In the spirit of Super Tuesday and BOB's own political rantings, I thought I would reflect on last week's big primaries. Michigan was one of two states to hold a primary last week and I was luckily able to squeeze into the polls between a subbing gig and a trip to campus. Of course, you have to choose a party and while I lean left, why sign up to vote Democrat? There's really no point. So, I voted Republican. I voted against Romney. The picture above shows you the obvious reason.

Now, I didn't tell him to go to hell because I believe in the bailouts. I enjoy that more folks in my state were able to keep their jobs, so I can respect that aspect. I also know Romey wasn't the only Republican to oppose the bailouts. I think just about everyone who ran in the state did. Romney, on the other hand, was the only one to claim Michigan as a home state. He was the only one stupid enough to brag about how his family only drove (and loved driving) American cars. He was the only one dumb enough to write a certain editorial four years ago and think the people of Michigan would forget about it and welcome him back as a prodigal son.

Rush has been in hot water for saying stupid things. Romney has been back in hot water for announcing that he wasn't worried about the "very poor", but the man never should have left his lobster pot after trying to bury and then embrace "his home state" of Michigan. 

While I'd be prouder to see this tool box lost, I can say he only won by a narrow margin. He pulled in 37.3% to Santorum's 35.8%. How come we don't have a none of the above button?

You know it's go time when the Richard Cheese comes out!

On to the planned madness of sports. It may not be too long until you see these up for real in a lot of different cities. ESPN is already reporting that Manning is probably gone, which is just the kinda of reporting speculation excellence we've come to know and love there. Of course, if the Colts don't get rid of him, they'll owe this guy $28 million. 

If the rumor is true and he's gone, then you have to wonder what teams do heading into the draft. Of course Luck is gone and a number of suitors are vying for the Rams number 2 pick to take RGIII, but do you look elsewhere in the draft or take a flyer on Manning? What does this do to Matt Flynn stock? It's almost an assumed certainty that the Colts take Luck and release Manning, but who'da thought the Colts would make two such huge moves that could potentially turn the draft on its ear?

That being said, the Rams, who are sitting pretty with that number two pick and 5-8 suitors looking to give them all sorts of draft picks, woke up this week suddenly finding themselves in the shit. More specifically, the Saint's shit. Former Saints defensive coordinator and supposed orchestrator of the bounty system is now the Rams new defensive coordinator and supposed orchestrator of the bounty system.

If anyone appears to be in Goodell's cross hairs, it has to be Williams. That leaves the Rams without a defensive coordinator they just brought in for...well, however long Goodell decides to punsih the guy. That put a slight damper on an otherwise big off season for this squad. Let's just hope it doesn't cloud a future that was looking pretty bright up until the Sunday.

In another note, what is it with this "No snitching" policy? Last I heard, NFL players got offended when people categorized them as thugs. Yet they're using the same language I hear every night on the news from thugs in Detroit. Thugs who won't speak up over an 80 year old WWII vet getting beaten and car jacked at a gas station, left to crawl into a convenience store full of witnesses who refused to step forward. The same language and philosophy that has police still looking for a person who shot up a house and killed a 9 month old in the process.

You guys don't like being called thugs? I suggest watching your wording then. At least don't use the same rhetoric as the guys you don't want to be associated with.

On a big final note, former Tiger and key component of our recent success Carlos Guillen announced his retirement today. It didn't seem like it at first, but Guillen was a big signing for the Tigers back in 2004. He made a great impact and really stood out for the club in 2006 when he .353 in the World Series. Sadly, injuries cut his playing time in Detroit short. Folks waited for him to come back, but he just didn't have it in him. Still, thanks to Guillen for some good memories while he was here.

Well, my sinus infection and I are going to get back to homework. I've been stuffed since Sunday and feeling pretty low. Thanks for stopping by and checking in. I leave you with some extra Cheese and you word of the week.

Politics, noun

The Occupy protesters start them young.

Still, I figured this made a decent segway into my topic today. My first year here at the Gab, all the way back on May 25, 2010, I wrote an article about pay for play in high school athletics. Since then I've had the privilege of being able to coach on a JV football team and to hear so many great stories from our proud poppas here like B.O.B. and my partner for the past year of so Jeff. In the wake of our Michigan primaries and my old high school's two school millage proposals, I've decided to revisit the issue. First, I'd like to bring my original argument to the table.

In keeping with the political tone we've been into this week or so, I'd like to bring up a big sports issue that is sweeping the nation: the debate on pay to play high school sports. I'd like to start by saying that I have some perspective on both sides of the issue.

