Karma Catching Up?

In the United States, we have a habit of propping up sports figures, allowing that admiration to continue off the field. Sports figures like Phil Simms, Kurt Warner, Brandon Jacobs (despite the helmet incident) and Albert Pujols deserve this admiration, others do not.

As a lifelong Giants fan, one such sports figure that does not deserve this admiration is Tiki Barber. I do not argue his contribution to the Giants and he had a pretty darn good run. (pardon the pun)



When he retired, it seemed like he was on top of the world, had a beautiful family, the admiration of Giants' nation and a budding broadcasting career. It would all turn south very, very fast.

The season after he retired, he began to openly criticize the Giants organization (who gave him his chance in the NFL) and Giants coach Tom Coughlin, claiming his style of coaching forced him to retire,(boo-hoo) and Eli Manning. It continued outside his status as a broadcaster as he used his book tour as a forum to get Coughlin fired, in a year where the Giants were forcing him play out his last year of his contract before making a determination. Classless, disgusting behavior. Do we remember what happened that year?





That's right folks, the GIANTS WON SUPER BOWL 42...WITHOUT TIKI BARBER. Karma was starting to bite back. The Giants were running high, Coughlin was renewed (and refused an interview with Barber...good for him!), Eli eventually was awarded a sweet contract extension and Tiki Barber had no ring!

He continued at NBC on the Today Show and as a contributor to NBC Sports, despite his alleged use of the c-word. Giants fans, for the most part, stopped paying attention to him, but any remaining respect he had went away when it came out that he cheated on his pregnant wife, who he eventually divorced after 11 years of marriage. He was eventually let go from NBC.

Some believe that his broadcasting career didn't live up to the hype, and while I believe it's a possibility, I do believe his on and off air conduct contributed, as everything he has said and done caught up to him; and that is unfortunate as he squandered away his promise and potential. Any hopes he had of getting his Giants jersey number retired or making the Hall is now clearly gone. As Giants fans, we are loyal to the players who give of themselves to the team and because it is such a long and storied organization, these players continue with their loyalties to the Giants after their playing time, whether Phil Simms's act of not participating, as a broadcaster, in the Giants' media pile-ons, Lawrence Taylor crediting the Giants organization with supporting him through troubled times or Frank Gifford's close relationship with the Giants' organization well after his playing career. It is very sad that Tiki Barber squandered that relationship.

Barber is trying to rebound, but if he is to make a true rebound, let's hope he apologizes publicly to those he wronged when he was on top of the world. Realizing who he wronged and taking responsibility toward it would be a step in the right direction.

Is Christine O'Donnell the new Sarah Palin?

The first time I heard this, I thought of the above classic sitcom. In terms of this criticism, what a joke! When this news first came of light, many of my friends who are supporting O'Donnell texted me and called me tell me they were worried. I assured them that it will soon come out the accusation was a fraud. And I was proven correct.

First, let's recall who dropped this video: Bill Maher, a comedian who thinks he's a pundit, (but really possesses the on-air characteristics of a 2nd rate game show host) who has one failed show and another show that is only seen by viewers if they subscribe to HBO. Since Bill Maher is going to continue to blackmail Christine O'Donnell and drop out-of-context clips with the intent of damaging her campaign and gaining attention to his fledgling show, let's be reminded why "PI" is off the air:



Seriously, who cares about who Christine O'Donnell dated in high school. I think many of us would look back on who we dated in high school and college and say, "what were we thinking!" I care about how she will vote in the Senate, as I hope the Delaware voters do. When push comes to shove, I'd rather have someone in the Senate who was mature enough to take an introspective analysis of herself and embrace God to bring about a change her life, rather than someone who was a Klansman (and used the N-word in public), plagiarist, cheater, liar (under oath), committed Marxist (who is a tax-hiker), or someone who embraced Anti-American racists and terrorists. Frankly, I think the latter mentions and the fact that many overlook them, are more offensive than anything the media may throw at Christine O'Donnell.

We saw this treatment of Christine O'Donnell reminiscent of what Sarah Palin went through in 2008 during the presidential campaign. It may lead many to ask if the media is sexist as a result of their target of conservative women. Additionally, it may backfire on the left and give O'Donnell the opportunity to gain support.

Like Sarah Palin, Christine O'Donnell is part of the growing group Gen-Xers who, as I have previously mentioned, have the potential to lead our generation to not only become the 9-11 Generation, but lead the country, restore government's adherence to the Constitution and embrace our American Exceptionalism.

