, the following is what this rube thought was in his best interests to publish: "In response to the statement posted on the Covenant School website, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed. We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Well, thankfully, the school has seen that Mr. Grimes is in need of a vacation and decided to make it a permanent vacation at that as they have fired him.
I was listening to sports talk radio and while the hosts were divided on the propriety of the firing (I think they do this intentionally to spice up the show), the great majority of the callers were outraged at the firing asking "What is he supposed to do?", "Should he just let the other team score?"and "Whatever happened to the commitment to excellence?".
Oh brother! Where to start?
Look, this is what Mr. Grimes was supposed to do and as he did none of these things, this is why is out of a job.
1. The second and third stringers play the entire second half and good parts of the first.
2. Nobody takes a 3 point shot in the second half.
3. I don't know if there is a shot clock at this level but if so, the team is not going to shoot prior than 2 seconds before the shot clock expiration. If there is no shot clock, the team is going to work on it's passing for 45-60 seconds before any shot is taken.
4. The team is not going to employ a "press" defense when ahead 59-0 at the half.
5. The team is not going to just allow the opponent to score but will not employ any double team defense or do anything other than play straight man to man (ok, girl to girl) defense or better yet a zone.
6. The assistant coach will be told to sit down and shut up and afterwards there will be a frank discussion as to whether he/she is cut out for this job.
Just common sense really.
To all the callers to sports talk radio (yea, I realize that listening to this is not exactly the most intellectually stimulating pursuit in the world but still), I have sign for each of you to put on your back which says "Part of the problem".
For the coach, I think I would just give him the standard "Kick Me Hard" sign.
My 02.
The facts as reported are as follows. The score was 59-0 at the half. In the second half, Covenant was still shooting 3 pointers and at times employing a defensive press. An assistant coach was seen on the Covenant bench in a state of delerious rapture (it is a Christian school) and was very enthusiastically celebrating each score and urging his players to reach 100 points. Dallas Academy apparently is a school with students that have a "variety of learning problems" and I am not quite sure what that means but that is how it has been reported so take that for whatever you want.
Days after the game, Covenenant posts an apology to Dallas Academy on their website and requests that their coach, Micah Grimes also apologize. Mr. Grimes passes on this golden opportunity and refuses to apologize and instead, the following is what this rube thought was in his best interests to publish: "In response to the statement posted on the Covenant School website, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed. We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Well, thankfully, the school has seen that Mr. Grimes is in need of a vacation and decided to make it a permanent vacation at that as they have fired him.
I was listening to sports talk radio and while the hosts were divided on the propriety of the firing (I think they do this intentionally to spice up the show), the great majority of the callers were outraged at the firing asking "What is he supposed to do?", "Should he just let the other team score?"and "Whatever happened to the commitment to excellence?".
Oh brother! Where to start?
Look, this is what Mr. Grimes was supposed to do and as he did none of these things, this is why is out of a job.
1. The second and third stringers play the entire second half and good parts of the first.
2. Nobody takes a 3 point shot in the second half.
3. I don't know if there is a shot clock at this level but if so, the team is not going to shoot prior than 2 seconds before the shot clock expiration. If there is no shot clock, the team is going to work on it's passing for 45-60 seconds before any shot is taken.
4. The team is not going to employ a "press" defense when ahead 59-0 at the half.
5. The team is not going to just allow the opponent to score but will not employ any double team defense or do anything other than play straight man to man (ok, girl to girl) defense or better yet a zone.
6. The assistant coach will be told to sit down and shut up and afterwards there will be a frank discussion as to whether he/she is cut out for this job.
Just common sense really.
To all the callers to sports talk radio (yea, I realize that listening to this is not exactly the most intellectually stimulating pursuit in the world but still), I have sign for each of you to put on your back which says "Part of the problem".
For the coach, I think I would just give him the standard "Kick Me Hard" sign.
My 02.