While I was going through school, sports were a huge part of my extracurricular education. In addition to much needed exercise and socialization, they provided me with work ethic and leadership skills. I feel I learned just as many life skills playing sports and participating in other activities as I did in the classroom.

On the other hand, I know that the economic crunch has hit schools particularly hard. Like everyone, schools are being forced to do more with less. Given the choice between cutting classes and cutting sports programs, I would much rather see sports go. Given the choice between cutting sports programs or making people pay, I would much rather have them be pay for play. What I would propose, however, is to find other ways to keep sports a viable part of the schooling experience.

While reading the Detroit News yesterday, I came across a story about increased fees to participate in sports in Novi schools. Currently, students pay $175 per sport at the high school level. The new budget will raise the price to $350 and up the price to $200 at the middle school level. I may not have my hand right on the pulse of school budgeting, but don't most of the sports already have the equipment? I know there are other expenses to consider, but aren't there other options?

My main concern here is that this new plan will take the option of the high school sporting experience away from already struggling families. Most schools have a bit of a fund for underprivileged students, but how much can they really have? It seems to me that in a lot of districts, especially here in MI, that there can't possibly be enough for all the cash strapped families. Whatever the case, the opportunity to play a sport shouldn't be held back from a kid  just because he is from an underprivileged family. There will be plenty of time for that kind of cold reality to come home for these kids. They shouldn't have to face it so early. Sports might be their best chance to improve their lot. Bottom line, a parents economic standing shouldn't keep a kid on the side line.

How can schools afford to keep their programs going? Well, let's go back to the parents. When I was in high school, if a team needed new uniforms or something, they would go and ask the Mom and Dad's club. This was an organization started by parents to support the school sports programs as well as any other clubs or organizations like drama or the robotics team.  The parents would hold fund raisers through the year to build up a good supply of money. They also ran the concession stands at the games, so all the proceeds went to the kids. I don't know how prevalent this is/was at other schools. I know band boosters are rather common. Either way, it seems to me that if schools and the parents would sit down and think about things, solutions could be found. Everyone needs to come together to keep kids in the game.

To take this a bit farther, you have to wonder how high school sports don't raise more revenue. Looking at my old high school which is just a small suburb in metro Detroit Michigan, I can get a few ideas. It costs $4 a game to attend varsity football games. Each season there are generally about 9 games. Ten if you count scrimmages. There could be playoffs, but that money generally goes into the state pot. This season, four of those games were at home. If a person went to all home games, the school makes $16. Season passes (for any fall sporting event) can be purchased for $25. Students, of course pay less. 

Garland Public Schools in Garland, Texas charges $4 for students and $6 for adults for advanced pusrchases. They also have reserve seats. Seats on bought on game day cost $7 for students and adults. These folks would stand to make $24 if they had the same schedule as my former high school and $28 if those folks didn't think ahead. There is also the idea of merchandise and concessions.

Still, according the Chicago Tribune, football programs routinely struggle to catch up to their costs. An October 28, 2011 article estimates that some of the most successful programs can drop around $100,000 a year to play. That's hard for any school to catch up to. Even if a school is big enough to earn notice on ESPN, they are generally only paid $1,000 a piece to play, a mere fraction of the ridiculous sums the network pays for college or pro leagues. Things can get worse when you look at coaching salaries with elite teams, equipment costs, and video editing equipment. 

Some schools are turning to advertisers to off set some of the cost. Some have begun streaming live feeds of their games on websites and selling advertising space. Still, the brunt of the cost will be passed down to players.

A solution may call for many ideas rather than just one. Schools can help ease the pay for play tide by adding a slight increase to ticket sales, say a dollar or two, capping off tickets at $8. It may be harder for some parents, but it's a pittance compared to college or pro prices. It's even comparable to minor league venues. Another solution may be to try to limit the size of some squads, though this would surely be unpopular. While some schools have big enough squads that they are forced to cut players, trimming the group down to an economical size may go farther than pay for play in denying kids the right to the field. (The Chicago Tribune article estimates a standard uniform to cost at least $550 per player.) My best idea remains the involvement of parent groups to help fund and support high school athletics through fund raising activities. (I've also had hopes of being able to sponsor one boy and one girl for a season should I ever be placed in a district that uses pay for play. And yes, I've talked it over with the GF and she'd be cool with it.)

Another expensive trend that can be stopped is the switch to artificial turf. Converting to turf costs in the neighborhood of one million dollars. While some may clamor for millages and bond issues, the economic stress makes the passing of such measures highly unlikely in most communities.

