I’m going to preface this by saying that while I dislike the Patriots because of their fans, their ownership, management and quarterback are top notch. In fact, I hope that the Bills could put together 75% of what they have in Foxboro. Their fans are just douches!

According to Peter King, Tom Brady will finish his career as he had hoped, at 40 and as a member of the New England Patriots. From Sports Illustrated: “For the second time in his illustrious career, Brady is doing something players in this day and age simply do not do: As he did in 2005, Brady, a league source told SI.com, is signing a contract with New England that will pay him significantly less money than the market will bear, in large part to help the Patriots stay competitive for the next five seasons. Amazingly, according to the source, the deal is for an eye-poppingly conservative $27 million, which is less than half his worth by any measure.”

On the surface this deal is pretty good for the Patriots and undoubtably amazing for fans across the Northeast. But is it? Take a look at the cap numbers for Brady. Is he really taking less money or just getting non-guaranteed money locked in for the future?  Am I assuming all of that $27 is guaranteed?  Yes.  From the same article:

2013: $13.8 million.
2014: $14.8 million.
2015: $13 million.
2016: $14 million.
2017: $15 million.

What’s so good about those numbers? Let me be hypothetical for a minute. Brady has two years remaining on this contract he signed in 2010 for a total of $19.5 milion. His cap number was supposed to be $21+ million just this year and now it’s down to $13.8. Sure that’s good for now, but did the Patriots just guaranteed a whole bunch of money and spread his cap number three more years for relief right now? Will Tom Brady still be Tom Terrific in 2015-2017?  The Patriots had to do this to save money this year more than Brady had to take a below market deal for the future.

So here is my issue with Peter King praising Brady for “taking less money;” is he really taking less money? Sure, 3 years and $27 million seems like a steal, but if my math is correct, the salaries above equal $70.6 million over five years. If I add up the actual cash he’s getting over the next 5 years, I believe we’re around $46.5 million. I’m not a cap expert by any means but it looks like the Patriots guaranteed him a bunch of future money so his cap number wouldn’t be as devastating this year, (and I imagine next year as well.) Sure, if Brady plays like he has for the next five years, the Patriots will be the smartest people in the game. However, if Brady gets injured, let’s say hypothetically it’s career ending, sometime in 2013, the Pats are on the hook for a lot of coin for basically nothing. It’s a calculated risk, and with a superstar you have to sometimes do so, but I’m not so sure this is such a great move by the Pats.

I get that the teams in the NFL have become super creative with salary cap numbers and moving things around so that a player is taking up less cap space from year to year.  In fact, I think it’s a pretty cool thing.  My issue stems from guaranteeing that a 40 year old player will be taking up $15 million in cap space regardless if he’s still playing in the NFL or not. 

Shoutout to Spotrac for the salary information.

The living wage claim imbroglio has done us good in having to examine wages and living costs: I am not so sure it has done us right. It took a bit of looking to find the paper setting out the claims to a “living wage” of $18.40/hr; they were not on the Anglican Church Family Centre web site [1], in whose name they were, but on the Living Wage NZ site who commissioned them. [2]

The claim then is political – a creature of the unions and the ultra left greens with the churches donning social-justice robes and blessing all, other than those who ultimately have to pay. The politics of envy are writ large: bosses and others must be richer, so they can pay, to match our spending aspirations. If the boss class hasn’t got it, then the Government must have. Someone needs to pony up to satisfy our unrequited hunger for more.

I suspect there is sin somewhere in the midst of this. Is it right to heavy employers, a.k.a. bosses, to pay more when no more is going to come their way to meet the extra demand? Is it right to set demands for pay in excess of minimum reasonable needs? Is it right to pay a single 18 year old straight from year 13 at high school the same hourly rate as an experienced single worker, or one a few years further on who has a spouse, and the population replacement minimum 2 children, the same hourly rate also? If justice is about balance where is it here? Are ability and contribution of a worker to producing residual income to be ignored?

The Bible mentions that the “poor are always with you” [3]. Can we remove them without impoverishing others? Who are the poor anyway? Scripture refers to those “poor in spirit” [4] – they don’t necessarily come out of physical poverty by coming to know God, but they can have a greater gain which far exceeds material wealth. Is an increase in material wealth a release from poverty? – ask a large lottery winner that question after their family splits up and they return to their original or frequently even lesser state[5]. Does “throwing money” at a family defined as “poor” increase happiness, satisfaction of life, material wealth or just feed the gimmes? Can the gimmes ever be satisfied and what is the material level at which people are poor? Surely my ‘poor’ is different to your ‘poor’ and if I don’t feel poor, but you call me poor, who are you to define my state- particularly if you are going to pressure others to pay me more. I may gain no extra satisfaction at the expense of another losing some of theirs. The transactions while equal in monetary terms may be personally unequal materially and spiritually.

