GOT STEROIDS?

Okay, Okay. What do you get when you have a DHL clerk, a China contact, a Myspace page and Illegal Entrepreneurial tendencies?

Give Up?

Well, eventually you get time behind bars, that is if you get caught. Which is just what happened to some poor sucker in Tempe, Arizona?

I'm sure his intentions were good. He wanted to have his own business, work from home and be his own boss. He probably figured he'd found a market that would allow him the chance to fulfill all his wants and dreams. Actually, he'd probably had the business plan in his head since his high school days some twenty years ago. But what he didn't have back in those glorious wonder years was the one thing that would put wheels on the cart and make it go. He didn't have "Access." He didn't have the Internet.

Without the internet, he would never have been able to afford correspondence with a willing Chinese distributor. Without the internet he wouldn't have had the nerve or resources to research the illegal ingredients needed. Without the internet he wouldn't have had cheap and easy access to customers. Let's face it, without the internet he was a nobody, a nothing, a clerk in a desert delivery service, a bum.

But something happens to people who discover Myspace.com and realize they have the world at their fingertips. They easily can turn into the mad scientist and all those ideas that have floated through their minds over the years are brought to the surface. For instance, what red-blooded American male hasn't done a search on the name of that teenage heart throb, as if she'd remember you and come running to your side after all these years? Or how about sending away for that sexual aphrodisiac, "Spanish Fly?" Tijuana was so damn far away and dangerous back in the day.

With Myspace.com, or any web personals page, you can now be whoever you wanna be, say anything you wanna say, and do just about anything you wanna do. A scary thought when you really think about it. I've seen personal pages for Saddam Hussein, Pee-Wee Herman, Jeffrey Dahmer and even Elvis, and he's supposedly been dead since the 70's. Who Knew?

So getting back to our DHL clerk with Entrepreneurial tendencies, let me just say in his defense that I understand how enticing the internet can be when it comes to fulfilling lifetime dreams and desires. One click and you could become a somebody. You could be a contender. But in this country there are rules and guidelines that must be followed. And now that big brother is watching ever so closely our every move, your plan best be either legitimate or have political backing. Politically backed plans have the power to re-write law when things go bad.

Our DHL clerk was neither legitimate nor politically connected and after pleading guilty faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. Whether he's a victim of an overzealous entrepreneurial personality or an era where Internet Access brings illegal temptations right to your fingertips, he got caught, and that's one sin that society never forgets. Getting Caught. Caught distributing anabolic steroids and using Myspace to solicit customers, willing customers mind you. If only Balco had known.

Got Steroids?

Raiders Pull a Shanahan to Win Game

A beautiful day at the Oakland Coliseum as the Oakland Raiders block a field goal attempt on the last play of the game to defeat the Cleveland Browns 26-24. Last Sunday it was Broncos coach Mike Shanahan calling a last second time-out to make Janikowski do a do-over from 52 yards out. He didn't make it. And neither did the Cleveland kicker this week thanks to Tommy Kelly and the special teams stuffing the kick and giving the Raiders their first win of the season. The Raiders offense, with Dante Culpepper at the helm, had a 15-play, 80-yard, 9:06 drive in the third quarter that resulted in a Lamont Jordan 1-yd run for a touchdown.

Congratulations Lane Kiffin for your first win as a NFL coach. Welcome to the regular season Dante Culpepper, you've got the keys to the car so let's see you drive us to the promised land, Playoffs.

Scouts Buzz The Oakland Raiders special teams got their revenge this week against the Cleveland Browns. Although the Raiders gave up a long touchdown return to Cleveland's Josh Cribbs, they redeemed themselves at the end of the game when they blocked a Phil Dawson field goal. Dawson is not to blame in this case. The left guard and left tackle on the Cleveland field goal team were split and that's what caused the field goal block. Oakland special teams coach Brian Schneider called a triple middle block, which has three Oakland defenders pushing three down lineman on the right of the long snapper. It caused leakage against the Browns and allowed the Raiders to block the field goal and earn their first win of the season.
-- Marwan Maalouf, Scouts Inc


And Just for Laughs here's the Philadelphia Eagles Lucky 1930's Throwback Uniforms. Don't laugh, the Detroit Lions did and lost the game 56-21. Wonder how Donovan McNabb feels now as a black quarterback forced to wear canary yellow and powder blue gear. Yes, color matters in the NFL Donovan.