Despite the economics, football remains the top draw in high school athletics. Still, the options for funding our Friday night lights are not promising. Pay to play schemes limit who can go out for the team. Such ideas also increase the strain between parents and coaches over playing time. Advertising and raising prices only serves to cheapen the last remaining pure football in the country, though ESPN and other big market players have been trying to overexpose high school athletics for years now. I believe that small increases in ticket prices ($1-2 max), ad revenue from local businesses, more parent fund raising, avoiding unnecessary expenses, and perhaps even some generosity through sponsorship from generous donors can help address the problem and do it in a way that won't cheapen the game we all love. 

That's about all for this week. I think the topic came to me pretty easy because I started reading Friday Night Lights today. I hope to include my review of it next week. If I remember right, Jeff's boys have played the team chronicled in that book/film/tv series. Still, from what I've read it's a great book and worth a look. I picked it up cheap from my local Salvation Army (they have books 5 for $1, so I tend to stock up). Thanks for reading and as always feel free to share your thoughts and your suggestions. I leave you as always with this weeks vocabulary.

cartharsis, noun

People can surprise you. I know that I, for one, have been very critical of Chris Webber in the past. As an Ohio State fan who grew up in Michigan, I got awful tired of hearing about the Fab Five. Webber has has his share of grief over comments and odd moments in his basketball career, but I learned a surprising fact about Webber today: he's a history buff. He's also a collector of historical items.

 It seems that Webber has maintained a collection of artifacts from African American heroes like Dr. King and Rosa Parks. While the collection was began as a means of personal inspiration, Webber has recently decided to show his collection to the public. Starting in April Webber will loan his collection to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History here in midtown Detroit. Webber says that he has decided to share is collection with the public to help inspire and educate the public, especially kids. 

While the NFL is in its off season and we wait for the draft, we can take pause to think about the veterans available in free agency. While one can easily guess more than a few guys will stay put, theres some interesting players available. QBs like Drew Brees and Alex smith will probably be re-sign to their old teams. The only question is for how much. Donovon McNabb is out there, but common sense figures he'll retire. The three guys I see as most interesting in the QB class are Matt Flynn, Jason Campbell, and Shaun Hill. 

While Flynn and Hill have spent most of their time as back-ups, they've performed admirably when called upon. Flynn made the Lions defense look very average when they last met, much to my bro's chagrin. He figures to be a huge draw and may even tempt teams who have a high draft pick. 

I hope the Lions will re-sign Hill, but his services would be good for a team looking for a veteran QB to back-up or challenge a younger guy. Campbell's hopes of being re-signed by the Raiders may have tanked when the Raiders paid up for Carson Palmer. Campbell was only able to play in 6 games for a run happy offense in Oakland, but he had a 60.6 % completion rate with 1,170 yards and 6 TDs. He had 5 turn overs, which is a worry, but has shown he has the goods to start.

The offensive side of the ball is very deep in free agency. My favorite running back available is Michael Bush. I don't mean to raid Oakland's cabinet, but I'd love to see the Lions pick this guy up and focus their draft picks on defense. Bush has had a nice run backing up McFadden and shows very good versatility. Bush was very close to reaching 1000 yards rushing last season with 7 TDs and only 1 fumble in 256 carries. 

The wide receiver position is by far the most exciting group. There is a lot of value for teams who choose not to bank on the draft. I imagine guys like Wes Welker, Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, and Mike Wallace will be re-signed, but that leaves a lot of quality guys out there. Indy has three receivers who are free agents and none of them are restricted or have been given the franchise tag yet. Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, and Anthony Gonzalez will be on the market and with the Colts still thinking of Manning it will be interesting to see who they will keep. Ideally they'll keep all three, but any of them would make fine additions to any team. Wayne fell short of 1000 yards for the first time, but inconsistent QB play may be more of the answer than aging. I also like Dwayne Bowe, Mario Manningham (though I figure the Giants will try to keep him), and Greg Camarillo. A lot of the other guys seem as if they will come with too large of a price tag and expectations.

Speaking of the NFL, after another season of incredible revenue and record setting TV ratings, Goodell and the gang are clamoring for an 18 game season. Troy Aikman came out against this, but also the NFL moving there games to include Thursday and Saturday. I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel this way, but I agree with Aikman. Aikman tried to remind the owners that the NFL may not be number one forever. Moving games to days other than Sunday or Monday night puts those games in direct competition with NCAAF for viewers and revenue. No to mention that these games are often shown exclusively on NFL Network. The greed of Goodell and the owners threatens to alienate the NCAA (not that they are innocent either) as well as the fans at home. I think Aikman is right. The league needs to reign things in, or at least not try to get any bigger by adding games.