There is ignorance out there about elementary economics. In a closed economic system one unit’s gain is another’s loss; in an open system, if we have an excess of demand over what is internally available that is taken up in the nation’s accounts with the outside world. We look at our dollar and say it is high but the price of a Big Mac in NZ and the USA is presently within 1% of each other [6]. The high external spending by the USA shows in the price of their dollar: we are not high, they are low [7]. What a country does internally affects its external finances and hence its ability to pay for the everyday needs from overseas. It also affects those it trades with; our now high dollar makes it difficult for us to sell. To import we must export and if we create demand internally by Government spending more or workers being paid more we have to balance that ultimately by either exporting or overseas borrowing. See the problem: we have a high dollar imposed on us because of another country’s massive spending [8] [9] and we have to keep demand manageable as our exporters’ ability to provide for us has been impacted. Sorry greenies there is no free money: someone has to produce and sell for someone to be paid. If money is created by local bank lending that too increases demand, along with a multiplier affect as the newly created money is passed from bank to bank. Creating demand is easy, living with an excess of it is not. “Too much money chasing too few goods” is a recipe for an increase in local prices to balance it out. If the prices don’t go up those with more money can gain at the expense of those providing the goods and services, so the suppliers’ instincts will make sure they don’t lose. This inflation can cause massive unfairness. If house prices rise excessively because low interest rate loans fuel a buying spree, rents will rise too. Inflation erodes the stored buying power of savings, and cuts the relative buying power of pensioners and others on fixed incomes. It also fuels wage demands as wage rates based on previous price and productivity levels have a natural lag before employers effect long term changes in their price and cost structures.

Being a Government and having to manage demand is an awful job. Too much demand and the overseas accounts and reserves are in jeopardy, which can include food imports: too little, and workers are laid off as sales fall off! Now add the Christchurch $20-$30 billion dollars of rebuild [10] thrust upon the country to accommodate as well. I am amazed at how well the Government has managed the nation’s accounts in these circumstances. Over the last few years prices have been reasonably stable except for housing. I am buying as much for my dollar at the supermarket as I did a year or so ago. Prices are competitive but I could easily pay another $50 a week (20%) by choosing to shop at the sole local supermarket. The living wage claim if forced has the ability to promote inflation when we have had stable times. The present low interest rates must cease in time and we will then have to adjust our budgets accordingly. Nowhere in scripture does it say we are not to feel hard up, and substantial future increases in interest rates will be hard to accommodate, but I know that we will manage, and pay our bank loan as a standing priority. Real poverty must be the state of not being able to adjust, not that of being unable to satisfy aspirations as embedded in defined arbitrary household expenditure feel-good models.

Poverty is ultimately attitude to managing with what we have; defining it as 60% of the median household income level [11] is excessively generous. That also does not take into account the 9 elements which make up each individual’s capacity to earn; one size cannot fit all. In my view these are:

• Intelligence
• Nous
• Cultural environment
• Educational attainment
• Life experience
• Life events
• Age
• Motivation
• Opportunity

Not a sociologist’s set, but I believe they explain individual capacity and ultimate achievement well.

Intelligence is usually ignored or even denigrated, as we are not allowed to classify people by such differences, as they might feel bad. But people are self-classifying, – they do not enroll morons (those with an IQ 51-70) in PhD programmes, nor are they employed as nuclear physicists. I had my eyes opened as a junior school teacher trainee when I found that in the class of about 25 there were 6 with a measured IQ of 150 or more. That should not have been surprising as the school was the neighborhood one of the leading Wellington professionals. The children were only closely mirroring their parents. Innate intelligence has to be major component of earning capacity potential and is undeniably family transmitted. It may be the most important determinant, life events being neutral. If so it is only to be expected high income neighborhoods have compatible people socially and intellectually.

Nous must be a type of intelligence: it is exhibited by the non-intellectual high school drop-out who has the entrepreneurial flair to create a substantial scrap metal and industrial waste pickup and recycling business.

Cultural environment and background is supposed to be neutral, but it isn’t. My 7 years in Samoa showed me that. Children of higher ranking chiefs were expected to do well in school and other pupils subtly deferred, so it was not necessarily the most able pupils who were the apparent high achievers. The overall level of class attainment was reduced to allow higher status children to shine. I believe this is at work in NZ schools too, possibly in a more complex or disguised form and it may not be that the education system in NZ is failing Polynesian pupils but many do not have an implicit self permission to succeed, and therefore limit their ambition.

Educational attainment is measured in trade and professionally useful qualifications and is rewarded accordingly. Some intellectuals can’t make it past becoming a postman; a PhD in medieval monastic clericalism does not bode well for employment to repay the student loan or maintain a family.

Life experience adds to the complex riches an employee brings to any job which can translate into dollars.

Life events can both give and take away opportunities to prosper. These may be random such as health accidents which reduce earning ability or inheritances providing capital. An inheritance may be squandered as easily as it came. Random misfortune may simply present itself. However useful personal connections can enhance earning ability.

Age at all levels influences earning capacity. Most people are not born with assured capital or income and have to live and age to acquire skills to earn. Old age may prevent employment but may have given opportunity for the wise to acquire income producing capital.

Motivation is a leveler – without it, earning capacity can drop to zero. I have seen cannabis render primary school children vegetative drifters, and a high school potential dux rendered a drop-out. Many on sickness or invalids’ benefits are unemployable because of drug taking. From experience I know that drug damaged people are not, or barely, employable. We can tut tut but we have to accept these people need our love and support. They may have rendered themselves helpless but punishing them is wrong.

Opportunity deals with place and provision of work. High unemployment reduces that, career choices, voluntary or involuntary, create paths which can be hard to change from. I joined Inland Revenue as a young person because I was placed there then by the Government personnel machine which led directly in time to my 7 years in Samoa. I had to make a deliberate choice to return to NZ and not take up a certainly higher paying job at the Asian Development Bank or to decline another offer to reside and implement a national savings scheme in Kiribati. A great deal of our employment opportunities and hence earning potential result from random forces external to us.