Monday, January 19, 2009
McGahee injury
I am not much of a football fan and very rarely watch the sport on television and my football watching experience basically is attending 3 or 4 local college games a year with my oldest son who is quite a fan. Any football game that I watch in person is done with no interest in the outcome of the game as I really have no allegiance to any football team. This is kind of fun when a call may go against the home team and you can tell it was the correct call but at the same time you are sitting among thousands of people vociferously complaining and screaming about the call and also the "biased" officials who have some type of vendetta against the home team. It can be interesting to observe this though obviously I keep my mouth shut but may whisper into my son's ear that it was the correct call and he will usually knowingly nod.
Anyway, my son was watching the AFC Championship game on television between the Steelers and the Ravens. I was not watching though walked through the room just at the time of the McGahee/Clark incident so I saw it live and on the numerous replays. What bothers me about the play is that Clark made no (zero) attempt to tackle McGahee. He saw McGahee approaching and had a great angle and had him lined up and instead of trying to tackle him, he launched himself, with his hands at his sides, helmet first at McGahee and made contact, knocking him out.
Again, Clark made no attempt to tackle McGahee.
I am not "outraged" by it or anything as I know football is a brutal game but I am just struck by a safety who is usually the last line of defense making no attempt to tackle an opposing player on a big play in a big game and instead just looking to make a monster hit. In the end, from a football standpoint, it seems to be a low percentage play by Clark. Had he gone for a straight tackle, he probably has a 95% chance of bringing McGahee down. If he goes for the "human body missile launch", there probably is a pretty good chance that he either misses his target or that McGahee simply bounces off of him and stays on his feet and keeps going; maybe to the endzone.
There was no talk of this subject on the broadcast as the announcers were understandably focused on the apparent serious injury sustained by McGahee. I left the room just as McGahee was being carted off so if the announcers touched on this subject afterwards, I obviously missed it.
There is really no greater point and I am going to be terribly redundant here but I am struck by the fact that this was a big play in a big game and the defender made zero attempt to tackle the runner instead opting for a big hit.
If I happened to know a football coach, I guess I would ask him his opinion on the proper play for a defender in that situation though I think I know the answer.
Anyway, my son was watching the AFC Championship game on television between the Steelers and the Ravens. I was not watching though walked through the room just at the time of the McGahee/Clark incident so I saw it live and on the numerous replays. What bothers me about the play is that Clark made no (zero) attempt to tackle McGahee. He saw McGahee approaching and had a great angle and had him lined up and instead of trying to tackle him, he launched himself, with his hands at his sides, helmet first at McGahee and made contact, knocking him out.
Again, Clark made no attempt to tackle McGahee.
I am not "outraged" by it or anything as I know football is a brutal game but I am just struck by a safety who is usually the last line of defense making no attempt to tackle an opposing player on a big play in a big game and instead just looking to make a monster hit. In the end, from a football standpoint, it seems to be a low percentage play by Clark. Had he gone for a straight tackle, he probably has a 95% chance of bringing McGahee down. If he goes for the "human body missile launch", there probably is a pretty good chance that he either misses his target or that McGahee simply bounces off of him and stays on his feet and keeps going; maybe to the endzone.
There was no talk of this subject on the broadcast as the announcers were understandably focused on the apparent serious injury sustained by McGahee. I left the room just as McGahee was being carted off so if the announcers touched on this subject afterwards, I obviously missed it.
There is really no greater point and I am going to be terribly redundant here but I am struck by the fact that this was a big play in a big game and the defender made zero attempt to tackle the runner instead opting for a big hit.
If I happened to know a football coach, I guess I would ask him his opinion on the proper play for a defender in that situation though I think I know the answer.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Weight Watchers
There is a lady I know who has been in the Weight Watchers program for as long as I have known her which is around 5-6 years. During that time, I have not noticed a change in her size or diet but so be it.
She has a particularly bad habit of intentionally speaking very loudly during her very many personal telephone calls ensuring that anyone remotely within earshot will hear every word of her call which usually consists of some form of gossip. The calls are not really all that interesting though the gossip tends to be on the malicious side which can be good to listen to for a while.
The other day, she was on the phone with her husband and told him that she was so excited because she had just weighed herself and had lost (wait for it)...... 1/2 pound. At first, I thought I had heard her incorrectly but as I listened further, she was truly was seeking congratulations, attention whatever for losing..... 1/2 pound.
