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I have a problem with being “politically correct.” It seems like being “politically correct” isn’t so much about being politically correct, but using opportunities to advance a certain agenda or lean a certain way.

Case and point:

During an NBA game in August, Kobe Bryant was upset at a referee and called him the “f” word. By “f” word I don’t mean the “f-bomb” (although he did use that word as an adjective), but rather “f**got.” Bryant was fined $100,000 for making an “anti-gay” slur. The story hit the front pages of every major newspaper and website and was a major story for days. Kobe and the Lakers even had to make a video that discouraged people from making similar comments.

Last month, Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls became so outraged at a fan that he yelled that same word at a fan. Unfortunately for Noah, this was caught on tape. Noah was fined $50,000 for his “homophobic” slur. This story was also covered by most media outlets and talked about for days.

Last night, A.J Burnett, pitcher for the New York Yankees, grew frustrated during an interview with reporters. During the course of the interview, Burnett responded to a question by saying, “That’s just retarded.” If you hadn’t heard about that story yet, chances are you won’t. Although it was briefly discussed on Mike & Mike in the Morning, by 3:00 PM today the story wasn’t even a major headline on ESPN.com or even the MLB section on ESPN.com.

One could argue that when Burnett said, “That’s just retarded” he wasn’t implying the quetsion was “mentally challenged.” He may have just been saying, “That’s ridiculous.” However, one might also be able to argue that when someone makes a statement like, “That’s so gay” their intention is somewhere along the lines of, “That’s ridiculous” as well.

While I am firmly against slurs of any kind, it bothers me that we have a double standard when it comes to these things. When an inappropriate comment is made that has homosexual overtones, chaos ensues. Players are fined, national media runs the story, and activists are on TV and in print demanding a public apology. However, when someone throws around a term like “retard” or “retarded,” there’s a slight slap on the wrist if anything. There’s no doubt that comments like that upset organizations that work with the mentally handicapped, but chances are good that spokespeople for their organizations won’t get much airtime or publicity to voice their complaints.

If our culture is going to be so intent on being politically correct, maybe it’s time we stand up for those who truly can’t help themselves. Our culture will stand up for anything and everything if it offends us personally, but maybe we should put aside the double-standard and stand up for those who truly can’t defend themselves.

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/lK0EbA]

Not that I think anyone cares, but here is my reading list for the summer. I’m posting this in case someone may be reading the same book(s) and you’d be interested in discussing.

Just finished: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

Currently reading: Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager by Buzz Bissinger

Up next:

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (Updated) (Portions) by Josh McDowell

Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I’ve also been reading Thank You Notes by Jimmy Fallon and the Writers of Late Night but I don’t think that really counts.

What’s on your list?

Apparently Tiger Woods made his return to professional golf today by teeing off at the Masters. If you didn’t know this, you’re either from another planet or somehow managed to evade all forms of media for the last 2 months (If you didn’t know, please contact me and tell me how to do that sort of thing).

From ESPN to USA Today, every news outlet has been covering this story nonstop like the whole world revolves around it. In fact, ESPN.com used the headline “The Wait of the World” to describe this occasion.

I’ve been trying to find out if people really care about this as much as the media makes it seem like we should care. Does the average Joe really care about all of this…or is all this hype relegated for the TMZ crowd?

Let me ask this 2 questions and hopefully I’ll get some feedback:

1) Do you care that Tiger Woods is returning to golf today?

2) Has the media overhyped this entire story, or are they on par with what the average sports fan is thinking/feeling?

Like many guys, I enjoy sitting in front of the TV and watching Sportscenter. It’s great seeing highlights of your favorite team win and keeping track of your fantasy football players without having to change the channel.

But lately I’ve been getting pretty sick of Sportscenter, ESPN, and most sports coverage. It’s seems as though the Worldwide Leader in Sports has turned into TMZ rather than a highlight real.

Case in point: Tiger Woods

Since Friday, all of sports coverage has been dedicated to Tiger Woods. If he just won a major, a Grand Slam, broke a record, etc I could understand. But no. Coverage has been dedicated to him because of his minor car accident that has resulted in information about an affair or affairs.

