Matt has been wondering when I was going to post about Michael Vick. Now that he has admitted guilt, I guess it’s time.
Let me preface…
My heart bleeds orange and maroon, and I love college football. But, I cringe each and every time I hear of yet another college football player being charged with some crime, no matter where they went to school. It’s become obscene. Why is it that so many of these talented men constantly find themselves in trouble with the law? I hate to be pointing fingers at the men here, but my unofficial statistical analysis shows that of college athletes, football players place first with men’s basketball players a close second when it comes to arrests and court room appearances, as well as the lowest G.P.A.’s. Try to count on your fingers how many female college athletes (or professional athletes for that matter) you have seen negatively in the news. Or, take a look at all of the NCAA sports and tell me the last time a squash player got caught with dope. Something is going on with the football and basketball players. Here’s my take.
If you have been on a college campus when the football season is in full swing, you are well aware of the energy that is circulating. If the team is winning games, it’s electrifying. The entire campus becomes unified to support “their team”. Male students rosters so they can rattle off names and statistics to impress their friends, while the female students swoon whenever they see a player on campus. For half of the year, football players are gods and football is a religion.
I think all this attention affects the players on multiple levels. The pressure to play well (especially now that you have been nationally televised, not just on the local news) and be eligible to compete at the professional level must be overwhelming. But, what about performing well in the classroom? Grades, shmades. Players just want to get through college so they can “take it to the next level”. Well, who can blame them, really? More than likely they’ve been performing since they were little tykes and their athleticism has been the focus. It’s no different from children who show academic promise and are pressured to do well in order to get into an Ivy League school. But, off the playing field, it’s a different ballgame. The turf completely changes on campus for a player second semester. In my non-professional opinion, this is a roller coaster ride for an athlete and when you add heartbreaking national losses in the mix, it can be devastating.
Because the men’s sports are the money makers for the universities, and a huge recruitment tool, the exposure is completely different from other sports, especially the women’s sports. Even when UConn and Tennessee women’s basketball teams have season after season of winning streaks, you don’t see the players headlining the news…negatively or positively. Which is unfair, but maybe better that way? Do we really want all our athletic girls to be aspiring professional athletes? I don’t think so. We would be over saturated with “Athletes Gone Bad” on reality television. For right now, I’m happy with the media making a heyday of Brandi Chastain taking off her jersey (therefore exposing her sports bra! Gasp!) when she kicked the winning goal at the Olympics. If that’s bad press for women athletes, I’ll take it.
I’m not stating that all of these reasons are excuses for behavior. Quite the opposite, actually. I think something needs to be done about it. In order to make positive changes, it’s going to take a unified effort from parents, coaches, the media and lastly, the general public to make the change. And as much as I hate to say this, I don’t think it will happen in our lifetime. Our society now is all about money and fame…and the lottery mentality. People want to get rich quick. They want something for nothing. But, that’s for another blog post.
Back to Michael Vick. So, here’s my take. The kid has been a superstar athlete ever since he could walk. He’s had legal troubles since who knows when. And money didn’t seem to make things better for him. It made things worse. A lot worse. He probably won’t play in the NFL again, won’t be making gazillions of dollars and his talent will waste away in a solitary jail cell. Does this make me sad? Not at all. It’s not like he accidentally fell into the wrong crowd. He’s been in it for a long time. He just never CHOSE to escape. I just hope that somehow, someway, we can teach the little boys out there to do your best on and off the field. And that “being like Mike” is not the answer.
The comment at the bottom states: In case anyone feels the need to comment on the 4 seemingly “random” bell-tones in the middle of the song, here’s what it stands for: they are 4 different clusters of 8 tones, all together, 32. Its our composer, Jim Sochinski’s dedication to the victims of 4.16.07.
1 cup water
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil (or shortening)
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional, but the bread will rise higher with it)
Place all ingredients in bread maker, select “dough” setting, and press Start. When dough has risen enough, the machine will beep. Remove dough and place on a floured counter top. Gently roll and shape the dough into a 12-inch rope.
With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces for hamburger buns or 12 pieces for hot dog buns.
Grease a baking sheet. Roll pieces of dough into balls and flatten for hamburger buns or shape into 6-inch rolls for hot dog buns. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 10 to 15 minutes until almost doubled.
Preheat oven to 400° F. Bake 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on racks. When ready to use, split buns horizontally. Will keep in plastic bag in the freezer for 3 to 4 weeks.
GORP is an acronym for good old raisins and peanuts. The original recipe calls for equal parts raisins and peanuts. Of course, you can add just about anything you like such as Cheerios (or your favorite dry cereal) M&M’s (or chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips), sunflower seeds, granola, dried fruits, dried coconut, pretzels, other nuts…whatever you have in your pantry.
I started making pintos in college and they are one of my very first meals I served when “entertaining”. College students are always up for a good meal. Pintos are one of my favorite meals for the following reasons: easy to make (can cook using a crock pot, stove, hot plate, or a campfire), one pot meal (easy cleanup), good for you, very filling, extremely affordable, you can always have the ingredients on hand (you can flavor it with ham, fatback/striped meat, ham hocks, bacon, or nothing at all), can be served all year long, tastes better the second day, can use cooked beans to make soup, chili or refried beans, and to top it off, freezes well. What’s not to love?
If you are a novice cook, this is a great recipe to master. If you need some coaching, The Pioneer Woman has some awesome step-by-step instructions (complete with pictures), to help you out. Our favorite way to eat pintos is to top with lots of finely chopped onions and hot sauce (my brand of choice is Texas Pete, Matt digs the Chipotle Tabasco).
Cover the bottom of a 10×14 glass baking dish with a little salsa
Place a layer of flour tortillas over that
Layer from there with rice (will need about 2-3 cups cooked), pintos or
black beans, and cheese…and a little more salsa
Add another layer of tortillas…then place more cheese, corn (about a cup),
chicken (if you want meat), chopped tomatoes (1-2), chopped onions (about a
1/2 cup)…and a little more salsa
Add another layer of tortillas and then top it off with cheese, green onions
(chopped), green chiles and a little more salsa
Layer a 9×13 pan with bread slices (with the crusts cut off)
Put a layer of cheddar cheese over the bread (shredded works best–about a
cup or two)
Beat up 8 or so large eggs and add a little salt and pepper and then pour
that over the bread/cheese.
Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight (or at least 4 hours)
Bake at 350° F for 45-60 minutes (when the top starts to brown, take it out)
