Latest, Greatest Man Crush

That's right. I'm back baby. Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged, but haven't had much time lately, but after I had so many complain about me not posting, I will make time from now on.

I decided to make my return post about my latest man crush, Rahm Emanuel. For those of you who don't know him very well, here is a little info. Emanuel is the current White House Chief of Staff. He was a four term Congressman and was the chair of the DCCC during the 2006 mid-term elections when the Democrats regained control of the House. He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and he has spent the majority of his professional life in public service. He helped get Paul Simon elected in 1984 and went on to be national campaign director for the DCCC in 1988, after which he back senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard Daley's victorious campaign for Mayor of Chicago in 1989. Emanuel moved on to become director of finance for Bill Clinton during his 1992 campaign and crafted the strategy that helped Clinton win the Democratic Primary. After Clinton was elected, he became a senior advisor in the Clinton Administration. In 2002 he was first elected to Congress. Emanuel is now probably the most powerful and influential person in America.

So why the man crush? Well first off, he was my dream job. I am not sure anything professional could top becoming White House Chief of Staff. That position is easily the most powerful position in the entire world. He basically sets the agenda for the country and the President carries it out. Now, I am sure every White House is different, but undoubtably Emanuel has a great deal of influence in shaping this country. Also, he has the job that was once held by one Leo Thomas McGarry. McGarry for course was the Chief of White on the West Wing. John Spencer played what could be argued to be the greatest character ever on television. 

But the real reason for the man crush is the Emanuel is just the type of guy that you look at and can tell that he won't take any shit from anyone. He always looks like he is thinking about how to win at something and he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He is also a no-nonsense kind of guy. He tells you what to do and you do it, or else. My favorite President of all time is Lyndon Johnson. Johnson was the kind of President (probably more so as a Senator) that stood over you and told you what to do and even if you didn't want to, you still thanked him for letting you do it. Emanuel, like Johnson, tells you do something and you do it with the hope that they may someday remember your name. 

Emanuel also doesn't really seem to like doing stuff that he feels is beneath him. I watched him on Larry King Live the other night and it just seemed like he couldn't wait to get out of there. King would ask him a question and Emanuel would smirk and start to answer the question the way that he wanted to, then remember that he is White House Chief of Staff and he gave the answer he was supposed to. You could just tell that he wanted to rip his tie and jacket off and go to work. The best comparison that I can think of is when Phil Hartman player Ronald Reagan on SNL. He was nice and sweet when there were people around and then an attack dog when it was just him and his staff.

I am man enough to admit when I have a man crush and this is a serious man crush. 

FYI: Fantasy baseball draft this weekend, so you can expect a few blogs relating to that issue, so stay tuned.

Sports Fan Manifesto

Pop Quiz:

You are a fan of an obscure tennis player who doesn't win all that often. He rarely makes it to national television, so you are forced to pay to watch his matches online. All of the sudden, he makes a run in a Grand Slam and after watching three matches online, he finally makes it to national television. What do you do? Do you...

A. Of course you watch him on the big screen, he is never on television
B. Stick with the computer because he has won while you were watching him on the computer
C. It doesn't matter, so I will decide what to do based on where I am.

If you answered A or C, unless you are a Cowboys, Phillies, Celtics, or Pitt fan, you need to keep reading. The answer is clearly B and if you don't know that, then I would have to question how much you really care about your favorite teams.

Let's get this out of the way early. What you do does matter as a sports fan. You are not just somebody watching a sporting event, your actions affect your team. I write this post because it is getting to be tournament time and we need to go over a few rules. These aren't rules that you can take some and leave some, they are serious. Here we go:

1. Don't Move
During the 2005 NCAA, West Virginia made a great, unbelievable run, some of which I must take credit for. During the Wake Forest game we weren't playing all that well early, so of course I shifted positions to change the course of the game (which is the only time during a game you are allowed to move). The game did change, which was great, but I was in a pickle. For the last hour or so of the game, I couldn't reach my drink or the food that I had made because my new position didn't allow me too. Did I move? Hell no. What would have happened if I moved? I wasn't about to find out. During the 2000 World Series between the Mets and the Yankees, we were having a big party at my frat house. One of my frat brothers made the mistake of coming upstairs to watch the game with me. He had been drinking, but the Mets were playing well. At one point, he tried to get up to go to the bathroom and he was not allowed. To his credit, he sat their quietly having to pee, but he understood that he couldn't move. The Mets went on to lose in extra innings, but it wasn't our fault. A final, more hurtful example, occurred during the 1999 NLCS. The Mets were playing the Braves in Game 6 and it was a tense game. The Mets were up by one entering the bottom of the 10th and the guy I was watching the game with decided to get up and leave despite my displeasure. The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the 10th and Kenny Rodgers went on to walk in the winning run in the 11th (which I still haven't forgiven him for). I didn't talk to my friend for a week. He cost the Mets a trip to the World Series.