The provision of a living wage as defined is not a right and the amounts that different people need are not the same either. The blanket amount of $18.40/hr being promoted seems overly generous. In a time of economic stringency, particularly with the Christchurch earthquake bill to be paid, the country cannot afford to lift minimum pay rates so. It is improper union pressure to seek to have local authorities pay the higher rate sought: certainly they could pay as they can tax to do so, but that will flow on through the community. The flow from there will be into higher rates – where else is the matching output coming from to provide this sought largesse? Do we want price inflation on top of the Christchurch event? Are we prepared to revisit a wage price spiral which we struggled through in the 70’s and 80’s of which I remember mortgage rates of 15% and term deposits of 18.75%?

The claims of poverty in NZ seem to be driven particularly by the Polynesian communities; certainly their faces [12] are used to promote the claims. The Focus Group survey, [13] shows $400/week for food and a total of $2503/week for the Porirua respondents. In Kingsland (Auckland) it is a lot less at $1504/week (which is still 1.67 times our weekly overall spend, for a household of seven in a suburb neighbouring Porirua.) There are cultural pressures at work in these communities that are absent in others and they will spend, borrowing at high interest if necessary, to meet their fa’alavelave calls or other commitments like unveilings. This does not mean they are poor but their lifestyle is not well provided for in NZ. Fa’alavelave spreads the burdens of their distress throughout the extended network but the calls to support those overseas are really hard. It may be another two generations before this problem is solved. It is not proper though to use the real hardship of this minority group to attempt to force up the national wage rates. People are needy for different reasons but all cannot be treated equally without someone paying. It is going to take some wise work at the community level to put in place a local help network. It may be that we Pakeha, Palangi or other ethnic groups are going to have to accept temporarily increased financial and social remedial support to these communities to meet their cultural dues while working with them to enable them to be more self reliant in NZ. In my view this group may be largest group in NZ whose needs have not been specially provided for. We accepted them over time as migrants so we have acquired a responsibility to see that their culture does not beggar them. I have spoken about the economic pressure extra spending will cause, but I would like this concern to go on our NZ to-do list.

We should be careful what we ask for and those who promote change based on ideology not knowledge may not do the justice they claim to be the face of. The Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa & Polynesia is out of its depth and like the Salvation Army has become a political tool of a union which has failed to account for tax deducted from its own employees’ pay [14]. The Gospel drives us to compassion for the poor: Christ restored the widow’s son to life so the son could do what was customary to care for her as a widow. There is no suggestion that the son was not to be himself to be reduced in means as he shared his support with his mother. We are all equal in the eyes of God but not all equal here in our natural fallen state in this sojourn on earth. Any ideology that tries to make us equal is based on the premise that something should be forcibly taken from one to give to another. The Kingdom of God would have it that we give to the other out of love.

References (all current as at 18 February 2013):

[1] http://www.familycentre.org.nz/

[2] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/

[3] Matthew 26:11

[4] Matthew 5:3

[5] http://www.businessinsider.com/10-lottery-winners-who-lost-it-all-2010-5?op=1 This is just one example among many.

[6] http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart-18

[7] Have a look at the five year historical cross rates of the UDS/EUR on: http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

[8] http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

[9] http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-dollar-collapse-where-is-germanys-gold/5321894

[10] http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10854830

[11] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/files/embargo%20file/Living%20Wage%20Investigation%20Report.pdf (Executive Summary page 1.)

[12] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/

[13] Ibid Living Wage Investigation Report p.8.

[14] http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/4994627/Unite-still-paying-off-tax-debt

Mohammad Salman Hamdani was a Muslim American and New York Police Cadet who provided his assistance for those trying to escape the World Trade Center twin towers and was tragically killed on September 11, 2001.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Salman_Hamdani

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261970/mohammed-salman-hamdani-hero-all-along-matthew-shaffer

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-03-04/opinion/hamdani.homeland.security.muslim_1_american-muslims-salman-hamdani-terrorist-attacks?_s=PM:OPINION

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/nyregion/sept-11-memorial-obscures-a-police-cadets-bravery.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/09/national/portraits/POG-09HAMDANI.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-te.911shane11sep11,0,835756,full.story

Keith Ellison mentioned Salman Hamdani, as one of the 29 Muslims killed on September 11,2001:

Salman’s mom interview with the New York Times:

“But playing would help him (Tebow) the most, and the only place he has a chance to play, I think, would be in Canada,” stated King even after conceding the reader’s point that he has “heard from a lot of people that Tebow’s inaccuracy would doom him in Canada.”

Mr. King, I understand that being a bona-fide expert of a pro American football league of 30 teams as well as an authority on the American college game and it’s 1,489 teams (*might be a slight exaggeration) takes up a lot of time and you may not care to spend your summer following a strange Canadian version of your game with it’s eight – sometimes nine if we feel like letting Ottawa join us – teams. So since you’re clearly not familiar, you might want to take the advice of those “a lot of people” that tell you Tebow would be no good in the CFL, because he wouldn’t.

In 2012 – the only year we can safely look at Tim Tebow’s stats as a starting QB with any fairness – threw for 1,729 yards in 14 games.