Well, thats it for me this week. I have to agree with a lot of my fellow Gabbers that it's great to know that spring training has started. Reports are that Miguel Cabrerra is in town and looking lighter. He seems ready to attempt playing third. Always a good sign. Thanks for stopping in and reading. Hope you guys have a great week. I leave you with your word of the week.

introdouche, verb

Welcome to another Wednesday here at the Gab. We've had some pretty rotten news around here. That said I'm going to start with something a little depressing and then try to move on. One of the greatest hitters of all time, Tony Gwynn, has announced that he will undergo surgery to remove a malignant growth from his mouth. The HOFer has blamed this growth on his use of chewing tobacco. Gwynn and his wife are fairly confident that the cancer has not spread beyond his salivary glands. 

Here's hoping to a speedy recovery for what may be one of the last men in baseball to dedicate his career to one team and one city. Here's also to hoping that young ball players can learn from this. It would be great to see Gwynn use his status to help further steer young players from this destructive habit.

We're also in something of a lull following the football season. I'll admit I am merely a casual follower of the NHL. I refer any knowledge of that to Beeze of Hotch. We've got the NCAA men's basketball season, but it's hard to say much in light of the truly awesome job that BlackBandit does covering this on Tuesdays. (If you haven't checked his spreadsheets yet, I advise you to do so.) I'm also not alone in not being terribly interested in the NBA. Though Jeremy Lin is becoming somewhat interesting.

As is usually the case, however, it is what folks are saying about him that is inspiring even more attention. Of course, ESPN has latched on and are declaring him the Tim Tebow of the NBA. He's about all they talk about aside from whether or not people should cut LeBron some slack. (I would be inclined to cut the guy some slack on two conditions: 1) he not call himself King James and 2) he not prattle on about winning 7-8 rings. He dug a pretty deep hole on his own.)

It's been mostly positive, until Floyd Mayweather decided to weigh in. Now, Mayweather isn't an NBA player, but he also isn't much of a boxer since he really isn't doing much boxing as of late. Still, claiming to speak up for "other NBA players", Mayweather has declared that the only reason Lin is getting the kind of press he is is due to the fact that Lin is Asian. Really? Averaging around 24 points his last 5 games has nothing to do with it? Going from an undrafted free agent to the bench to arguably the best player on the Knicks has nothing to do with it?

Mayweather says that black players do this on a nightly basis and don't get this kind of praise. Well, currently there are only four players who are averaging more points than Lin. Granted these guys have played all year and have been pretty consistent in their careers, but I'd say names like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kevin Love get enough praise in the press. Not to mention only 3/4 of those players are black. Lin is doing what no one since Allen Iverson has done, and I'd say Iverson got plenty of praise. Of course, Iverson got some scorn, but that had everything to do with his attitude and nothing to do with race.

That's the other point here, as people here at the Gab have pointed out, Lin seems different. He's a Harvard grad. He's pretty humble (though Durant and Love seem very humble and likeable too). He also makes considerably less than a lot of players in the league. Fans can identify with him and, while many do identify with him because of his race (the NBA is a global game now, ask Yao Ming who never missed an All Star game barring injury), more than a few are identifying with him because he worked to get where he is. He didn't get millions right off the bat. He didn't get playing time right off the bat. He went through 2 others teams to get it.

Of course, this is just something that Mayweather couldn't understand now. Maybe as he was coming up, fighting in some dusty old gym, he would understand. As a super star (though in a fading sport), Mayweather cannot begin to comprehend why so many people can cheer for Lin. Fans are blue collar. The few that can afford to go to a game will appreciate watching a guy like Lin over a guy like LeBron. They want to see a guy who will work and knows how hard it is to get there. 

People like an underdog and quickly get tired of ignorant superstars. Mayweather should know this. Perhaps he doesn't, though, as he hasn't been smart enough to just go fight Pacqio and try to save his sport.

In other ignorant sounding athlete news, I don't know how many have heard Roddy White's stance on Roger Goddell's new salary. "How in the hell can u pay a man this much money that cant run tackle or catch." You could easily ask how a guy can be paid so much JUST to tackle or catch a ball. Yet another guy who doesn't seem to get it.

You know who hates Twitter and the social media movement? Louis CK.

In happier news, the Tigers left for Lakeland, Florida. Aside from the relatively mild winter, this is a nice indicator that we're on our way to spring. 