As the call wrapped up. I made sure to take a short walk so not to be in the area so to have to congratulate her on this unbelievable accomplishment. I mean it is possible that she weighed herself right after a bowel movement which would account for this dramatic weight loss and hardly a reason for a pat on the back.
Rather than tell her this, I walked.
Maybe I should have told her.
She has a particularly bad habit of intentionally speaking very loudly during her very many personal telephone calls ensuring that anyone remotely within earshot will hear every word of her call which usually consists of some form of gossip. The calls are not really all that interesting though the gossip tends to be on the malicious side which can be good to listen to for a while.
The other day, she was on the phone with her husband and told him that she was so excited because she had just weighed herself and had lost (wait for it)...... 1/2 pound. At first, I thought I had heard her incorrectly but as I listened further, she was truly was seeking congratulations, attention whatever for losing..... 1/2 pound.
As the call wrapped up. I made sure to take a short walk so not to be in the area so to have to congratulate her on this unbelievable accomplishment. I mean it is possible that she weighed herself right after a bowel movement which would account for this dramatic weight loss and hardly a reason for a pat on the back.
Rather than tell her this, I walked.
Maybe I should have told her.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Television Talk
This post was prompted by the fact that a new series of the television show, The Bachelor begins tomorrow.
I am not much of a television guy and counting on my fingers, I see that I watch three shows occasionally and one show regularly. These shows are as follows:
1. The Amazing Race - This is my older son's favorite show and he never misses it. Probably every other show, he asks me to watch it with him and I do. As most know, it is a combination scavenger hunt/road rally/race around the world. I find it mildy entertaining but would not watch it without my son.
(As an aside, some years ago, after a softball game, I was drinking a few sodas in the parking lot of the field with fellow players and my son who would have been five or six at the time. Suddenly, a car came racing into the lot and screeched to a stop right near us. Two ladies ran out and screamed "we are on a scavenger hunt/road rally and need a picture of a ballplayer" at which time I said "snap away". They took their picture, thanked the group and raced off. I told my young son, "Watch. There will be some more people who will pull in and do the same thing." Of course, that is exactly what happened though some of the road ralliers did not choose our group for the picture. My son asked "how did you know?" and I said "I just knew".)
2. Life of Ryan - For the unitiated, this is an MTV reality show which follows the life of teenage professional skateboarder, Ryan Sheckler. Both of my sons are enthusiastic skateboarders and this is the only show that they both like so I occasionally watch it with them so the three of us can watch a show together. I will get some disagreement because Sheckler is a "love him or hate him" figure in the world of skateboarding but the kid is likeable and the show is well done. That said, I would not watch it without my boys.
3. The Biggest Loser - As most know, this is a weight loss reality show. My younger son who is early in elementary school years, likes to watch the "challenges" where one team identified by a particular color faces off against another team with another color in a physical challenge. My son will choose a team at random ("I like the Blue team") amd root for them to win the challenge but unfortunately gets pretty upset if his chosen team loses. I told him that in these challenges, if his originally chosen team looks like they are going to lose, he can in mid-challenge begin rooting for the other team and so far this has been working for us. I must say that I like this show a bit less than the other above two shows but I must say that in the last series there was some pretty bad behavior by some pretty unlikeable people on the show and that was somewhat entertaining. Like the other two shows, I would not watch this show if it was "just me".
4. Hanging my head in shame, the one show that I watch regularly and never miss is The Bachelor. The show probably needs no introduction other than the Bachelor (or Bachelorette) is assigned a group of around 25 ladies who act as a modern day harem competing for his attention and the Bachelor (and no one else) decides which of these ladies are worth his time and gradually winnows down the group until the very dramatic final where he is to choose one for an engagement and then marriage.