Sadly, our media can’t get enough of it probably because we can’t get enough of it. We love the coverage. We love the rumors. We love the allegations. We love seeing a falling star. Gossip feels great because it’s fueled by speculation and up-to-the-minute updates.

But let’s be honest: IT’S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!

Are extramarital affairs wrong? Yes. There’s no doubt about it. But would you want your dirty laundry aired on cable TV 24/7, discussed by radio hosts across the country, written about in every paper and online site, and a trending topic on Twitter. No way. We need to get out of it. It’s not our battle. It’s not our fight. This is between Tiger Woods and his wife.

The solution to stop the nonsense is easy: Quit talking about it. But that doesn’t happen in our society. Some may even argue that I’m fueling the fire by writing this. But my point is simple: this is none of our business. It doesn’t need to be talked about on TV, radio, the newspaper, etc.

Let’s pray for these people; not broadcast their personal lives across the wire.

It’s time for ESPN to get back to what it does best: Sports. For some reason, the network seems to think we all deeply care about are Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, the Lakers, and Tom Brady. Sadly they may be right.

But when it comes to tabloid mania, it still remains none of our business.

Have you seen the movie Angels in the Outfield? If you haven’t, let me give you a brief premise. Basically, the California Angels (now called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) are a horrible team. To help a boy in foster care, angels come and help the team win, including ace pitcher Tony Danza. When all is said and done, the Angels make it to the playoffs. However, the boy finds out real angels don’t help out in the playoffs; the team has to do it themselves. 

Anyway, that’s a brief premise. Sounds hokey, but it brings a tear to my eye. 

Today, I wonder if Yankees fans must know what the boy felt like when he found out angels don’t help out in the playoffs. But in this instance, Yankees fans aren’t wondering about angels, they’re wondering about steroids. During the playoff collapses of the Yanks, why didn’t the steroids seem to show up in Giambi, Clemens, and A-Rod.

If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve probably heard the news by now: Alex Rodriguez, 3rd basemen for the New York Yankees, has admitted to steroid use during the 2001-2003 seasons. These 3 seasons were spent with the Texas Rangers, during the time when A-Rod became the highest paid player in baseball.

On Saturday, news first broke that A-Rod had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. At the time, the drugs were not banned in baseball, but they were illegal in the US unless prescribed by a doctor. The 2003 test was supposed to be anonymous and the results were supposed to be destroyed, and yet somehow the results leaked to the media this past weekend. 

Two days after the news broke, Alex Rodriquez spoke with ESPN and came clean about the whole ordeal.

Let me tell you what I’m thinking and then I want to hear your thoughts.

- First, I applaud A-Rod for finally coming forward and not hiding behind lies anymore. This is a step in the right direction for baseball and hopefully other players will follow suit, most notably Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa.

- I am dismayed that the only reason this came out was because a report was leaked this weekend. This leads me to believe Rodriguez was willing to go to the grave with this secret as long as it didn’t come out from another source. In turn, I wonder if he’s truly sorry for taking steroids, or just sorry he got caught. I believe he feels remorse, but would that remorse be as strong if no one ever knew. Don’t forget, A-Rod lied to Katie Couric about his steroid use in 2007 on 60 Minutes. 

- Even if A-Rod is sincerely sorry for his actions, he still used an illegal substance to try to get ahead of others. Yes, many others were using ‘roids as well, but that doesn’t make it any more acceptable. He will have to be held accountable for his actions. I truly hope he only used PEDs from 2001-2003 and is not sugarcoating the story to get by with less public shame.

- America will be quick to forgive Rodriguez. Look at the examples of Andy Pettite and Jason Giambi. Both men were found guilty of using PEDs (Pettite with HGH and Giambi with steroids). However, both men came clean and baseball fans have forgiven them. Many people think even more highly of Pettite now since his admission. He handled it very well and did not hide from it. He was honest. We appreciate that.

- Rodriguez has put himself above guys like McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, and Palmeiro. Baseball fans are pretty good at spotting a liar when they see one. We can’t forgive the other guys because they’ve given us no reason to forgive them. With A-Rod, wounds will eventually heal.