2. Don't change anything
In 1993, WVU was going for a perfect season. During the last game, West Virginia was playing Boston College and was trailing 14-3 with about 7 minutes left. WVU made it 14-9 with under siz to play. I am watching the game in my basement with my dad and my mom wasn't home. WVU forced a fumble and gets the ball back with only a couple of minutes to play. We hear the garage door open because my mom was home. WVU started driving and my mom tried to walk into the room. She is promptly denied entrance into the room. We would not allow her anywhere close enough to see the tv and asked her to wait in the outside room. Ed Hill went on to make on the greatest catches in WVU history and we won. My mom was then allowed to enter the room. Though she was not very happy, she made it possible for WVU to finish their perfect season. If you haven't been calling your friends during the game and your team makes a run, don't pick up the phone and try to call. If they are a true fan they won't answer anyway, but just don't even attempt to mess things up. If you live with someone else, don't say 'hey come watch this' because it just screws things up. If your wife/husband wants to come in and watch the end of the game with you, suck it up and tell them no. A victory is worth all of the trouble you will face later, trust me.

3. Never, ever, say it's over
We have all been there. You are tense during the game and then your team does something to "put the nail in the coffin" and you begin to relax. All of the sudden, your team loses. Think back, did you say "yes, this one is over." Maybe you didn't say it, but you probably thought it. Don't ever do that. I was sitting in the stands in 1996 when WVU was upsetting Miami and the game was over and everyone knew it. The celebration was starting. All WVU had to do was to punt the ball away, make a tackle, and the game was over. Not so easy. Miami blocks the punt, picks it up, laterals it, scores, and WVU loses. It isn't a myth. The sports' gods are sitting up on the mountain waiting, just waiting, for someone to say it is over. Here's a tip. If you are watching the game with someone who says it is over, simply ask them to go outside, turn around three times, spit and curse. That may satisfy the sports' gods and hopefully undo the damage that they have caused.

4. Your lucky shirt/outfit/chair/drink/food is really lucky
You know, all of these rules go hand in hand, which is why I said earlier that you can't pick and choose which rules you will follow. Wearing your lucky shirt or outfit goes together with not moving and not changing anything. A good example of this was when we learned last night that Bob Huggins was wearing the same suit he wore the night before and WVU won again. So, I wore the same outfit to work today that I wore yesterday. I will go home and put on the same outfit tonight that I wore last night. It is the very, very least that we can do for our team. I say this a lot when I talk about what a fan should do, but do I know what would happen if I didn't wear the same outfit, no, and I am not going to find out and you better not either. If your team wins when you eat hot dogs, then damn it, keep eating those hot dogs.

5. Be consistent
This is the most important rule to follow. Simply put, do what you always do. If your team is successful when you watch the game in your kitchen, then watch the games in your kitchen. Don't get caught up in the big game experience. If you watch the games alone, when a big game comes up, don't be stupid and go to the party, stay at home with your dog and do what you always do. It isn't hard. Too many times people get caught up in the moment and decide to break out of their habit and it costs their team. I don't do well when I actually go to the game, so I stay away. In 2007, WVU lost two football games, to Pitt and South Florida. Those two games were the only two games that yours truly went to. It isn't a coincidence, it is fact. Even when I was going to grad school in Morgantown, I didn't go to football games because I don't do well there. The game would be going on two blocks from my place, and I would be sitting in my chair watching the games on tv. That is how it works best.

Some of you may think that these rules are ridiculous. I don't care what you think, just follow them. The bottom line here folks is that you don't tempt fate. Because she will reach up and bite you square in the ass if you do.

I'm Not Easily Impressed...but I'm Impressed by This

I am a big fan of sports (though I know some of you would rather I not write about sports on here, but this story is different) and I love following sports more everyday. It doesn't really matter what sport it is, I like sports stories. I came across this story today and I was amazed. I am not a big fan of players guaranteeing that there team will win. It just seemed pointless to me. Until now. Courtney Paris just told Joe Namath to sit down and shut up. Namath's guarantee isn't anything compared to Paris's recent promise. Namath might have looked like a fool if he the Jets didn't win the Super Bowl but it would really be no big deal. It wouldn't have cost him anything. Paris thinks that those types of guarantees are for kids, so she took it to the next level and I hope other follow.

Some of you may be asking the questions, "who is Courtney Paris." Paris is an All-American women's basketball player for Oklahoma University. I don't follow women's college basketball that much until tournament time, but I have heard of Paris before because she is one of, it not the best player in college basketball. She is clearly also a stand up person. as well. The following statement was made by Paris to OU fans recently:

"We're gonna win a national championship. If we don't, which is not even an option, just to put something on the line - and it might take me the rest of my life - I will pay back my scholarship because I didn't do what I said I was going to do."

$64,000 is what her scholarship is worth. Now most people pay their way through college, but Paris has lead OU to three consecutive Big 12 championships and they are going into this year's tournament as a #1 seed. So she has earned her scholarship. Either way, that statement takes guts. OU is certainly capable of making the Final Four, but they will have to get by the heavily favored, in my opinion, UConn to win the whole thing.