I have never told anybody that I watch the show however my wife, who is not a fan of the show tells just about everybody she knows that I watch this show usually preceded by the phrase "You are not going to believe this but...". The response is usually something along the lines of "You have got to be kidding" or "No way" or "I don't think that Kevin would appreciate you spreading lies like this." Later I am inevitably confronted by these people and give them a condensed version of the following which are the reasons why I like this trainwreck of a show.
a. There is an incredible amount of "acting out" behavior by the ladies (and of course the men for the bachelorette) in their bid to catch the attention of the Bachelor so not to be ignored which is certain death and elimination. This acting out runs the gamut from biting through a soda can (it happened) to handing the Bachelor some recently worn panties. It is also a sure bet that at any pool or beach scene, someone will "flash" the Bachelor who looks on admiringly but sometimes acts shocked. While in some relationships, there is a degree of acting out or showing off, what goes on in the Bachelor just does not happen in real life.
b. There are seemingly two or three "freaks" planted by the show in every series who really must be seen to be believed. There was one girl in the "Lorenzo" series and I forget her name who wore a tiara and told the other girls that she did not usually speak with commoners but she would in this case speak to the other girls just for the show. This alone was Excellence in Television and I for one am glad I caught it. This also just does not happen in real life.
(As an aside, these freaky ladies always seem to survive elimination for at least half of the series. There is no way that the Bachelor could see them as an acceptable mate or member of his harem so I have to believe that the show's producers tell the Bachelor "Hey, the freaky one(s) do not have to win but we would appreciate it if you would keep them around for a while." Works for me as viewer but there is just no corollary for this in real life.)
c. I could go on and on but this is probably the biggest mind-bender of the show for me. As background, the Bachelor signs a contract with the show's producers which obligates him to eliminate a certain number of ladies a week until he is down to two for the final show. I have not seen the contract obviously but it is clear that he can show no distinct preference for the ladies as this would ruin the surprise of the show's ending and he certainly cannot express any feelings of love to the ladies except at the last few episodes when the Bachelor suddenly realizes that he is "in love" with two different ladies at the same time and expresses this to the camera but not to the ladies themselves. This inevitably leads to ridiculous conversations where a lady will say to the Bachelor that "This is very hard for me to say and I have wanted to say this for a while but I have very strong feelings for you and I am falling in love with you." Instead of saying either "I love too" or "Maybe we are going too fast here" which would be the normal response, because of the constraints of the show, the Bachelor usually says something along the lines of "Thanks. That makes me feel good." It is cringe-inducing and almost too weird to watch. Now, this stuff definitely does not happen in real life.
Again, I could go on and on with other bizarre stuff which draws me to this show but I will just leave it at that.
One final thing. On the opening episode when the 25 ladies meet the Bachelor, they seem very full of excited anticipation with many of them already planning their future with the Bachelor. I believe that there has been only one actual "completed" wedding out of the 15 or so Bachelor(ette) shows with the other 14 shows ending in relationship flame outs between the Bachelor and the "winner". On opening night, I wonder what the affect would be of a killjoy whispering into the ear of one of these ladies that "Hey, this has only a 1 in 375 chance of working". (But that would be real life so it would be kind of out of place).
So with the deepest shame, I boldly declare "Go Bachelor! Though I am confined and trapped in the real world, you are my hero!"
I am not much of a television guy and counting on my fingers, I see that I watch three shows occasionally and one show regularly. These shows are as follows:
1. The Amazing Race - This is my older son's favorite show and he never misses it. Probably every other show, he asks me to watch it with him and I do. As most know, it is a combination scavenger hunt/road rally/race around the world. I find it mildy entertaining but would not watch it without my son.
(As an aside, some years ago, after a softball game, I was drinking a few sodas in the parking lot of the field with fellow players and my son who would have been five or six at the time. Suddenly, a car came racing into the lot and screeched to a stop right near us. Two ladies ran out and screamed "we are on a scavenger hunt/road rally and need a picture of a ballplayer" at which time I said "snap away". They took their picture, thanked the group and raced off. I told my young son, "Watch. There will be some more people who will pull in and do the same thing." Of course, that is exactly what happened though some of the road ralliers did not choose our group for the picture. My son asked "how did you know?" and I said "I just knew".)
