efore Super Bowl XXXVI. And that former Pats video assistant Matt Walsh had the tape. He gave credibility to the mother of all Spygate rumors. Turned out Tomase was a little off. As in totally wrong. The Herald apologized. Tomase apologized. Looks like Tomase keeps his job and will continue to appear on "Sports Tonight" during the football season (I give it a day till Barstool asks for a boycott on the show). That's fine. And give him credit for taking questions from Felger and Grande about the issue and being honest about it. But he had one quote that seemed very familiar. "We're moving on," Tomase said after saying he screwed up, he's sorry, he'll do better. "We're moving on." Isn't that what Bill Belichick said after the team was caught and punished for the illegal taping? "We're moving on." Yup. That's what he said. And what did guys like Tomase and Felger say about that? Mostly that Belichick was evasive and arrogant and that he owed it to the public to say more than that. I was always fine with Belichick's "we're moving on" attitude. I wonder if Tomase would agree with me now.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Where have I heard that before?
John Tomase finally resurfaced today with an appearance on "Sports Tonight" on Comcast SportsNet. Tomase of course is the Patriots beat reporter for the Herald who wrote that, according to an unnamed source, the team had videotaped the walk-through practice of the St. Louis Rams b
efore Super Bowl XXXVI. And that former Pats video assistant Matt Walsh had the tape. He gave credibility to the mother of all Spygate rumors. Turned out Tomase was a little off. As in totally wrong. The Herald apologized. Tomase apologized. Looks like Tomase keeps his job and will continue to appear on "Sports Tonight" during the football season (I give it a day till Barstool asks for a boycott on the show). That's fine. And give him credit for taking questions from Felger and Grande about the issue and being honest about it. But he had one quote that seemed very familiar. "We're moving on," Tomase said after saying he screwed up, he's sorry, he'll do better. "We're moving on." Isn't that what Bill Belichick said after the team was caught and punished for the illegal taping? "We're moving on." Yup. That's what he said. And what did guys like Tomase and Felger say about that? Mostly that Belichick was evasive and arrogant and that he owed it to the public to say more than that. I was always fine with Belichick's "we're moving on" attitude. I wonder if Tomase would agree with me now.
efore Super Bowl XXXVI. And that former Pats video assistant Matt Walsh had the tape. He gave credibility to the mother of all Spygate rumors. Turned out Tomase was a little off. As in totally wrong. The Herald apologized. Tomase apologized. Looks like Tomase keeps his job and will continue to appear on "Sports Tonight" during the football season (I give it a day till Barstool asks for a boycott on the show). That's fine. And give him credit for taking questions from Felger and Grande about the issue and being honest about it. But he had one quote that seemed very familiar. "We're moving on," Tomase said after saying he screwed up, he's sorry, he'll do better. "We're moving on." Isn't that what Bill Belichick said after the team was caught and punished for the illegal taping? "We're moving on." Yup. That's what he said. And what did guys like Tomase and Felger say about that? Mostly that Belichick was evasive and arrogant and that he owed it to the public to say more than that. I was always fine with Belichick's "we're moving on" attitude. I wonder if Tomase would agree with me now.
I will go to Iraq
So Barack Obama will visit Iraq this summer. Which means the clock is ticking on how much longer I get to enjoy my daily check on the Republican National Committee's "Days Since Obama Visited Iraq" counter on its website. By the way, it's 904 days, 21 hours, 24 minutes, and 13 seconds as I write. I'm sure going to miss that. The GOP and McCain campaign have put Obama's lack of time in the Green Zone right up there in importance with wearing a flag pin. And like the flag pin, Obama has finally relented. Again. But unlike his new lapel apparel, his going to Iraq will actually mean something. But what? McCain says that when Obama gets to the Gr
een Zone he will see that things are much improved from his last visit. McCain has been to Iraq several times over the past few years as the champion of the surge so he is certainly an expert on how well the war is going. In fact his visits have made his outlook on the situation so bright that he expects the country's military involvement there to end in a brief 100 years. And what of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld? The three of them combined for many visits to the war zone. And what did they learn? Apparently not that the mission was not accomplished or that Iraq was splitting apart or even that our Allies were growing weary of the arrangement and preparing to leave. No. Their trips did not seem to be very enlightening. It's a good idea for Obama to visit Iraq although it's hard not to expect it to come across as more a PR stunt than anything else. (Thanks Fox). But it's not going to make him any wiser about how to solve the mess the current adminstration has created or make him more respected on the world stage. Obama, or McCain, will have to base the decisions on how to end the war in Iraq on good judgment, intelligence, instincts, and a desire to do what's best for a fragile world. And if he does that then he will be way ahead of the man who made the decision to start the war.
