Ever since my youth in the middle of the last century I’ve been a fan of New York baseball teams. I have a lot of respect for a man who has the talent to hit a 90 mile an hour fastball into the outfield stands 400 feet away. I have fond memories of being there witnessing my heroes Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Roy Campanella and others — many, many others — who gave us that reason to stand and cheer. Last year, on Feb. 9, 2009, Alex Rodriguez broke the hearts of many of the youngsters who adore him. That’s the day he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, not for one week, not for one month, but from 2001 to spring training of 2003. Last month A-Rod hit homer No. 600, another milestone in a super-sensational career. Congratulations. If not in the record books, at least in my mind and in the thoughts of many, the supremacy of baseball should be placing an asterisk next to the slugger’s records.
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Business success should be translated into more jobs. That, however, is not always the case. In fact, here’s an example where it unfortunately proved to be less.
The Miami Heat recently reached deep into its pocket and signed the best available players. The starting five is now known to NBA fans as the Dream Team. There has been so much excitement generated by these new contracts that within a few days the Heat sold out every single ticket for the entire regular season. That left the ticket sellers without tickets to sell. The 30 men and women of the selling staff are now on the unemployment line. Hold your nose because something down there really smells rotten. Couldn’t the management of this ultra-successful Miami club find jobs elsewhere in its enormous flourishing organization for them? They didn’t even try.
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I don’t know who was on the show I watched on MSNBC at around 9:30 pm on Aug. 16 (Yes! I do watch channels other than FOX), but when he was questioned by the guest host about the Ground Zero mosque, he responded with a comment about the absence of remarks by our own Chuck Schumer and Anthony Weiner. He referred to the duo as “Profiles in Cowardice.”
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All we’ve been hearing ever since this illegal immigrant business was addressed by a new Arizona law is “Racial profiling — they’re picking on Hispanics — they’re picking on Hispanics.” Over and over again — “They’re picking on Hispanics.” Hey, c’mon people. This is the Mexican border. Who do you think are sneaking across? Czechoslovakians?
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Tempus fugit! It’s Rosh Hashanah already. I want to wish all of my Jewish friends a very prosperous and healthy New Year and a very happy 5771. Wow! 5771 already? And I just got used to writing 5770.
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I wish the right would stop complaining about the many vacations President Obama has been taking. The left covers him by telling us how hard he works and that he has so much on his plate that he needs more R and R. The right should be thinking about how much damage he does when he’s NOT on vacation. I am StanGershbein@Bellsouth.net wishing him bon voyage, have a wonderful trip and Gai gezunta hait.