Steven Jyles – who was the Edmonton Eskimos on-again-off-again-on-again starting QB and who the Eskimos told this winter that was no longer needed, threw for 1,756 which was good enough for ninth among QBs in the league.

Ninth.  In a league of eight teams and ergo eight starting QBs.  Meaning 2011 Tebow – which everyone outside of Tebow’s mom and the most delusional of Denver Broncos fans out there agrees was primarily a fluke season – would be tenth.

Tebow playing in the CFL would be such a horrible failure that it would make Vince Ferragamo’s failed year in Montreal look all-pro worthy.  (Look it up kids)  The CFL is a passing league and yes a guy who can run as well as Tebow could – in theory – do well up here, but beyond being a passing league it’s a “smart QB” league and quarterbacks who make poor judgments when it comes to tucking and running or throwing the ball down field often get punished early and often and end up getting dismissed shortly after.

Peter King suggests Tebow’s best chance to get playing time would be in the CFL, but unless he’s referring to all the times he’d see action when a CFL team is going for it on third and one I don’t see how that’s possible.  He sure as heck wouldn’t be able to beat out Travis Lulay in BC, Drew Tate in Calgary, Darian Durant in Saskatchewan, Ricky Ray in Toronto, Henry Burris in Hamilton and certainly not Anthony Calvillo in Montreal (the team by the way that holds Tebow’s CFL rights).  He’d maybe – and I mean slight chance – have a shot in Edmonton where the QB position looks to be open season coming up, but they are also looking for a QB who can be a cornerstone of that offense for a few years.  His only shot as any real chance would be Winnipeg where Buck Pierce is a lock to be starting QB until a feather lands on him and ends up giving him his 17th concussion in the last three years (*might be a slight exaggeration) thus opening the path to starting QB glory.

Of course ALL of this talk is moot anyway as Tebow has seemingly opted to be an NFL afterthought and keep at least collecting an NFL sized check rather than try his luck in Canada mainly because he more than anyone else on god’s green earth realizes that if he can’t make it here – and there is nothing to suggest he can – then the next stop is MAYBE the Arena Football League.

But the comedy in all this is that there are still people clueless enough to think that Tebow would at least have a chance in the CFL.

He’d have a better chance in the Lingerie Football League.  After all he’s got the “going shirtless” thing down pat.

Jonah Keri used this Wil Myers image so I got nostalgic. ANDREW WOOLLEY/FOUR SEAM IMAGES/AP IMAGES

First Quarter: Starter Links

1) Peter King looks at NFL free agency
2) Gwen Knapp on Danica Patrick
3) Mad Chatter from Dirk Chatelain of the Omaha World Herald
4) Sam Mellinger of the Twitter Tuesday
Bonus – Chuck Culpepper examines the Oscar Pistorius case

Second Quarter: NBA/NHL

1) NBA scoreboard
2) Lakers Jerry Buss passes
3) NHL scoreboard
4) Puck Daddy is trying to figure out who the San Jose Sharks are

Third Quarter: College Basketball

1) Mid-Major Power Pyramid
2) Mike Montgomery apologizes
3) Team comparison 
4) ESPN.com women’s college basketball Bracketology with Charlie Creme

Fourth Quarter: MLB

1) Tom Verducci says history won’t be kind to the Orioles this season
2) Jonah Keri breaks down the 16 best MLB prospects
3) Big League Stew article
4) Josh Reddick has the photo of the day

Follow Me on Twitter @MikeVmos Thanks!

2013 Posts: 57

The living wage claim imbroglio has done us good in having to examine wages and living costs: I am not so sure it has done us right. It took a bit of looking to find the paper setting out the claims to a “living wage” of $18.40/hr; they were not on the Anglican Church Family Centre web site [1], in whose name they were, but on the Living Wage NZ site who commissioned them. [2]

The claim then is political – a creature of the unions and the ultra left greens with the churches donning social-justice robes and blessing all, other than those who ultimately have to pay. The politics of envy are writ large: bosses and others must be richer, so they can pay, to match our spending aspirations. If the boss class hasn’t got it, then the Government must have. Someone needs to pony up to satisfy our unrequited hunger for more.

I suspect there is sin somewhere in the midst of this. Is it right to heavy employers, a.k.a. bosses, to pay more when no more is going to come their way to meet the extra demand? Is it right to set demands for pay in excess of minimum reasonable needs? Is it right to pay a single 18 year old straight from year 13 at high school the same hourly rate as an experienced single worker, or one a few years further on who has a spouse, and the population replacement minimum 2 children, the same hourly rate also? If justice is about balance where is it here? Are ability and contribution of a worker to producing residual income to be ignored?

The Bible mentions that the “poor are always with you” [3]. Can we remove them without impoverishing others? Who are the poor anyway? Scripture refers to those “poor in spirit” [4] – they don’t necessarily come out of physical poverty by coming to know God, but they can have a greater gain which far exceeds material wealth. Is an increase in material wealth a release from poverty? –  ask a large lottery winner that question after their family splits up and they return to their original or frequently even lesser state[5]. Does “throwing money” at a family defined as “poor” increase happiness, satisfaction of life, material wealth or just feed the gimmes? Can the gimmes ever be satisfied and what is the material level at which people are poor? Surely my ‘poor’ is different to your ‘poor’ and if I don’t feel poor, but you call me poor, who are you to define my state- particularly if you are going to pressure others to pay me more. I may gain no extra satisfaction at the expense of another losing some of theirs. The transactions while equal in monetary terms may be personally unequal materially and spiritually.