2. Life of Ryan - For the unitiated, this is an MTV reality show which follows the life of teenage professional skateboarder, Ryan Sheckler. Both of my sons are enthusiastic skateboarders and this is the only show that they both like so I occasionally watch it with them so the three of us can watch a show together. I will get some disagreement because Sheckler is a "love him or hate him" figure in the world of skateboarding but the kid is likeable and the show is well done. That said, I would not watch it without my boys.
3. The Biggest Loser - As most know, this is a weight loss reality show. My younger son who is early in elementary school years, likes to watch the "challenges" where one team identified by a particular color faces off against another team with another color in a physical challenge. My son will choose a team at random ("I like the Blue team") amd root for them to win the challenge but unfortunately gets pretty upset if his chosen team loses. I told him that in these challenges, if his originally chosen team looks like they are going to lose, he can in mid-challenge begin rooting for the other team and so far this has been working for us. I must say that I like this show a bit less than the other above two shows but I must say that in the last series there was some pretty bad behavior by some pretty unlikeable people on the show and that was somewhat entertaining. Like the other two shows, I would not watch this show if it was "just me".
4. Hanging my head in shame, the one show that I watch regularly and never miss is The Bachelor. The show probably needs no introduction other than the Bachelor (or Bachelorette) is assigned a group of around 25 ladies who act as a modern day harem competing for his attention and the Bachelor (and no one else) decides which of these ladies are worth his time and gradually winnows down the group until the very dramatic final where he is to choose one for an engagement and then marriage.
I have never told anybody that I watch the show however my wife, who is not a fan of the show tells just about everybody she knows that I watch this show usually preceded by the phrase "You are not going to believe this but...". The response is usually something along the lines of "You have got to be kidding" or "No way" or "I don't think that Kevin would appreciate you spreading lies like this." Later I am inevitably confronted by these people and give them a condensed version of the following which are the reasons why I like this trainwreck of a show.
a. There is an incredible amount of "acting out" behavior by the ladies (and of course the men for the bachelorette) in their bid to catch the attention of the Bachelor so not to be ignored which is certain death and elimination. This acting out runs the gamut from biting through a soda can (it happened) to handing the Bachelor some recently worn panties. It is also a sure bet that at any pool or beach scene, someone will "flash" the Bachelor who looks on admiringly but sometimes acts shocked. While in some relationships, there is a degree of acting out or showing off, what goes on in the Bachelor just does not happen in real life.
b. There are seemingly two or three "freaks" planted by the show in every series who really must be seen to be believed. There was one girl in the "Lorenzo" series and I forget her name who wore a tiara and told the other girls that she did not usually speak with commoners but she would in this case speak to the other girls just for the show. This alone was Excellence in Television and I for one am glad I caught it. This also just does not happen in real life.
(As an aside, these freaky ladies always seem to survive elimination for at least half of the series. There is no way that the Bachelor could see them as an acceptable mate or member of his harem so I have to believe that the show's producers tell the Bachelor "Hey, the freaky one(s) do not have to win but we would appreciate it if you would keep them around for a while." Works for me as viewer but there is just no corollary for this in real life.)
c. I could go on and on but this is probably the biggest mind-bender of the show for me. As background, the Bachelor signs a contract with the show's producers which obligates him to eliminate a certain number of ladies a week until he is down to two for the final show. I have not seen the contract obviously but it is clear that he can show no distinct preference for the ladies as this would ruin the surprise of the show's ending and he certainly cannot express any feelings of love to the ladies except at the last few episodes when the Bachelor suddenly realizes that he is "in love" with two different ladies at the same time and expresses this to the camera but not to the ladies themselves. This inevitably leads to ridiculous conversations where a lady will say to the Bachelor that "This is very hard for me to say and I have wanted to say this for a while but I have very strong feelings for you and I am falling in love with you." Instead of saying either "I love too" or "Maybe we are going too fast here" which would be the normal response, because of the constraints of the show, the Bachelor usually says something along the lines of "Thanks. That makes me feel good." It is cringe-inducing and almost too weird to watch. Now, this stuff definitely does not happen in real life.
Again, I could go on and on with other bizarre stuff which draws me to this show but I will just leave it at that.
