The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Growing up in Nebraska and now residing near Columbus, Ohio, I've been around my fair share of homers. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a homer is basically an individual who regularly showcases blind loyalty to a particular team or organization, ignoring their flaws along the way. In Nebraska, there's really only one team in the state and that's the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Due to that, it seemed as though 95% of the state bled red and white (Nebraska's team colors) 365 days a year. While this significant level of homerism got aggravating after a while, I don't think it was nearly as annoying as the homerism I've witnessed here in central Ohio. I find that odd, for there are many more teams to root for in the state, such as the: Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Blue Jackets, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Browns, just to name a few. Yet, for 365 days a year, it seems as though 95% of Ohio bleeds scarlet ...

I was going to write about this earlier, but having read ESPN senior writer Ian O'Connor's recent article, it appears as if he took the words out of my mouth with regard to the Odell Beckham Jr. situation and I thought I'd share that. Having watched a good chunk of the Carolina Panthers/New York Giants game on Sunday, I was both befuddled and slightly irritated to hear so many sports analysts and columnists place the full blame on 2nd year Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for the, at times, ugly skirmishes during the Panthers' 38-35 victory. Granted, it appeared as if Beckham definitely lost his cool for a while, he was rightly flagged on three separate occasions, and deserved both a fine and a one-game suspension for his unruly and potentially dangerous behavior. Having said all that, though, let's not pretend Carolina Panthers' defensive backs Josh Norman and Cortland Finnegan were completely innocent here. Before the game even started, Norman allegedl...

Remember Sarah Palin? I know, I've been trying to forget her too, but every now and again she comes up with an unintentionally laugh-worthy quote which both makes me chuckle and thankful she was never Vice President. After ESPN suspended Curt Schilling for his racist and historically inaccurate anti-Muslim tweet, Palin posted the following message on her Facebook page: "ESPN IS A JOURNALISTIC EMBARRASSMENT ESPN - what happened to you? Your intolerant PC police are running amok and making a joke out of you! By picking and choosing who they'll tolerate and who they'll try to destroy, ESPN has zero credibility as a sound and reasonable media outlet. They suspended former major league great Curt Schilling because of his tweet: 'Only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How'd that go?' ESPN reacted about as fast as a Schilling pitch, wimpering, 'Curt's tweet was completely unacceptable, and in no way repres...

On Tuesday, ESPN commentator Bill Simmons had some rather harsh words for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, with regard to the Ray Rice press conference, on his podcast, B.S. Report . In his rant, Simmons said this: "It's such f**king bullsh*t. It really is, it's such f**king bullsh*t. For him to go on the press conference and pretend otherwise (that he didn't see the extended version of the tape and know what happened prior to the public), I was so insulted. We know you're lying... I really hope someone calls me or emails me and says I'm in trouble for anything I said about Roger Goodell because if one person says that to me, I'm going public. You leave me alone. The Commissioner is a liar and I get to say that on my podcast." As of last night, ESPN suspended Simmons for 3 weeks... Isn't that ironic? Initially, the NFL suspended Ray Rice for 2 games for domestic violence charges. Later reports showcased that it was quite likely that Roger Good...

While I've awarded a handful of people as Douche of the Day (no, not on the same day), I honestly hadn't given much thought to an award for Douche of the Year. I had read and heard so many ridiculous statements, they all kind of blended in with one another after a while - that is, until today. Earlier today, GOP Illinois Congressional candidate Ian Bayne decided to weigh in on the Phil Robertson- Duck Dynasty debate, when he said this: "In December 1955, Rosa Parks took a stand against an unjust societal persecution of black people, and in December 2013, Robertson took a stand against persecution of Christians. What Parks did was courageous. What Mr. Robertson did was courageous too." That's right, ladies and gentlemen - Ian Bayne actually compared Phil Robertson's recent actions with Rosa Parks' actions back in 1955 and beyond. While I have given George W. Bush and Rick Perry, in particular, a hard time for not coming across as the brightest crayons...

Ah, how I'm loving all of these Duck Dynasty  debates, centering around star Phil Robertson's controversial interview with GQ  magazine, where he made remarks which upset both the LGBT and African-American communities. He basically said that homosexuality is akin to bestiality, that gays are going to hell, and that blacks were happy being slaves. No, I'm not sure if this man's IQ is above 70 either. In any case, Duck Dynasty die-hards and hard-core evangelical conservatives have come together to stand up for Robertson's First Amendment rights! Free speech, they've been crying out time and time again! Others have said, "You see? This just goes to show you that the country is going down the tubes and the liberal media controls all!" I hate to burst their bubble, but they're wrong. This is not a free speech matter. If it was a free speech matter, the government would have punished Phil Robertson. They'd have come after him, and depending on how ...

Just yesterday, I wrote about United Methodist Church Reverend Frank Schaefer facing punishment for officiating at his son's gay wedding. Today, he found out what the punishment was going to be - a 30-day suspension and if he doesn't renounce his support for marriage equality at the end of the suspension, he will be defrocked. After hearing about his punishment, Schaefer said this: "[The Church] needs to stop judging people based on their sexual orientation. We have to stop the hate speech. We have to stop treating them as second-class Christians. [...] I will never be silent again, This is what I have to do. [...] I have to minister to those who hurt and that's what I'm doing." Schaefer even added that if any same-sex couple wants him to marry them over the next 30 days, he would do it. I applaud Reverend Schaefer for standing up to the church for his son and the LGBT community. As for the church, the only thing I have to ask is, "What would ...

There's rumor that Major League Baseball is threatening Alex Rodriguez with a lifetime ban from the league unless he agrees not to fight a suspension which would be handed to him and several other players in the latest drug scandal. If he doesn't fight the suspension, he would likely be suspended through the 2014 season. "Lifetime ban" is quite the headline, but it's not nearly as big of a deal as most people are making it. Alex Rodriguez is 38 years old. He hasn't played at all this year. He played a little over half the season in 2011. A-Rod has missed 24 or more games in every season since 2007. He's missed 297 games in the past 6 seasons combined - an average of 49.5 per. This isn't a guy who appears like he'll be playing for much longer. If he's suspended through 2014, he'll be 39 going on 40 heading into the 2015 season. The reason he might fight that very suspension is he only planned on playing one more season, so a one-year suspe...