There is ignorance out there about elementary economics. In a closed economic system one unit’s gain is another’s loss; in an open system, if we have an excess of demand over what is internally available that is taken up in the nation’s accounts with the outside world. We look at our dollar and say it is high but the price of a Big Mac in NZ and the USA is presently within 1% of each other [6]. The high external spending by the USA shows in the price of their dollar: we are not high, they are low [7]. What a country does internally affects its external finances and hence its ability to pay for the everyday needs from overseas. It also affects those it trades with; our now high dollar makes it difficult for us to sell. To import we must export and if we create demand internally by Government spending more or workers being paid more we have to balance that ultimately by either exporting or overseas borrowing. See the problem: we have a high dollar imposed on us because of another country’s massive spending [8] [9] and we have to keep demand manageable as our exporters’ ability to provide for us has been impacted. Sorry greenies there is no free money: someone has to produce and sell for someone to be paid. If money is created by local bank lending that too increases demand, along with a multiplier affect as the newly created money is passed from bank to bank. Creating demand is easy, living with an excess of it is not. “Too much money chasing too few goods” is a recipe for an increase in local prices to balance it out. If the prices don’t go up those with more money can gain at the expense of those providing the goods and services, so the suppliers’ instincts will make sure they don’t lose. This inflation can cause massive unfairness. If house prices rise excessively because low interest rate loans fuel a buying spree, rents will rise too. Inflation erodes the stored buying power of savings, and cuts the relative buying power of pensioners and others on fixed incomes. It also fuels wage demands as wage rates based on previous price and productivity levels have a natural lag before employers effect long term changes in their price and cost structures.

Being a Government and having to manage demand is an awful job. Too much demand and the overseas accounts and reserves are in jeopardy, which can include food imports: too little, and workers are laid off as sales fall off! Now add the Christchurch $20-$30 billion dollars of rebuild [10] thrust upon the country to accommodate as well. I am amazed at how well the Government has managed the nation’s accounts in these circumstances. Over the last few years prices have been reasonably stable except for housing. I am buying as much for my dollar at the supermarket as I did a year or so ago. Prices are competitive but I could easily pay another $50 a week (20%) by choosing to shop at the sole local supermarket. The living wage claim if forced has the ability to promote inflation when we have had stable times. The present low interest rates must cease in time and we will then have to adjust our budgets accordingly.  Nowhere in scripture does it say we are not to feel hard up, and substantial future increases in interest rates will be hard to accommodate, but I know that we will manage, and pay our bank loan as a standing priority. Real poverty must be the state of not being able to adjust, not that of being unable to satisfy aspirations as embedded in defined arbitrary household expenditure feel-good models.

Poverty is ultimately attitude to managing with what we have; defining it as 60% of the median household income level [11] is excessively generous. That also does not take into account the 9 elements which make up each individual’s capacity to earn; one size cannot fit all. In my view these are:

• Intelligence
• Nous
• Cultural environment
• Educational attainment
• Life experience
• Life events
• Age
• Motivation
• Opportunity

Not a sociologist’s set, but I believe they explain individual capacity and ultimate achievement well.

Intelligence is usually ignored or even denigrated, as we are not allowed to classify people by such differences, as they might feel bad. But people are self-classifying, – they do not enroll morons (those with an IQ 51-70) in PhD programmes, nor are they employed as nuclear physicists. I had my eyes opened as a junior school teacher trainee when I found that in the class of about 25 there were 6 with a measured IQ of 150 or more. That should not have been surprising as the school was the neighborhood one of the leading Wellington professionals. The children were only closely mirroring their parents.  Innate intelligence has to be major component of earning capacity potential and is undeniably family transmitted. It may be the most important determinant, life events being neutral. If so it is only to be expected high income neighborhoods have compatible people socially and intellectually.

Nous must be a type of intelligence: it is exhibited by the non-intellectual high school drop-out who has the entrepreneurial flair to create a substantial scrap metal and industrial waste pickup and recycling business.

Cultural environment and background is supposed to be neutral, but it isn’t. My 7 years in Samoa showed me that. Children of higher ranking chiefs were expected to do well in school and other pupils subtly deferred, so it was not necessarily the most able pupils who were the apparent high achievers. The overall level of class attainment was reduced to allow higher status children to shine. I believe this is at work in NZ schools too, possibly in a more complex or disguised form and it may not be that the education system in NZ is failing Polynesian pupils but many do not have an implicit self permission to succeed, and therefore limit their ambition.

Educational attainment is measured in trade and professionally useful qualifications and is rewarded accordingly. Some intellectuals can’t make it past becoming a postman; a PhD in medieval monastic clericalism does not bode well for employment to repay the student loan or maintain a family.

Life experience adds to the complex riches an employee brings to any job which can translate into dollars.

Life events can both give and take away opportunities to prosper. These may be random such as health accidents which reduce earning ability or inheritances providing capital. An inheritance may be squandered as easily as it came. Random misfortune may simply present itself. However useful personal connections can enhance earning ability.

Age at all levels influences earning capacity. Most people are not born with assured capital or income and have to live and age to acquire skills to earn. Old age may prevent employment but may have given opportunity for the wise to acquire income producing capital.