One final thing. On the opening episode when the 25 ladies meet the Bachelor, they seem very full of excited anticipation with many of them already planning their future with the Bachelor. I believe that there has been only one actual "completed" wedding out of the 15 or so Bachelor(ette) shows with the other 14 shows ending in relationship flame outs between the Bachelor and the "winner". On opening night, I wonder what the affect would be of a killjoy whispering into the ear of one of these ladies that "Hey, this has only a 1 in 375 chance of working". (But that would be real life so it would be kind of out of place).
So with the deepest shame, I boldly declare "Go Bachelor! Though I am confined and trapped in the real world, you are my hero!"
Unimportant Observation
Not long ago, I took my two boys to an indoor water park and each time I go there, I have the same thought.
There sure are a "lotta" people with a "lotta" tattoos and excess "poundage".
Just sayin.
There sure are a "lotta" people with a "lotta" tattoos and excess "poundage".
Just sayin.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Stock Market Musings
I happened to be speaking with an acquaintance of mine about the stock market. The acquaintance can be best described as "Cranky Old Man". Cranky Old Man advised me that he recently had a meeting with his financial advisor and "read him the riot act" regarding losses he sustained in the stock market in 2008. He said that he advised his advsior to sell all of his stocks and mutual funds and to put everything into money market funds.
Now of course, any investment strategy takes into consideration one's goals with regards to the money at issue, age, timeframe for when you may need the money etc and diversification is important. Cranky Old Man is a bit older than I and is much closer to his "retirement" years than I am. "Retirement" is in quotes here because I do not get the sense that Cranky Old Man has saved much money over the years as he appears to be just scraping by so I do not know if retirement would ever be an option for him economically. Further, Cranky Old Man has some health issues which may prevent him from reaching retirement age.
Returning to the discussion with Cranky Old Man, I was a little unsure as to how to respond to him but decided to just "be straight" with him. I advised him very nicely that 99% of investors lost money in the market last year as we are obviously in a down market and it is unlikely that any financial advisor could have foreseen this and then crafted a portfolio to somehow avoid a loss in 2008. I told him that by selling at this time, it appeared that he had just turned a paper loss into an actual loss; in effect "booking" his losses. By doing this, he essentially bought high and sold low and to an extreme degree. Had he maybe thought about hanging in there with his investments, he would have experienced the stock market rallies (and perhaps some very big ones) that will be part of the inevitable economic recovery. To sell everything at this point is to really to bet on an upcoming depression which does not appear anywhere on the horizon.
Cranky Old Man did not appear to be expecting this response as he apparently was anticipating that I would agree with him that this was all the fault of his economic advisor. He responded in a quite condescending tone that "There is no way that the market will go up and it will keep going down and everybody knows this."
I offered my opinion that it is possible that the market has already bottomed out or will do so very soon such that the economic recovery and the stock market rallies could soon be at hand. I then said "It is not like the market will fall to zero." He looked at me like I was crazy and responded with a very exasperated "You don't think so?!" and walked away shaking his head as if he just got done talking to a crazy man.
On second thought, maybe he should not be in the market after all.
Now of course, any investment strategy takes into consideration one's goals with regards to the money at issue, age, timeframe for when you may need the money etc and diversification is important. Cranky Old Man is a bit older than I and is much closer to his "retirement" years than I am. "Retirement" is in quotes here because I do not get the sense that Cranky Old Man has saved much money over the years as he appears to be just scraping by so I do not know if retirement would ever be an option for him economically. Further, Cranky Old Man has some health issues which may prevent him from reaching retirement age.
Returning to the discussion with Cranky Old Man, I was a little unsure as to how to respond to him but decided to just "be straight" with him. I advised him very nicely that 99% of investors lost money in the market last year as we are obviously in a down market and it is unlikely that any financial advisor could have foreseen this and then crafted a portfolio to somehow avoid a loss in 2008. I told him that by selling at this time, it appeared that he had just turned a paper loss into an actual loss; in effect "booking" his losses. By doing this, he essentially bought high and sold low and to an extreme degree. Had he maybe thought about hanging in there with his investments, he would have experienced the stock market rallies (and perhaps some very big ones) that will be part of the inevitable economic recovery. To sell everything at this point is to really to bet on an upcoming depression which does not appear anywhere on the horizon.