Also in awesome news, The Red Wings are going for a certain number of home ice wins right now. i don't wanna jinx this, but yeah, i know the number. It's already been billed as a pretty awesome Valentine's Day present for Michigan if they do this. We've been kinda spoiled by the Wings over the years, like any city with a championship caliber team gets, but it would just bring folks in the right mood for a hockey frenzy around here. Unfortunately, some moron figured more people would want to watch the Pistons play the Spurs. The Pistons are currently down 14 in the third. Pops is probably resting his guys. Good call Fox Sports Detroit.

Of course, hockey purists are calling foul on the possible record. They say it isn't legit as squads like the 29-30 Boston Bruins or 75-76 Phill Flyers faced tougher rules and had the option to tie. The Wings have won three of their current games in shoot outs. Not sure what everyone else thinks and i may be playing homer here, but games evolve and rules change. You can't justify calling the Wings streak out because the rules were changed. You can hold the Bruins or Flyers to more esteem, which is ok because those were damn good squads (the Flyers won all 20 games in regulation), but it seems tough to try and diminish what the Wings are trying to do.

Well that's it for me this week. Thanks as always for reading. I'd like to thank 3rd Stone for all he contributed to this site. We have a really passionate core here and a great attitude. Jud got that and really helped make our site what it is with his level of professionalism and encyclopedic knowledge. In honor of Jud, we won't have any vocab this week. Instead I'm ending with a video I think captures how most of us viewed Jud. Wherever he is, he's probably having a damned good time and hopefully telling some old pros how he lobbied for them back here. 

"Football season is over." That's how Hunter S. Thompson started his suicide note. An extreme reaction, but that's how the next month seems. It just seems dreary.

By the way, if any of you have ever read any of his stuff or enjoyed Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or The Rum Diaries, Thompson was sent to cover the Super Bowl before. He wrote an article called Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl. What is great about this article is that it sums up a lot of what we've talked about here. The game has become so much more than a game. It's all commercials, msuic, gambling. It's almost shameful at times. Thompson got that and treated the spectacle as such. He maced his way through the crowd and got drunk enough (among other things) to be able to take things into the right perspective. 

I can only imagine actually going to a Super Bowl. It seems so jumbled just watching it on tv. Would it really feel like a game? Could you sit through Madonna without being able to change the channel? If I ever somehow got a free ticket, I know I'd go. I don't see myself ever spending that much money to go sit through a game where I'm in the minority of the crowd: a guy trying to watch a football game. 

Football's over for Ricky Williams. Williams announced his plans to reitre today. Hard to believe the guy has played 11 seasons. He managed 5 1,000 yard seasons and played his best season in 2002 with the Dolphins. That season he rushed for 1,853 yards and 16 TDs. Of course, the thing with Ricky was his potential. Coming out of college, most people figured he'd be a beast. He showed good progress, then suddenly things changed. The guy dropped out. He got caught smoking a lot of pot. Williams just joins the ranks of those you'd have to wonder about. How good could this guy have been if he'd focused on the game?

So, now what do we move on to? I suggest college basketball. BlackBandit wrote up a hell of a review and went into some great depth about how things are shaking out. I'll admit to losing sight of the college basketball season until right about now. I didn't even pay any attention to the MSU-UofM rematch before the Super Bowl. It's a bit more exciting for me when the Big Ten is on their game. I'm also impressed that Michigan has brought their program back so quickly. 

My dad, oddly enough for me, has really gotten into Alpine downhill slalom. I caught some of a competition with him a weekend or so ago. It really is interesting to see the flying down hill like that. Michigan, at least where I am, being relatively flat, I couldn't see myself doing that. The best is when they have races where all the guys start at the same time. I'd have to admit that those races have much more wow factor.

Looking forward to the spring and baseball. I can't complain too much as we've had a mild winter, but I figure some of you are more than ready for spring. I'm excited about baseball. I gotta wonder about the A's out there in B.O.B. land. Today they decided to re-sign their GM Billy Beane for another seven years. I know this guy is something of a big deal. He inspired Moneyball and all that. He hasn't, however, managed to bring in too many wins in a number of years. The A's haven't been to the playoffs since 2006 and just finished up their 5 losing season in as many years. I suppose he had some ideas that worked for a time, but I think he's run his course in Oakland. Seven more years of Moneyball better produce at least one winning season.

My bro, IHM, celebrated his birthday on Monday. He got a Giant's Super Bowl win. I'm happy to see that he will be joining us in the rotation again soon. 

Well, that's it for this week. Hope everyone can find a way to get through the next few weeks. I'm hoping to get back into college basketball, if for no other reason than to luck my way into dominance in the Gab bracket. I think I need to find some stupid system. I'm gonna go by which team has the best names on the roster.

Super Bowel, noun