Motivation is a leveler – without it, earning capacity can drop to zero. I have seen cannabis render primary school children vegetative drifters, and a high school potential dux rendered a drop-out. Many on sickness or invalids’ benefits are unemployable because of drug taking. From experience I know that drug damaged people are not, or barely, employable. We can tut tut but we have to accept these people need our love and support. They may have rendered themselves helpless but punishing them is wrong.

Opportunity deals with place and provision of work. High unemployment reduces that, career choices, voluntary or involuntary, create paths which can be hard to change from.  I joined Inland Revenue as a young person because I was placed there then by the Government personnel machine which led directly in time to my 7 years in Samoa. I had to make a deliberate choice to return to NZ and not take up a certainly higher paying job at the Asian Development Bank or to decline another offer to reside and implement a national savings scheme in Kiribati. A great deal of our employment opportunities and hence earning potential result from random forces external to us.

The provision of a living wage as defined is not a right and the amounts that different people need are not the same either. The blanket amount of $18.40/hr being promoted seems overly generous. In a time of economic stringency, particularly with the Christchurch earthquake bill to be paid, the country cannot afford to lift minimum pay rates so. It is improper union pressure to seek to have local authorities pay the higher rate sought: certainly they could pay as they can tax to do so, but that will flow on through the community. The flow from there will be into higher rates  - where else is the matching output coming from to provide this sought largesse? Do we want price inflation on top of the Christchurch event? Are we prepared to revisit a wage price spiral which we struggled through in the 70’s and 80’s of which I remember mortgage rates of 15% and term deposits of 18.75%?

The claims of poverty in NZ seem to be driven particularly by the Polynesian communities; certainly their faces [12] are used to promote the claims. The Focus Group survey, [13] shows $400/week for food and a total of $2503/week for the Porirua respondents.  In Kingsland (Auckland) it is a lot less at $1504/week (which is still 1.67 times our weekly overall spend, for a household of seven in a suburb neighbouring Porirua.)  There are cultural pressures at work in these communities that are absent in others and they will spend, borrowing at high interest if necessary, to meet their fa’alavelave calls or other commitments like unveilings. This does not mean they are poor but their lifestyle is not well provided for in NZ. Fa’alavelave spreads the burdens of their distress throughout the extended network but the calls to support those overseas are really hard. It may be another two generations before this problem is solved. It is not proper though to use the real hardship of this minority group to attempt to force up the national wage rates. People are needy for different reasons but all cannot be treated equally without someone paying.  It is going to take some wise work at the community level to put in place a local help network. It may be that we Pakeha, Palangi or other ethnic groups are going to have to accept temporarily increased financial and social remedial support to these communities to meet their cultural dues while working with them to enable them to be more self reliant in NZ. In my view this group may be largest group in NZ whose needs have not been specially provided for. We accepted them over time as migrants so we have acquired a responsibility to see that their culture does not beggar them. I have spoken about the economic pressure extra spending will cause, but I would like this concern to go on our NZ to-do list.

We should be careful what we ask for and those who promote change based on ideology not knowledge may not do the justice they claim to be the face of. The Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church of Aotearoa & Polynesia is out of its depth and like the Salvation Army has become a political tool of a union which has failed to account for tax deducted from its own employees’ pay [14]. The Gospel drives us to compassion for the poor: Christ restored the widow’s son to life so the son could do what was customary to care for her as a widow. There is no suggestion that the son was not to be himself to be reduced in means as he shared his support with his mother. We are all equal in the eyes of God but not all equal here in our natural fallen state in this sojourn on earth.  Any ideology that tries to make us equal is based on the premise that something should be forcibly taken from one to give to another. The Kingdom of God would have it that we give to the other out of love.

References (all current as at 18 February 2013):

[1] http://www.familycentre.org.nz/

[2] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/

[3] Matthew 26:11

[4] Matthew 5:3

[5] http://www.businessinsider.com/10-lottery-winners-who-lost-it-all-2010-5?op=1   This is just one example among many.

[6] http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2013/01/daily-chart-18

[7] Have a look at the five year historical cross rates of the UDS/EUR on:  http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

[8] http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending

[9] http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-dollar-collapse-where-is-germanys-gold/5321894

[10] http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10854830

[11] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/files/embargo%20file/Living%20Wage%20Investigation%20Report.pdf  (Executive Summary page 1.)

[12] http://www.livingwagenz.org.nz/

[13] Ibid Living Wage Investigation Report p.8.

[14] http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/4994627/Unite-still-paying-off-tax-debt

“I want to play Arian Foster in Monopoly. He was tweeting about it the other day, about the cat replacing the iron as a new token (Down with the cat! Save the iron!), and he gave away his Monopoly philosophy: always go for Baltic and Mediterranean. He’s right. Get the cheapie purple color group, put hotels on them early, and rake in $250 or $450 all game long when people land. Personally, I’m a big railroad fan. I think every time I’ve gotten a hold of all four, I’ve won.”

First, the iron is pointless.  It symbolizes the datedness of the game (started in 1935 ) by invoking the appeal of Robber Barons, most famously portrayed by Rich Uncle Pennybags.  It has since been replaced by the cat, demonstrating, of course, the surge of the Internet and the potential of .com millionaires to rise and fall as quickly as rent on Boardwalk.  I have made almost all of this up.