Cranky Old Man did not appear to be expecting this response as he apparently was anticipating that I would agree with him that this was all the fault of his economic advisor. He responded in a quite condescending tone that "There is no way that the market will go up and it will keep going down and everybody knows this."
I offered my opinion that it is possible that the market has already bottomed out or will do so very soon such that the economic recovery and the stock market rallies could soon be at hand. I then said "It is not like the market will fall to zero." He looked at me like I was crazy and responded with a very exasperated "You don't think so?!" and walked away shaking his head as if he just got done talking to a crazy man.
On second thought, maybe he should not be in the market after all.
Baseball salary cap howlings
In light of the recent Yankee signings of Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A. J. Burnett, I see we are now hearing the annual howlings from Yankee haters that Major League Baseball needs a salary cap to prevent the Yankees from buying a championship. I neither like nor dislike the Yankees as my team is the Tigers who do not really have a strong rivalry with the Yankees. That said, the Yankees have not won the World Series since 2000 and I believe they have had the largest payroll annually of any team since then. They did not make the playoffs last year despite having, by far, the highest payroll in the league. Why do we need a salary cap to prevent the Yankees from buying a championship when they have not been able to "purchase" one in 8 years? I can kind of understand many fans' hatred of the Yankees but this one is not that hard to think through. They are not exactly a juggernaut under the current system.
The Tigers had, I believe, the second highest payroll in baseball last year and finished in last place in the A.L. Central behind even the mighty Royals. Those bloated contracts which have now carried over will likely prevent the Tigers from rebuilding "on the fly" or contending next year. A salary cap actually would have helped the Tigers last year.
The Rays made it to the World Series last year. What was their payroll? And just how was it possible for them to contend in this unfair, egalitarian league that does not have a salary cap?
Take a look at the Yankee outfield as presently constituted and then seriously tell me that the league needs a salary cap to control this dynasty in the making.
The NFL has a salary cap designed to produce league parity and they produced an 0-16 team this year. Hmmmmmm.
My .02
The Tigers had, I believe, the second highest payroll in baseball last year and finished in last place in the A.L. Central behind even the mighty Royals. Those bloated contracts which have now carried over will likely prevent the Tigers from rebuilding "on the fly" or contending next year. A salary cap actually would have helped the Tigers last year.
The Rays made it to the World Series last year. What was their payroll? And just how was it possible for them to contend in this unfair, egalitarian league that does not have a salary cap?
Take a look at the Yankee outfield as presently constituted and then seriously tell me that the league needs a salary cap to control this dynasty in the making.
The NFL has a salary cap designed to produce league parity and they produced an 0-16 team this year. Hmmmmmm.
My .02
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Prelude
What is a contrarian?
One dictionary definition is "a person who typically acts or thinks in a way contrary to popular or accepted opinion."
By that measure, am I a contrarian?
Very much so; though of course not always. By labeling myself in this manner, does this mean that I am generally unhappy with the "state of things" or just an angry curmudgeon? Not at all and some of my opinions are in line with accepted societal norms but almost instinctively, I do seem to develop and hold many "contrary" views and further I do not have many "sacred cows". Because these thoughts are usually instinctive on my part, there may be no better description of me than a "core contrarian".
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Probably neither but I am what I am.
My interests as noted above right are probably much too diverse and perhaps a bit too frivolous to attract any following or readership but that is accepted. This is the contrarian's way.
One dictionary definition is "a person who typically acts or thinks in a way contrary to popular or accepted opinion."
By that measure, am I a contrarian?
Very much so; though of course not always. By labeling myself in this manner, does this mean that I am generally unhappy with the "state of things" or just an angry curmudgeon? Not at all and some of my opinions are in line with accepted societal norms but almost instinctively, I do seem to develop and hold many "contrary" views and further I do not have many "sacred cows". Because these thoughts are usually instinctive on my part, there may be no better description of me than a "core contrarian".
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Probably neither but I am what I am.
My interests as noted above right are probably much too diverse and perhaps a bit too frivolous to attract any following or readership but that is accepted. This is the contrarian's way.
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