TGIM??? It's Now or Never

It’s Monday morning.  Most of you dread the fact that you are up right now.  You may not be looking forward to going to work, school, or wherever it is you need to be because you are striving to get something out of this.  In order to win,  you need to show greatness.

Where do you think these stories of greatness come from?  They do NOT come from taking it easy.  They come from stepping up to the plate and knocking it out of the park.  Strength isn’t innate, but heart is.  Every step of the way, you are doing what you haven’t done before.  It will always get messy, suck it up.  Every time it hurts a little bit, dig a little deeper – break the habits that defeated you before. 

Progress is being made whether you like it or not.  We all have felt like we’ve hit this wall that won’t let us go any harder, faster, or stronger. We all have the choice what to do next.  

There are many people who want you to succeed, but you are the only one in this fight.  The choice is yours.  Will you face this challenge ready to take you places, or will you find an excuse?

You got this.  Go all the way with the blood, guts, and glory in you to show everyone that you can do what you dreamed of.  It will hurt, but you got this.

HAPPY MONDAY!  LESSSGOOOO

The Game of NO OFFENSE

The NBA has been on rampage making sure that homophobia is banished from the game of basketball. Just over a month ago, Kobe Bryant was caught on national TV using a derogatory slur against gay people. The NBA handed out a large fine of $100,000 for his words, and the LGBTQ world applauded the NBA for its quick and strong reaction to Kobe's misbehavior.

Shortly after that, president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns, Rick Welts, came out publicly. The NBA executive is one of the most high-profile figures still active in sports to declare that he is gay. This was a positive step forward in the world of sports and the progressive world that has encouraging these brave actions.

Former NBA player and current NBA analyst, Charles Barkley responded to the recent anti-gay and gay openness by saying, "I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.” He is absolutely right. People make a big deal out of the possibility of of homophobic responses in the locker room, the fact remains that these people are here to do a job, and get paid A LOT of money for it.

There's never been a peep from anyone who works in business, law, or medicine who works with openly gay people. A brilliant manager of a hedge fund, trial lawyer, or surgeon is never questioned for his or her sexual preference -- the quality of their work speaks for itself.

Last week Joakim Noah, of the Chicago Bulls was fined $50,000 for using a gay slur directed towards a spectator during the Eastern Conference Finals. He apologized almost immediately and absorbed his punishment with grace. People will make mistakes, people will be insensitive, but as things seem to be going people are becoming more tolerant in the world of sports, and especially basketball.

Miller LOW LIFE

I'm only 25 years old but I know a lot about beer. It is not my first choice of "adult beverages," but I can tell a good beer from a bad beer. As an avid sports fan, I tend to see many of the advertisements during sporting events that billions of dollars are spent on annually.

The beer commercials have gained popularity from Super Bowl commercials with talking frogs, beautiful horses, and of course objectified women. We all know that sex sells, and as a marketing tool, sex is a huge money maker, but in this modern era there must be limits to the offensiveness of recent beer commercials that have portrayed women as second class citizens.

Miller Lite has been illustrating men who drink light beer other than Miller Lite as feminine, and thus "less of a man" or "weaker like a woman." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPiBFaTWqIs

This commercial states that there men who drink other light beers are weaker and should hit a golf ball from the ladies tee (closer to the hole than a regulation tee in golf). Besides nothing being wrong with hitting from a ladies tee in a friendly, social game of golf, there isn't anything wrong with drinking another beer if it pleases you.

Miller Lite has taken a marketing approach that would only appeal to a group of men who are so chauvinistic that I have chosen to not buy their beer, even though I have not been a patron of their products in the past. Sports happens to have a much broader audience than just ultra-macho, sexist males, and Miller Lite has yet to address the true demographics of the common sports fan.

Again, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, it won't be Miller Lite.