It was an honor to be mention in the Paola High School newspaper, the reporter.
On the back features page, “You Know You’re a Panther When ...” listed at 7. Gene Morris is more of a dad than a photographer.
I took it as a compliment.
A friend of mine once said I couldn’t get married, because I was married to Paola. I think that goes along the same lines as being “Father Panther.”
I have spent my youth, well, my younger days anyway, growing older cover now a second generation of Paola athletes. So, dad works for me. I thought it was pretty cool to be thought of like that by the kids.
The annual National Basketball Association’s East-West all-star game Sunday was less than legendary. It was fun to watch at times, but as the West began to pull away in the third quarter and keep their foot on the gas in the fourth frame, there was no drama.  Unless of course, one was trying to figure out who the all-star game MVP was.
And, that was not too difficult to figure out. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant dominated. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure one of them would be the MVP. O’Neil, a Phoenix Sun, had fun playing on his home court. After missing his first shot, O’Neal made eight straight field goals and finished with 19 points. Bryant scored 23 points.
I would have voted for O’Neal to win it on his own, but the co-MVP was not a bad call.
The play of the game was a pass O’Neal made on a give-and-go to the basket, passing the ball to Chris Paul between Dwight Howard’s legs.
It was one of the most impressive all-star game plays I have ever seen. The play was shown several times during the game.
And, O’Neal was moving very well on both ends of the floor. He had spring in his step to beat everyone to the ball for several offensive rebounds.
When is baseball going to stop chasing down players who once did steroids?
Seriously. It has become a joke.
It is pretty disingenuous of Major League Baseball to stand by its claim that they didn’t know players were on the substance, while quietly taking all of the money these home run hitters generated for the game to the bank.
If MLB is going after a player who took steroids after they were formally banned and tested for in 2003, then I have no problem with it. It was banned, the players knew it was being tested for and they should face the consequences. This is especially true if they lied about it in a court proceeding or before Congress.
However, if the players have not been found guilty of anything, have never tested positive, and took substances which were available over the counter and not banned at the time, I think it is pretty hard for baseball to attack them.
The public attacked former Oakland and St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire for refusing to answer questions about steroid use during a Congressional hearing and tagged him as guilty for such.
I think that is unfortunate because McGwire never hid anything and answered questions about his use of androstenedione, a substance available over the counter classified as a dietary supplement by the FDA.
McGwire was asked about it during his single-season home run record chase in 1998. And, the reporters who “broke the story” at the time did not have to look far for it. The “investigative reporters” found it wide out in the open in his locker.
I don’t think McGwire used it to bulk up. He was a big boy when he entered Major League Baseball. I think he used it for his knees, myself, because it aided in the healing process. I believe that is why he walked away from the game. He quit taking it in 1999 and knee injuries shortened his 2000 season to 89 games and limited him to 97 games in 2001. The substance was not banned by MLB until 2004.
So, for baseball writers to keep McGwire out of the Hall of Fame for taking a substance that was considered a dietary supplement by the FDA at the time, is quite a leap.
I think those writers forget that Sammy Sosa and McGwire and their home run chase the summer of 1998 and into that fall, helped save the game of baseball which was still recovering from the strike of 1994 which cost fans not only most of the regular season, but also the post season and World Series.
This might be off topic, but the new dress slacks are driving me bonkers — specifically, the pockets inside the pockets. Why are they there? I don’t get it.
All these extra little pockets do is act as a trap for my keys, making it difficult for me to get them out when I need to get into my apartment, the office or start the car.
A friend told me the pockets are there for pocket watches. Could that be true?
I’m not even a railroader. Why would everyone need a pocket inside of a pocket in their pants for a pocket watch? It makes no sense.
I know, I have a pair of scissors and I can cut the pocket away. But, who wants to do that?
These pockets are crazy. I don’t remember the pockets inside of the pockets being in my pants years ago. I wonder why they are starting to show up in all of my pants now.
I guess I can cut the pocket out as my friend suggested, or go looking for a pocket watch.
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