Florida Marlins have suspended Manager Ozzie Guillen for 5 games due to comments regarding his affection toward Cuba's dictator, Fidel Castro. The often blunt and candid manager has been known to stir the pot, occasionally overstating his opinion... and he wasted no time doing so with his new squad. In a recent interview for Time Magazine, Guillen made the following remark: “I love Fidel Castro…I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that (expletive) is still here." This comment may have flown under the radar in many places... but not Miami. Miami is a haven for the very outspoken Cuban-American community, many of whom endured dire and life-threatening conditions in order to escape the Cuban dictatorship. As Cuban-American sports-writer Dan Le Batard puts it: "For Cuban-Americans, Fidel Castro our Hitler." For those few who are unfamiliar, Fidel Castro has been leader of Cuba since overthrowing the government in 1959. During his reign, he has established a communist dictatorship aligned with Marxist-Leninist tenets, nationalizing all industry, attempting to form a self-sustaining economy. Those who actively oppose Castro's rule are eliminated, as Castro's party is attributed with more than 30,000 genocidal murders during his dominion. The number of Cubans who have fled to Florida during this, often by unsafe watercraft, is in the hundreds of thousands.
Now before anybody rhetorically asks "What about the First Amendment?" Please keep in mind, the First Amendment prohibits the making of any law abridging the freedom of speech, but does not guarantee any protection from the consequences of using free speech. As I like to put it...your speech is protected from prosecution, but not persecution.
Good thing Ozzie Guillen is not actually in Cuba, where his comments would have likely led to his own government sponsored assassination. -Kevin Aherne "We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways" -Gregg Williams The National Football League has upheld all of the suspensions relating to the New Orleans Saints' use of a bounty system that financially rewarded players for inflicting injury on their opponents. The league handed out partial year suspensions to the Saints' GM and Assistant Coach, Head Coach Sean Payton for the entire year, and Former DC Gregg Williams has been banned indefinitely. "Indefinitely" likely will mean "a long time," as audio of Gregg Williams' speech to his defense, giving direct orders to inflict specific injuries on certain players. The transcript was damning... and this was just one game, the Saint's most recent one, a 2012 Playoff loss to the Niners. This speech references the game's potential targets as Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Kendall Hunter. "Every single one of you, before you get off the pile, affect the head. Early, affect the head. Continue, tough and hit the head." -Gregg Williams
I don't expect to see Gregg Williams trolling an NFL sideline any time soon. "He becomes human when we (expletive) take out his outside ACL" -Gregg Williams -Kevin Aherne
Psycho Sports
Live Wednesday at 9PM (Replays Daily at 10PM on BOB Prime) Often amongst the baseball fan community, talk show circuits and bar stool bashers, bold outlandish claims are made. Every now and then one of those claims becomes the hot topic issue. Usually in these cases as in this one there is one unsubtle piece of evidence that at least temporaraly allows for a soap box justification. "He's all done!" is what pessimists across the nation shout from their high horses. "He's too old" bellows from the alleged experts throats. Yes, Mariano Rivera is 42. He did indeed blow a save in his first attempt of the year. IT WAS ONE GAME!!! In 2011 the same baseball geniuses played the same song. Most questioned the Yankee organization as they do now for not having a contingency plan for when the old man broke down. Let me remind this group of mouth breathing crackerjacks that all Rivera did last season was save 44 games with an impressive 1.91 ERA. Rivera has saved 121 games in the last 3 seasons alone. To put it simply it is simply unsophisticated, unintelligent, and darn right ignorant to believe that this man is incapable of performing at high level. Let me hop on my soap box to proclaim aloud that Rivera saves 30 plus 2012. History, intelligence, and simple baseball knowledge makes my previous statement soft and safe. The very people who inspired this article will disagree, but then again if they had used the factual information available they would be forced into silence. I am not planning on winning any friends with this article, but the truth must be written. The grass is green, the birds are chirping, the trees are budding, and baseball is in the air. While the focused attention is on Big-Ticket teams like the Sox and Yankees or superstars like Pujols, Verlander and Cody Ross, we tend to overlook another great source for America's pastime: Minor League Baseball. Major League Baseball features the best, the strongest, and most disciplined hitters and pitchers in the world. However, MLB stars like Jeter, Ellsbury and Braun all came from much more humble roots... The minors.
Plus, there is a good chance you will see these same guys in the Big Leagues very soon.
Play Ball! -Kevin Aherne Finally, the wait is over. The one true sign that the winter has gone, and brighter, more pleasant days are upon us. Baseball is officially in full swing. The chaotic Japanese trip has come and gone, the rosters have been trimmed, grass cut and mounds groomed. Opening day truly excites me in the manner a young boy is enamored with his new toy on Christmas morning. The smells, the sights, the constant chess match played between the arms and the bats. There is drama or saga equal to a good ball game. It's an obsession like no other. A true fan will watch a game anytime anywere. It has finally returned. -Pal |
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