Dear Oscar,
It should not come as a surprise to you that viewership is down for your big night. All of your stars are, like Michael Jackson, exposing themselves just a bit too much.
Perhaps once upon a time, we tuned in to the awards to have a chance to see some of our favorite stars. But today, we see them all the time. If not on an awards show before or after yours, then certainly on E!, Entertainment Tonight, or one of the other astronomical wanna-be's(those who track stars, in case I lost you.
I hope you did not spend too much on Chris Rock. It was not his fault. He certainly could not be funny or crude like he'd want to be, not with the FCC waiting in the wings with big fines. So what audience will tune in to see a muted Chris Rock, when they can just wait to see him on another show with nothing held back? Do you think perhaps some in the television industry actually should have stood up to the FCC? Personally, I would rather see a really straight-laced person push their own limits than see a x-rated comic spew g-rated fare. Would anyone tune in to see the Nascar drivers drive through Atlanta during rush hour? Not a chance.
I hope you are not surprised in the future when the ratings continue to slip....
EJ
Dear Barry,
I laughed out loud when I heard you quoted that you did not know what cheating is. You do not seem to understand what the uproar is about and why all the questions. So let me, as a fan, try to explain it.
Contrary to what Bud Selig says, many fans do care. Because there is no way to send Bud a message from the MLB.com site, I am not sure how Bud is in touch with what the fans believe.
Why anyone would think baseball is more exciting because you are chasing the home run record with your steroid enhanced performance is puzzling. Would we be as excited if all the teams had moved the fences in 20 feet to give you that same chance at the record?
While it may be exciting for the fans of San Francisco to have a cheater on their team helping them win games, it is certainly just as unexciting for the fans of the team you are playing. And there are a lot more of them in total than there are of the Giants fans. So the owners of the Giants can turn their heads at what you have done. The commissioner of baseball can do the same.
But you will never be held in the same esteem as Hank Aaron. Or Willie Mays. Or Dale Murphy Or any of the other players with class and a sense of what is right.
Cheaters never win is the phrase we learn as a child. Whether you hit 800 homeruns or 1000, your record will always be tainted. And the more you claim you had no clue, the less believable you are.
Good luck with your high voice and your shrinking testicles,
EJ
Tri-ing Times
Things You Find
Sometimes, something that you lost is right there within you. I lost something within me that I am slowly rediscovering: the runner within.
I lost my momentum somewhere over the Mississippi River last fall. Truth be known, I probably lost it before then, and just did not know it. The joy of running had become a memory. Instead it became a chore. Worse, a reminder of how far I had sunk. Nine minute miles were an effort. Eight minute miles a fantasy.
Those that I used to be faster than were finishing way ahead of me. I was losing sight of them in the first mile. I felt sorry for myself. I was slow and getting slower. I found ways to run slow and feel it was ok. I went to the trails, where it is natural to be slow.
Then, finally, like it should be, I got sick of myself. The motivations I once had were gone, and that is ok. But I can find new motivations and I have. I quit denying what I was doing. I quit looking in the mirror, or more accurately, my running log. But those days are gone. I am dropping weight. I am getting faster, and my running log is up to date.
I am a runner. A runner with heart. No one can take that away from me. Not today. Not ever. Oh sure, an injury could occur. But I will always have heart.
Tonight's run was the reason I love it. I ran fast, and I ran alone, though the group was around. It was my own motivation, and I exceeded my expectations.
And that is a good thing. I found my stride. I am on the move.
Things You Lose
Sometimes you can lose things and you do not know the value of them until they are gone. A set of keys, for instance. Perhaps not more than four or five dollars of actual material. And of no real value to anyone if they find them and do not know you. But take a road trip, and lose them, and the costs can mount up pretty fast.
Life can be like that. You never consider the true value to you until you have lost whatever it may be. And others may be of no help in helping you to deal with that loss, because what you lost has no value to them at all.
Such is life.
