Terry Bradshaw Used Steroids

I can’t say I’m terribly surprised. The NFL didn’t get even close to serious about the issue of steroids until the late 1980s, athletes did not have the more scientific nutritional regimens that exist today, and steroids made injury recovery much easier and allowed for linemen to bulk up.

In fact, I’d be more surprised if more than half of NFL players in that era didn’t take steroids.

Even today, one cannot help but wonder how many football players today have benefited from HGH, a drug for which testing is not readily-available.

I have an old collection of football cards from the mid-late 1970s. Most of the linemen averaged about 250-260 pounds. In fact, the heaviest player whose card I have from those days was John Matuszak (Raiders, 1979), who was listed just over 280 pounds. He was followed by Ed “Too Tall” Jones (Cowboys, 1979), at 272.

Today, linemen are so large that William “The Refrigerator” Perry–the 300-pound short-yardage man for Chicago’s 1985-86 Super Bowl team–would have been just another name. If you’re not at least 300 pounds, you’ll have a hard time making the team as an offensive lineman.

Wanna bet that none of those guys are using–or have used–HGH?

More Light Work for Pilgrim and Myself

The jury barely deliberated for five minutes before returning with a no-brainer verdict. So far, two have been convicted and are facing life in prison, and at least 4 others are facing charges.

A vacation in the mountains of Kentucky–hosted by Pilgrim, Cubbie, and myself–would be a proper journey for predators like those. Lots of time in the scenic places in the Daniel Boone National Forest, mountaintop experiences, breathtaking adventure, challenging sessions where they learn the limits of human endurance.

All at great savings to the taxpayers.

Dobson Gets it Wrong, Even When He Gets it Right

While James Dobson–founder of Focus on the Family–is factually correct in his assessment of presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama (D-IL), he makes an incredibly-poor choice of words:

[Dobson] said Obama, who supports abortion rights, is trying to govern by the “lowest common denominator of morality,” labeling it “a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution.”

“Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?” Dobson said. “What he’s trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.”

For the record, I agree with Dobson’s views on abortion and homosexuality (although his political views on the latter tend to differ from mine).

On the other hand, for Dobson to refer to Obama’s wrongheaded approach to the Constitution using an anti-gay epithet, is only going to foster the attitude among gays that Christians hate homosexuals and not just homosexuality.

Vox Day Oughtta Have Fun with This…

From the Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life:

  • 21% of self-described Atheists said they believe in God or a “universal spirit”.
  • 6 in 10 Jews doubt God’s existence.
  • 57% of evangelical church attendees believe other religions can lead to eternal life (83% among mainline Protestants, and over 70% among Catholics).
  • 1 in 4 Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians doubt God’s existence

Seriously, the study did not break things down well enough to get a clear picture of where the worst problem areas are, but still, we’ve got a prima facie case that America is awfully screwed up theologically, albeit not nearly as bad as post-Christian Europe.

But that tidbit about self-professed atheists gave me a laugh.

Borrowing a quote from Vox: there IS a God, and I am an asshole. 😉

Porn Judge Chronicles: The Sewage Continues

While I have mixed feelings about whether we ought to be wasting our money putting adult pornographers on trial–any convictions will get shot down in the higher courts–federal appeals judge Alex Konzinski had no business hearing a pornography case, given questionable materials he has put on his own web site.

While Gordon Crovitz of the Wall Street Journal gives Kozinski a favorable defense, the case is not one that he has any business hearing. The fact that The Los Angeles Times–not to be confused with the American Family Association–that outed Kozinski, is no small matter.

As for the porn case that was in play, Ira Isaacs is on trial for producing materials that would probably make most red-blooded American males want to throw up. (I’m not including links here, but if you Google his name you’ll find out what I mean).

This is a lose-lose all the way around. The judiciary, fairly or unfairly, is stained by Kozinski’s private life being made public. Ira Isaacs will likely walk. And our state and federal governments have once again pissed away millions of dollars while pretending to fight for community values.

The only winners, course, are the lawyers.

Let me guess…these idiots went to one of those top-tier law schools!