Second, any fool knows you corner the Free Parking Market.  Trade, buy, steal, murder, whatever you have to do to get the red and orange spots and build a murderer’s row of high rent.  As this completely credible source shows, Illinois Ave. is where the magic happens; the purples are rare.  This article , demonstrates that orange and red are superior to the rest of the board.  These stats are compiled by examining chance and community chest cards and demonstrating that jail is one of the most commonly landed places in the game.  Add this to the fact that the most commonly rolled numbers will be 6,7,8, and the orange tiles get a lot of actions.  Also take into account that statiscally you have an even chance to fall short of orange, but a 6,7,8 will likely put you in the red (both on the game and a horrible money pun).  So let King have his Baltics and his railroads.  I’ll take my orange and red tiles and the winner’s crown.

Piecewise, I always enjoyed the dog, because I had a Windows 95 version of the game and the dog made little barking noises.  I also like the thimble because everyone always underestimates the thimble.

This is the first time that Jones, who appears above the headline: “Fear the Bird. Revere the Bird”, has appeared on the SI cover and the 12th time that a member of the Ravens has appeared on the SI cover. You can purchase this week’s cover here.

Jones, a New Orleans native who also caught a 56 yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco in the first half, set a number of Super Bowl records in Baltimore’s 34-31 victory over San Francisco, including most combined yards in a game (290) and longest play (his 108-yard kickoff return). Jones also tied a record with two plays of 50-or-more yards. Senior writer Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) writes:

“In the span of two game minutes, Jones had touched the ball twice, gained 164 yards, and scored two touchdowns.” (PAGE 31)

“Learning curve? They don’t need no stinkin’ learning curve (PAGE 40).”

In addition to rolling right away with young quarterbacks, teams have embraced a variety of changes, such as implementing schemes from the college game, embracing the no-huddle, pistol, and option offenses, and taking a chance on short quarterbacks (Wilson stands at 5’10 7/8”.) King says: “As running threats with great arms force defenses to change on the fly, Sunday’s game looks an awful lot like Saturday’s.” (PAGE 40)

Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, who took a chance on starting the short, young Wilson this season, is one of the examples of the new forward-thinking NFL.

“When we gave Russell the job, I thought, Well, buckle up: it’s gonna be a Disney ride. It wasn’t conventional thinking. But conventional thinking, that’s not always what wins. (PAGE 43).”

He made the remarks Monday to New York Congressman Peter King. The two men spoke in front of reporters outside the funeral of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Clinton said his wife had five hours of tests on Sunday and was told to “take it easy for another month.”

He said if her progress continues, “she’ll be completely recovered.”

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said Sunday’s tests comprised a long-scheduled, routine follow-up. He said Hillary Clinton is in good condition but wouldn’t provide further details.

She suffered a concussion in December, then doctors found a blood clot.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

1. NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL)-  ESPN, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, started their coverage in 1979 and haven’t let up yet. They are just about the top source for all that is sports. If they don’t know, the game isn’t over yet.
2. Super Bowl XLVll (@SuperBowl)- The Super Bowl XLVII is put on by the organization handling the event itself. All the latest news, yet visitors will get a behind-the-curtain feel by those that are putting on the biggest football game of the year.
3. San Francisco 49ers (@49ers)- San Francisco is one of the two teams playing in this year’s Super Bowl. The team has a hand on the pulse of what makes the 49ers tick and what motivates them toward a win. They have a lengthy history of big wins.
4. Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens)- Baltimore is the other team playing in the Super Bowl and they know what makes the Ravens who they are. Though not as long a history of Super Bowl wins as the 49ers, they still have pride and have won the big one more recently.
5. CBSSports.com (@CBSSports)- CBS Sports has the market cornered on the biggest football game of the year, and they want to let viewers know what they have in store. Pushing the Super Bowl agenda, they won’t leave a stone unturned in order to bring in the fans.
6. NFL (@nfl)- The NFL is league that the two teams play in. They know what each team has to offer and know the best way to present their two top products to the public.
7. Sports Illustrated (@Slnow)- Sports Illustrated has long been the leader in the print media of sports, and they still contribute top reporting in the field. They make sure they have the best folks for the job on hand.
8. Peter King (@Sl_PeterKing)- Peter King is a veteran sports writer for Sports Illustrated and knows his sports. Following the Super Bowl is another hat trick to this reporter, and he knows where to be and when to catch the latest happenings.
9. John Clayton (@ClaytonESPN)- John Clayton is yet another veteran reporter, this time from ESPN, and the NFL is his beat. He gets the hard-to-get interviews and knows who to talk to to get the real scoop. He knows his football.
10. Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick)- Rick Reilly is another veteran writer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN. He gets the indepth story, and more often than not, gets the story behind the story of what is happening.

“Twitter has become a kind of digital locker room for athletes, owners, coaches, broadcasters, journalists and fans all over the world.” ~ Katie Linendoll (ESPN The Magazine)

Brothers Jim and John Harbaugh

The first three covers feature the headlines: “There Will Be Blood”, “There Will be Gore”, and “There Will be a Valiant Last Stand”. They lead up to the final cover, which predicts “There Will Be a Parade in Baltimore”. This is the 3rd time that both Lewis and Flacco have appeared on the cover and the 2^nd time Gore has appeared on the cover.

