The Daily Nooner 9/13

Last night I sat in an audience of a couple of thousand people and listened to the Nobel Peace Laureate Elie Wiesel give a lecture. I could qualify it as one of the most important and moving nights of my life. I actually had the chance to meet Wiesel one other time when I was working for a TV station and I taped a brief interview with him. At that time meeting him and just having the chance to be in his presence was spectacular. But last night listening to him speak was enrapturing. I sat up leaned over hanging on every single word he said, every word crafted, thoughtful; meaningful in ways I cannot use words. He spoke of his memoir and most famous book “Night” and what it meant for him to write the history of that time down. He believed firmly that if he kept the account of those camps alive it would leave to the destruction of anti-Semitism and racism across the world. But what he see’s today is a world with those problems more rampant than ever, yet he still see’s hope in the world. He was so poignant in relating those issues of the time he grew up to the problems in the world today. He talked of Judea-Christian relations being as strong as ever. However, he knows that 20-25 years ago when we started working on those relations there were many scholars who said there is another noble sacred world religion which we have ignored from these discussions and that is Islam. And he feels that the exclusion of Islam has helped lead the world to many of the problems it faces today with Terrorism and dictatorships across the Middle East. Again it was just an awesome night, one which I won’t soon forget. Here is more on the lecture:
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15504969.htm

Okay, now back to useless sports shit!!!

I know Danny Price a loyal reader here is going to blast this one way or another, or start yapping about Jose Reyes is better than Derek Jeter (yea, right), but yesterday there was more typical Red Sox bullshit. Just like last spring training when the Sawx where running their traps about A-Rod and the Yankees, and the Yankees comment about all that nonsense was “No comment.” I tried to explain the difference in the class of people that both organizations employ and that the Yankees employ (for the most part) classy ballplayers who don’t run their mouths about nothing and everything all at once (i.e. Curt “the Mouth” Schilling). The one Red Sox player, who even I like, started running his big trap about why he should still be considered for the MVP and why he should win it, even though his team has fallen off the playoff map. Hey, Big Sloppy, I don’t recall anyone saying they weren’t going to vote for you. Why would he come out and say this? Does everyone on Boston really have that much of a complex about New York? I mean seriously, shut up and hit the damn thing fatso. Everybody loves you and you were probably still going to win the damned award until you opened your trap.

I know most Wisdom fans are not hockey lovers, but there is a hockey story that broke yesterday that almost made my head fall off. New York Islander’s goaltender Rick DiPietro just signed a 15 year contract. Huh, 15 fucking years? They signed him until he is 39 years old. He has played in 4 NHL seasons and is under .500 as a goaltender, and they signed him for 15 years. Most of the time teams don’t want to give players a 6th or 7th season on a contract, good thing GM Garth Snow said no way to that 17th & 18th year. The only contract which really comes close in American professional sports is Magic Johnson who signed a 25 year pact with the Los Angeles Lakers to be part of their organization; Magic’s contract was just to be part of the organization, not a player contract for that long. Good thing the Isles let go of veteran GM Neil Smith after 2 months on the job to give it to Garth Snow and all of his zero days of experience in the front office of any organization, and teams like this wonder why they constantly suck. Hey Garth, maybe you should hire Don Nelson as your coach.

Finally the NCAA has done right by a young man who is a scholarship athlete at one of their member institutions. Many of you have probably not heard of the story of Ray Ray McElrathbey, a Clemson football player who has had his struggles with life, from his crack addicted mother to his gambling addicted father. McElrathbey was recently given custody of his 11 year old brother Fahmarr who has become the unofficial mascot of this years Clemson football team. The NCAA approved a waiver whereby Clemson University can set up a trust fund where the university can help him pay for normal living expenses for he and his brother. Also, many of the families of the staff at Clemson will help with child care and local transportation for Fahmarr. For once the NCAA does not look like the big bad wolf, more like an organization which actually cares about its members on an individual basis. For more on this story go here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2583647

AND

Danny, what the fuck is going on at your pseudo-alma mater. Apparently at the University of Northern Colorado (the real UNC) the backup punter has stabbed the starting punter in the leg, in order to try and obtain his job this weekend. What a fucking brilliant idea. I love this guy; he should be promoted to secretary of the state. Anytime somebody fucks with him, he will just stab their ass, America, what a country!!!