The Better New York Coach in the NFL?

With the end of the summer comes the NFL season and leading up to this season during the summer, the New York area has been quite the focus. First, both the GIANTS and the Jets, open their co-owned stadium, New Meadowlands Stadium, replacing Giants Stadium, which is now a part of the parking lot (An aside, I will very much miss Giants Stadium. Below is a pic of New Meadowlands Stadium from a hardhat tour I took in February). Second, the Jets have high expectations this season and have been the focus of the media between Hard Knocks, their free agency acquisitions and Rex Ryan's f-bomb laden training camp speeches. The Giants, on the other hand, with their late season collapse, were not as talked about (and are kind of the forgotten child in the NFC East so far) and did not have as high expectations, even though they've had some free agency acquisitions like Antrel Rolle and rookies like Victor Cruz.



Two articles caught my eye this week. The first in the Star-Ledger, compares the leadership styles of Rex Ryan and Tom Coughlin (GIANTS head coach), their styles, results of their styles and who is considered the better coach. Rex Ryan may be dominating the press for now, but Tom Coughlin led the Giants to winning the Lombardi Trophy. The second article is a bit of a hit piece, but still asks some valid questions about where the Jets may be heading after their flat performance on Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens, as well as reaction and ramifications to the Ines Sainz incident.

Both are worth a read and it is only the 1st week of the season, so it remains to be seen how the GIANTS and JETS will do. In my opinion, I believe that both these coaches, while having radically different styles, are strong leaders, (I have always been a fan of Tom Coughlin and was happy the Jets hired Rex Ryan) but we do need to see Ryan win a few. Coughlin is also under the gun after last season's collapse, along with the fact that Cowher may want to get back to coaching. I hope for good things for both teams and think the GIANTS have a good chance at surprising many this season.

Dirty Campaigning in South Jersey

In New Jersey this election cycle, we have a few exciting Congressional campaigns. One such is Jon Runyan, the former Philadelphia Eagle (booo....GIANTS all the way. Sorry Jon, you rock, but not the Eagles.) who is running against freshman Congressman John Adler. The news that broke today in the 3rd was rather disturbing. Apparently, Jon Runyan's daughter and wife found a supporter of John Adler nosing around in Runyan's trees and bushes, around his house with a camera, looking for dirt and at the same time, scaring the bejesus out of Runyan's 8 year old daughter. A former Houston police officer, Runyan's wife handled the situation well, as she called authorities and followed the man back to Adler Headquarters. The campaign was caught red-handed and the moron in question, Fred Sampson, a 64 year old volunteer who is also a Social Worker when he isn't trespassing and fishing for dirt, was charged.

Adler has been criticized for his conduct in the campaign and seeing this play out in a state that knows dirty politics (remember Florio's and the Torricelli-Zimmer campaign in 1996), I am not surprised he would stoop to this level. John Adler, after his first term in Congress wants to stay in power and all 6'9" of Jon Runyan stands in his way. Knowing he cannot clearly articulate his position, Adler resorts to dirty tricks, in this case, sending a volunteer out on a fishing expedition that also involves breaking the law. Adler is showing voters of the 3rd that he will stop at nothing to hold the seat. Do we really want a leader who sends his minions to terrorize a family who has made every attempt to keep their privacy? I already believe Adler is likely to lose, but this incident cements it.

This incident also looks to the bigger issue of why many decide against public service. While those who wish to serve may have good intentions, their names may be dragged through the mud because they are opposing an incumbent, are considered a threat or are attempting to change the status quo of the "Ruling Class." These attacks may disrupt their lives and may hurt their families. We all know this well as we have witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Sarah Palin during the 2008 campaign. (And she is not one bit intimidated by these attacks!) We are now seeing the attacks and dirty tricks in New Jersey in the run up to the Midterm election, and with less than 50 days, I believe it will get crazier, so be prepared for a bumpy road.

Standing Behind Principles

Watching this election cycle has been rather interesting as it is turning out to have a rather unconventional outcome in the primaries. Tonight, the unconventional nature of this Election cycle was raised tenfold with the Primary Victory of Christine O'Donnell in the Republican Primary against Congressman (and perceived RINO) Mike Castle. Serving in Congress and being a former Delaware Governor, Castle was seen as a shoe-in. Even though, his campaign mercilessly attacked O'Donnell. Maybe they saw her as a threat, maybe they had contempt for her and her supporters (as the 'these people'comments make some believe) Other more conservative outlets, such as the Weekly Standard, did not support Christine O'Donnell, claiming she has baggage and is unelectable. With her win tonight, even Karl Rove is questionable about her viability. Other sore losers from Mike Castle to the NRSC, until this morning, are standing against Christine O'Donnell. I come from the school of you rally around the winner, which the ruling class of the Republican party so often tells the Conservatives. The 'establishment' didn't do that in 2001 when Bret Schundler won the NJ Gubernatorial nomination, so this behavior doesn't surprise me. I don't disagree that it is an uphill climb, just as the Chris Christie victory in New Jersey was, just as the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts was, but I don't accept the premise that she is unelectable.