een Zone he will see that things are much improved from his last visit. McCain has been to Iraq several times over the past few years as the champion of the surge so he is certainly an expert on how well the war is going. In fact his visits have made his outlook on the situation so bright that he expects the country's military involvement there to end in a brief 100 years. And what of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld? The three of them combined for many visits to the war zone. And what did they learn? Apparently not that the mission was not accomplished or that Iraq was splitting apart or even that our Allies were growing weary of the arrangement and preparing to leave. No. Their trips did not seem to be very enlightening. It's a good idea for Obama to visit Iraq although it's hard not to expect it to come across as more a PR stunt than anything else. (Thanks Fox). But it's not going to make him any wiser about how to solve the mess the current adminstration has created or make him more respected on the world stage. Obama, or McCain, will have to base the decisions on how to end the war in Iraq on good judgment, intelligence, instincts, and a desire to do what's best for a fragile world. And if he does that then he will be way ahead of the man who made the decision to start the war.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Rules of the road
Marshawn Lynch finally admitted that he was indeed driving his car when it struck a woman a few weeks ago. The running back of the Buffalo Bills had been reportedly saying that he was not driving the car even though people in the area had said "Ya. It was Marshawn. I saw him driving." His damaged car was parked in his driveway and he didn't cooperate with police for a few days. But finally he fessed up. His penalty for hitting a woman with his car? A $100 fine and $50 surcharge. $150 for hitting a woman and then leaving the scene of an accident. Oh, and his license has been revoked for a while although his lawyer calls that "a little harsh." Only for an athlete would you see that small a penalty. This reminds me of a string of bad luck behind the wheel that I had last year. One Friday night I was c
oming home after a double-shift at the newspaper and was going 80 in a 65-mph zone with no other cars to be seen. Except for the State Trooper off to the side of the road. He was not interested that I was less than a mile from my exit and was just hurrying to use the bathroom. $150 ticket. That came a few months after a computer problem in my car wouldn't let the check engine light shut off and wouldn't let my car pass inspection. Three $50 expired inspection tickets in about two months. Those came a few months after an accident that involved the car in front of me coming to a complete stop as we merged from Rte. 24 to 95 and me slamming on my brakes but not fast enough to prevent my car from hitting the car that had stopped. Stopped in the left-hand lane on Rte. 24 because the driver was afraid to merge. No ticket. But bad luck. That was five "surchargeable" violations in a year. I had to take a driver attitudinal adjustment course which cost me another $200 and eight hours on a Saturday. And after forgetting to pay one of the inspection tickets my license was suspended. Only I didn't know it so when I was stopped by UMass police for a broken headlight they informed me that my license had been suspended and that they had to tow my car. Of course they could have arrested me so I have to thank them for not doing that. I had to stay at the campus hotel ($85) and then had to go to the RMV the next morning to pay my fines and get my license reinstated. $350. And then I had to get my car out of the tow lot. $200. Overnight storage charge you know. So for having an expired inspection sticker, getting a speeding ticket, and hitting a car stopped on the highway where it shouldn't have stopped I had to pay more than $1,100 (not counting the insurance surcharges). Lynch hit a woman and had to pay $150. And the thing that makes me really annoyed is that Lynch isn't even that good a running back.
oming home after a double-shift at the newspaper and was going 80 in a 65-mph zone with no other cars to be seen. Except for the State Trooper off to the side of the road. He was not interested that I was less than a mile from my exit and was just hurrying to use the bathroom. $150 ticket. That came a few months after a computer problem in my car wouldn't let the check engine light shut off and wouldn't let my car pass inspection. Three $50 expired inspection tickets in about two months. Those came a few months after an accident that involved the car in front of me coming to a complete stop as we merged from Rte. 24 to 95 and me slamming on my brakes but not fast enough to prevent my car from hitting the car that had stopped. Stopped in the left-hand lane on Rte. 24 because the driver was afraid to merge. No ticket. But bad luck. That was five "surchargeable" violations in a year. I had to take a driver attitudinal adjustment course which cost me another $200 and eight hours on a Saturday. And after forgetting to pay one of the inspection tickets my license was suspended. Only I didn't know it so when I was stopped by UMass police for a broken headlight they informed me that my license had been suspended and that they had to tow my car. Of course they could have arrested me so I have to thank them for not doing that. I had to stay at the campus hotel ($85) and then had to go to the RMV the next morning to pay my fines and get my license reinstated. $350. And then I had to get my car out of the tow lot. $200. Overnight storage charge you know. So for having an expired inspection sticker, getting a speeding ticket, and hitting a car stopped on the highway where it shouldn't have stopped I had to pay more than $1,100 (not counting the insurance surcharges). Lynch hit a woman and had to pay $150. And the thing that makes me really annoyed is that Lynch isn't even that good a running back.
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