ARAB OWNERSHIP OF U.S. STOCK EXCHANGE?

First it was 22 U.S. ports that the Arab Emirates of Dubai wanted to purchase. Now it's the NASDAQ stock exchange, and in both cases the U.S. President didn't show any alarm whatsoever upon hearing about it .

My guess is either the President and those that pull his strings are in on it and have something to gain, or oil rich countries do have a free pass in western financial institutions and can pretty much do as they please.

If the President didn't see this coming then our beefed up national security is really a joke. He had to know, regardless of what he says. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive about Arab countries buying into the U.S. since the 911 disaster. Thanks to the media and the war, many of us here in these united states are skeptical about Arab interests in this country. But while we, the little citizens of the land of the free are being fed fear, those with the money and power are doing better business than ever with friend and foe of this country.

All this is just more evidence of the arrogance that comes with globalization. Its not about the safety and well being of the people, its about profit and gains.

Get ready citizens of the U.S., the puppet masters are getting ready for their final act before the curtain closes on their show. When you can see the strings from above and the off-key movement of the mouth while words of no importance come out, the show is definitely coming to a close. That could mean good things or bad. Time will tell.

News On Dubai and Nasdaq

Ya Basta!

A book chose me today. The book titled "Always Running" by Luis J. Rodriguez is his memoir of growing up chicano in East L.A. back in the 70's. A book that immediately made me think of my daughter, who's had her share of gang violence and street life. So though the book will eventually end up in her hands as a gift, I hope to read it first to enjoy what seems to be a well written account of a young man who transforms his troubled life from a death wish to a cause for unity and change.

In visiting Rodriguez's web-blog I learn that he's used his writing talent to fight against all sorts of injustices. His latest blog "Chicano Moratorium Against the Vietnam War" is educational as well as inspiring for anyone with a sense of duty to humanity. He ephasizes the need for any and everybody to involve themselves in stopping unjust wars by means of their artistic talents and/or driven desire for justice.

I learned from his blog the spanish term "Ya Basta", which means "that's enough." Luis has been fighting to bring life and political awareness to his people and those who can relate to the southwestern mexican-american plight of overcoming poverty through unity. He writes in the voice of a revolutionary who will continue the struggle, forever.

I believe I read in the opening to his book "Always Running" that he wrote the book after seeing his son begin to go the route of gangs, stealing and drugs that he'd once traveled. What a father, to exposed his sins to the world so that his son, and hopefully other troubled youth out there, can hope for change and take steps toward making changes in their lives.

Right On Luis J. Rodriguez.

"Ya Basta"

Not Just Another Loss

The Oakland Raiders gallantly battled the Denver Broncos into overtime at the new mile high stadium in Denver. If ever I were prouder of my Raiders after a loss, this be the time.

The Raiders for the second week in a row bounced back from a two digit deficit (17-3) to take the lead in the fourth quarter. I too thought we'd won it on a 52-yard field-goal by Jano in overtime. But you know Mike Shanahan and the Broncos will pull out every trick in the book to make the Raiders earn a win in their house. After a mini-celebration on the Raiders sideline it was made known that Shanahan had called a timeout just before the snap; the successful field goal did not count.

After the timeout the Raiders attempted yet again a 52 yard field goal for the win in OT. Jano's kick hit near the top of the right upright and ricochet outward, No Good!

And there was the ballgame. With a tired Raiders defense the Broncos marched downfield on Jay Cutler passes and Jason Elam kicked the winning field goal to end the game 23-20.