The odds really aren't with Paris, because it is a tough road to win the whole thing, but she just made the tournament more interesting for me and I will now be following closer than ever. I wish her the best of luck and hope that OU is able to pull this one out. This would then go down as the greatest guarantee of all-time.

Being an Uncle

I don't really have anything but news to post yet, but I thought I would let me loyal readers know that I am an uncle now. My brother and his wife had their little girl today. Emma Jane Sutton. She was 7 lbs, 3 oz and is 20 3/4 inches. Here is a photo. I will have more later.

Book Recommendation--sort of

You know, it takes some guts to recommend a book before you have actually read it, but it takes real guts to recommend a book that hasn't even come out yet. That doesn't matter to me, because I have book recommendation for all of you out there. On Monday, it was announced that former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has signed a six-figure book deal. YES! I can't wait.

Blagojevich found a place in my heart quickly after he tried to sell the Illinois Senate seat, not because of his actions, but because of his brass and his ability to be completely oblivious to his situation. Then he named Ronald Burris to the Senate and I quickly found a new favorite public figure. Either Blagojevich just didn't care what he had done or he was in complete denial, either way, the months of his saga were great tv. I really miss seeing him on tv, holding those press conferences where he just completely ignored his situation. I was a fan.

Now he is writing a book that is said to be "embarrassing to himself as well as to others." It is also said that some people "in high places" tried to prevent a book deal. I can't imagine what this guy is going to say, but it is going to be great. I wanted to be the first to recommend the book to all of you, but you will have to wait until October before it comes out. Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

Top Ten Political Movies of All Time

A little short on topics today, so I thought I would break out my list of Top Ten Political Movies. There was some argument (yes, I argue with myself...get used to it) about what is the definition of political movies. I decided to define political movies as a movies whose main plot is political in nature. Maybe it is about the government or an election, either way you will get the gist once you see the list. Here we go:

10. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)--No, not the 2004 version, but the real version, the one with Frank Sinatra in it. This is one of the first great political thrillers and it still stands the test of time. Please don't base your opinion of this movie on the new version, go out and get the real version.

9. The American President--Another list that is talked about somewhat is the list of greatest presidential speeches in film. The speech the Andrew Shepard gives at the end of this movie clearly tops that list. "This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President." Awesome!

8. Wag the Dog--Put Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro in any movie and it is going to be great. Add William H. Macy, Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, and Willie Nelson and you have a classic. This is probably the best political satire ever. "War is business, that's why we're here." Great line from a really funny movie.

7. The Best Man--Probably the best political movie that most of you have heard of. Henry Fonda is in this wonderful movie about political campaigns. The basic premise of this movie boils down to how much dirt a candidate is willing to fling to win their nomination. Funny story about this movie, apparently Ronald Reagan tested for this movie, but was turned down for "not having the presidential look."

6. All The President's Men--This is just a classic. I get excited to watch this movie every time I sit down to watch it, even though I have seen it about 50 times. Based on the Watergate scandal, this movie delivers in the toughest of circumstances. We already know the ending and the story, yet the movie keeps you intrigued right up until the end. That is tough to do.

5. Primary Colors--One of my favorites of all time. John Travolta and Emma Thompson are amazing and Billy Bob Thornton puts it over the top. Best line that sums up this movie comes from Emma Thompson's (the candidate's wife) character. She explained her husband like so, "your grandfather was a great man. Jack Stanton could also be a great man, if he wasn't such a faithless, thoughtless, disorganized, undisciplined shit."

4. The Candidate--Probably Robert Redford's best movie. If you are a political person you have probably seen this movie, otherwise you might not of. Redford's character runs for Senate with no chance of winning and they run their campaign that way. It is a fabulous story about political campaigns and contains the greatest line in political movie history. Redford's character has just won in a huge surprise and he is sitting on the bed in his hotel room and he looks up at his campaign manager with this worried look and says, "What do we do now?" Classic.

3. Citizen Kane--Easily could be considered the best movie of all time and I would have no problem with that. This still is a motion picture master piece. My favorite line from this movie is, "you're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place...in 60 years."

2. All the Kings Men (1949)--Unlike most, I like the Sean Penn version of this movie, but it is probably because I love Willie Stark, aka Huey P. Long. Still, the new version doesn't even hold water to the original version when Broderick Crawford plays Stark. It is a great story of how a person can get caught up in power and politics and Stark is just the kind of guy you root for even though he changes. It is also a great story of Stark's aid, who is just bright eyed and who becomes a political animal overnight. The best line in this movie and one of the greatest of all times is "Now, shut up! Shut up, all of you! Now listen to me, you hicks. Yeah, you're hicks too, and they folled you a thousand times like they fooled me. But this time, I'm going to fool somebody. I'm going to stay in this race. I'm on my own and I'm out for blood."

1. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington-- Not only does this top this list, it also tops my best movies of all time list. It is simply the greatest story ever told in a movie. My favorite line is when Jefferson Smith gets really mad, at least as mad as he can, and says, "I wouldn't give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn't have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella, too." This movies gives you hope and makes you wish there were more leaders out there like Smith.