- Barring any other startling revelations, Alex Rodriguez belongs in the Hall of Fame. His numbers since 2003 prove his is a great baseball player and perhaps one of the greatest of all time. However, there may need to be an asterisk put on his plaque. He should be voted in over Bonds, McGwire, and Clemens with no second thoughts.

- Currently Barry Bonds holds the all-time HR record. Some think A-Rod will break that by the time he retires. Despite A-Rod’s honesty, the record would be tainted. Bonds’ has already tainted it as well. In my mind, Hank Aaron should still be noted as the all-time HR leader, and perhaps Roger Maris should be considered the single season HR champion.

Your thoughts?

If you’ve been keeping up with sports at all, you’ve probably heard all of the controversy with Brett Favre. ESPN has been giving 10X as much coverage to this issue as they are to the Olympics which start in 2 days.

In a nutshell, Brett Favre, longtime quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, announced his retirement this off-season and the role of quarterback was handed over to Aaron Rodgers, who has been waiting in Favre’s shadow for the past 3 years. Well, when Favre retired, Rodgers was named the team’s started quarterback.

Unpleased with his decision, Favre decided to return to football. However, the Packers had already named Rodgers the starting QB. This created quite a dilemma for the team: Read more…

Last night I sat in front of my TV and watched about 4 1/2 hours of the NBA Draft. While the first 15 picks were exciting to watch, I got a little bored once players with 18 syllables in their name started getting drafted from the Congo. However, I continued to watch. 

Something that intrigued me even more than the actual picks was the interview with the players after they were drafted. After the top picks were drafted, they sat down with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN for a brief interview. Smith asked every draftee what they could immediately bring to the table for their new team.

While every player took the opportunity to brag on their own skills, every player also mentioned that they would immediately bring leadership to their new team.

This really made me stop and think. How in the world is an 18-22-year-old kid going to bring leadership to an NBA team that is full of adults. Read more…

So here I am with my first post on iPopCulture.net. Pardon my conceit but its seems pretty cool to be able to have my own blog. I’ve actually been writing a blog on an “unnamed” social networking site since 2004. I won’t tell you what the site is, but I will promise you that I won’t steal your credit card information, send you spam, encourage you to win a PS3 by hitting all of the targets above, or cause you to lose friendships because of who is (or isn’t) in your top friends. (My apologies to “Tom”–it’s nothing personal buddy!)

So I guess I should give a little rundown of what this blog will be about. I know the name gives some of it away, but there’s much more to it. The contents, writing, etc. of this blog will be aimed at teenagers, parents of teenagers, and anyone who works with, lives with, or knows teenagers. Simple enough, right?

You’ll find all sorts of random posts on this blog once I get going. Sometimes I will share the most random ideas with you that might actually make you crack a smile. Other times I may delve into something a tad more serious. Nonetheless, this blog is not just about me, but about the people who read it. Without others, this is nothing more than an online diary. I love getting feedback from people, positive and negative. And maybe, just maybe, you might find something on there that is enjoyable and maybe even beneficial!

I am going to try and post at least twice a week. Right now I am tentatively planning on writing something on Tuesday and Friday. Knowing my random mind, I will probably switch that up to keep people on their toes. 

So, I’m ready to jump right in! In the Fall editions of Horizon and Direction (high school and junior high magazines/Sunday School curriculum), there is an article introducing me to the readers. Well, the information that is listed says it came straight off my blog. So…to keep things honest, here is a look into my crazy, random, and scary mind:

- The human body is immune to bar soap

- Pizza has a higher approval rating than any President in our history

- Body odor is hereditary

 - Flowers are too expensive for something that grows naturally out of the ground

 - The definition of disappointment: thinking you bought Ritz Bitz Cheese Crackers and finding out you bought Ritz Bitz Peanut Butter Crackers

 - If price gouging is illegal for gasoline, it should also be illegal for flowers on Valentine’s Day

 - You’d be amazed at how far I can throw an iPhone when you brag about having one


 - My life goal is to have my name appear on ESPN’s Bottom Line: “ESPN.com reports that David Jones signs a 2-year extension with Cingular.”


 - Spongebob Squarepants actually has rectanglepants


  Read more…