The Oakland Raiders are competing and appear to be only a few inches away from their first win of the season. In the meantime, I'd like to congratulate the entire team for not giving up and playing a proud style of football that shows they're a team to be reckoned with this year. Though I was ready to see Daunte Culpepper start at QB, Josh McCown may have been the right decision for this game at loud, breath sucking mile high.

There will be no need for the Oakland Raiders to hang their heads after this loss. They showed that this team is in fact a new and better Oakland Raiders bunch. Hats off to the Raiders for fighting hard and giving us fans hope to live and fight another battle next week.

I'm Still In!

#1 Draft Pick Signed by Raiders; FINALLY!

September 12th, 10:07 a.m. PST:
JaMarcus Russell Officially Signs


How Can I not Be Excited About The Signing?

Got JaMarcus?

The Raiders do!

Exposed Defense and Inconsistent McCown Doom Raiders In Opener

The Oakland Raiders loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 1 is either a curse or a blessing. The Raiders showed they could bounce back from a 17-0 deficit and bad first-half play. They showed, in front of a sellout crowd, that they're a team, a team that fights for all four quarters. Unfortunately, they showed their vulnerability against the pass, their inability to pressure a quarterback and inconsistent offensive attack.

These were the Detroit Lions they were playing, not the Peyton Manning/Marvin Harrison Colts. It'll be interesting to hear what coach Kiffin has to say about the Raiders opening day performance. The fans definitely did their part in filling the Coliseum and bringing the 12th man noise. However, the Raiders were slow in getting into a rhythm on offense and never completely convinced us fans that they could stop any offensive threat. Sure their run-stopping was top notch, but again, we're talking the Lions, the Detroit Lions.

Those poisonous penalties reared their heads a bit but weren't a big factor in the game. Our offensive run blocking which looked so promising in the preseason was missing in action for a good part of the game. Ronald Curry seemed to be the only wide receiver that could make a play or run a decent route, either that or our quarterback was having trouble seeing the field.

Speaking of our quarterback in week 1, the chosen one (Josh McCown) just never looked like a leader on the field. Once the boos started pouring down on him from the stands he started making gutsier plays but that was probably due more to better second half pass protection than from leadership skills coming to fruition. Chants of Daunte! Daunte! Daunte! never brought about a change at QB but I'm sure the entire Oakland Raiders Organization is aware they've got a quarterback controversy on their hands. How long? is the question fans will be asking come next Sunday. How long before coach Kiffin replaces McCown with Daunte Culpepper and gives the team a proven leader at the helm. Until the change is made, McCown will have to take the fall for an offense that is lacking that something.

A Disappointing Loss
Raiders 21
Lions 36

BEAT L.A..........BEAT L.A............BEAT L.A.

If you weren't there tonight you missed a beauty. Bottom of the ninth, tie score 4-4, Daniel Ortmeier of the Giants hits a walk-off Solo Home Run to end the game. Big celebration at the plate, Quick shot of a dejected Lasorda on the big screen, Dodgers fans stunned while Giants fans cheer "Beat L.A." all the way out the gates of AT&T Park and into the streets. People on cell phones telling friends about what they'd just witnessed. It was the quietest I've ever seen so many Dodgers fans and the most celebratory I've seen Giants fans since Barry hit 756. On the bus ride home Giants fans were actually singing songs and being tauntingly friendly to Dodger fans. Someone actually mentioned Playoffs. It was the night that Orange outfoxed Blue. I believe it was the first win at home against the Dodgers this season.

Duck The Fodgers!
SF 5
LA 4
A great night for a Giants win.

Another Great Legend Is Gone, But Not Forgotten.

Luciano Pavarotti
1935-2007

It's Football Season. Be Careful! Lest We Forget.

Last Season Was A Complete Disaster For The Oakland Raiders. From The Owner To The Coaches To The Players, Not Everyone Was In On The Same Page Performing On The Same Professional Level.

Now They Know Better And Have Made Major Adjustments. Come This Sunday And The Following Sundays That Make Up The NFL 2007 Season, Who Are The Oakland Raiders Gonna Bring To Do Battle On The Gridiron?

EVVVERYONE!