The big question we see before us in many Republican Primaries this election season is the following: Do we support the "establishment" candidate, who may not agree with us, because they can more easily win, or do we support the candidate who aligns with our views, despite the difficulty of winning? Every time, I have to go with principles. My principles are important to me, whether in politics, personal life or in business. At all costs, principles must be upheld and if I do otherwise, I would compromise my own beliefs and doubt that I could live with myself. (Some of you may claim a double standard as I supported the "establishment" candidate in the GOP NJ-CD6 Primary, but I believed Diane Gooch to be the more conservative candidate, and now that the nominee has been determined, I support Anna Little in the election, but I digress) Politicians or no politicians, I respect people who stand by their principles and think they show strong qualities of leadership. With those who do not, this comes back to bite them in the end, whether in politics or the professional world.

Back to Delaware. Nearly 24 hours after, Christine O'Donnell raised nearly $750,000! Michael Steele and the RNC are supporting her and the NRSC is now supporting her. This is a race and it's turning out to be that her opponent, Chris Coons, once referred to himself as a Bearded Marxist and was called, by Harry Reid his pet. O'Donnell is proving to capably fundraise, needs to have a strong ground game and knock on as many doors as possible. "All politics are local," is the game in Delaware as it's the 2nd smallest state and heavily relies on the Philadelphia media market the same way New Jersey relies on not only Philadelphia's media market, but New York City's. Christine O'Donnell should do well in Kent and Sussex Counties (Delaware's two southern counties), but needs to have gains in New Castle County (location of the 95 corridor and Wilmington/Newark). I will be watching this election closely.

I will never forget!

Tomorrow will be the 9th Anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001, where terrorist barbarians callously attacked this nation, using commercial airliners as missiles to destroy the World Trade Center, attack the Pentagon, and attempt to attack the White House or Capitol, but because of the brave souls aboard United Flight 93, that did not happen. On that day, nearly 3000 were killed by those terrorists wishing to do our country harm.

Americans will never forget those who died and were simply going about their lives, as they had done every day before then. Americans will also never forget the sacrifices of our soldiers who stood up to make sure that we never see attacks like this on our soil, ever again! In those days following the attacks, we as a country were reeling, but we held together, had a strong leader guiding us through and rebounded from this act of war committed on our homeland.

This day is also quite culturally significant. Americans believed, prior to this day, that they were protected as a result of geographic location compared to the rest of the world, American strength and stature and a lack of hostile nations since the end of the Cold War. Since that day, we, as a society have become more cognizant of the world around us, our personal safety and our fellow man's personal safety. Even more important, I believe this day has major cultural ramifications that are still yet to come. As I have previously blogged about, this day will force Americans, particularly Gen-Xers, who were just starting their lives on 9-11-01, to rise up and lead, so that they may be the protectors of our values, history and way of life. Personally, living through this day and the subsequent events, inspired me to write The Calling to Lead, using my belief that Gen-Xers will transform into the "9-11 Generation" that will rise to lead this nation, as a backbone to the story.

Tomorrow, I ask you to take a moment out of your day to privately reflect and/or pray for those lost and those who have given of themselves to protect our nation since that day.

May God Bless those lost, the families of those lost and the United States of America!

A More Regular Blogging Basis

Hello, "Right" Solutions readers. With the passing of Labor Day, summer in the northeast is coming to an end, the temperatures will, sadly, grow cooler, and we begin to resume our normal schedules. This goes for this blog as well. Between taking every opportunity to enjoy the summer, especially after the snow and cold-filled winter we had in 2010 in the northeast, finishing up editing on The Calling to Lead and beginning my next project, I have not been blogging as regularly as in the past. As I begin to query The Calling to Lead and resume my schedule, I will be here on "The 'Right' Solutions," blogging about issues surrounding the topics in my novel, as well as anything else I come across that I deem relevant.

Welcome back and enjoy your stay!