This week’s Sports Illustrated includes12 pages of Super Bowl XLVII coverage, featuring “10 Things We Thing we Think”.  Highlights include:

Senior writer Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) says that you must expect the unexpected from the unpredictable 49ers offense, as they have proven they can beat you in multiple ways (PAGE 40). However, King still picks the Ravens to defeat the 49ers, 27-23. King says: “I’ve doubted Flacco one too many times this winter, and I won’t make that mistake a third time (PAGE 49).”

Ray Lewis and the reinvigorated Ravens defense will contest the 49ers explosive offensive attack writes senior writer Austin Murphy (@si_austinmurphy). Murphy says: “Galvanized by hardships earlier in the season and rallying around spiritual leader Lewis, they are headed to the Big Easy brimming with the confidence that comes from confounding the doubters three weeks in a row (PAGE 42).”

 They may share the same last name, but Jim and John Harbaugh have taken different journeys and approaches en route to leading their teams to the Super Bowl. Senior writer Michael Rosenberg (@Rosenberg_Mike) writes that while most Super Bowl storylines tend to overwhelm the game itself, this story—the HarBowl—is a worthy one will certainly live up to the hype. Rosenberg writes: “Two brothers, who were born 15 months apart and spent much of their childhoods sharing a room, will be coaching against one another on the biggest stage in American sports (PAGE 47).”

Download a high res image of the covers here

(Photo: Newseum.org)

This morning, the New York Post‘s cover featured the power couple of President Barack Obama’s second inauguration–Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z–under a headline accusing Washington pols of being more starstruck by the celebrity duo than by Mr. Obama himself. Not everyone agrees with that interpretation, however, including GOP Rep. Pete King, pictured snapping a photo of Ms. Knowles. In a CNN interview today, Mr. King said the Post actually had it backwards, and Ms. Knowles was the one basking in his presence.

“It’s a great moment for Beyoncé to be seen with me,” Mr. King joked. “I mean, her career is definitely going to take off. That’s what she was waiting for all these years.”

Mr. King further boosted his photography skills, claiming to be “very talented” and, on Twitter, said his photo was “award winning.”

During his television interview, Mr. King discussed the substance of Mr. Obama’s inaugural address as well, arguing it was too campaign-oriented and lacked a unifying message.

“Well, the president won the election, so he’s certainly entitled to pursue his agenda. I thought it would have been more effective though if he had spoken in more thematic terms,” Mr. King explained. “I thought the way he got specific yesterday, made it more of a … campaign-type address. Parts of it were very good, he’s an excellent speaker obviously….I thought yesterday, he missed an opportunity. I’m not as critical as some of the others may be, but I think it would have better for him if he tried to reach out a little more.”

Watch below:

The NFL Thinks Concussions are Bad . . . Unless They Help a Team Win a Game.  In yesterday’s Ravens-Patriots game, safety Bernard Pollard was flagged after a shoulder-to-helmet hit on Wes Welker because Welker was “defenseless” under the rules.  The hit was not necessarily vicious, but, per the rules, Welker did not “ha[ve] time to protect himself” prior to the hit.  Fast-forward to early in the fourth quarter with the Ravens leading by eight.  During a Stevan Ridley run up the middle, Pollard raced in to tackle Ridley and a helmet-to-helmet hit occurred.  Ridley, who was clearly concussed, immediately went limp, and as he was falling to the ground, the football fell from his hands.  The Ravens recovered the fumble and Pollard was hailed as a hero for “forcing” the fumble.  Not only that, but CBS then ran a highlight film of Pollard injuring Patriot players in prior games.  In other words, CBS was glorifying Pollard for injuring his opponents.

In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King listed Pollard as his Defensive Player of the Week:

The renowned Patriots basher (Tom Brady‘s knee, Wes Welker’s knee, Rob Gronkowski‘s ankle) did it again with the game on the line Sunday night. With Baltimore hanging on to a 21-13 lead with 13 minutes left and New England driving, running back Stevan Ridley was leveled by Pollard, knocking Ridley woozy and causing him to fumble. Baltimore recovered and four plays later had the insurance touchdown. For the game, Pollard had nine tackles and added a deflected pass. What Alex Rodriguez is to Red Sox fans, Pollard is to Pats fans. “That was the turning point of the game,” John Harbaugh said of the Pollard hit on Ridley. “It was a tremendous hit, football at its finest, as good a tackle as you’re ever going to see.”

I just find this hypocrisy to be laughable.  On one hand, the NFL preaches player safety and wants the public to believe that it is concerned about concussions.  On the other hand, a defensive player is applauded for concussing his opponent and forcing a fumble.  Knocking a player woozy is apparently “[f]ootball at its finest.”  Now, I am not claiming that the hit by Pollard was illegal.  It wasn’t.  But, the fact remains that Pollard is being praised for concussing another player.  Ridley did not fumble because the hit jarred the ball loose or because Pollard stripped the football.  Ridley fumbled because he lost consciousness and lost the ability to control his arms.

If the NFL were really serious about limiting concussions, it would create a new rule that a player cannot lose a fumble due to being concussed.  In other words, if a player drops the football because he was knocked out and lost control of his extremities, then there should not be a recoverable fumble.  In this way, the defense would not be rewarded for concussing an opposing player.  The point is that, as the rules stand now, in addition to stripping the ball or knocking it out, it is perfectly legal to cause a fumble by concussing the opponent.  This seems incongruous with the idea that the NFL is somehow trying to prevent concussions and is worried about the players’ safety.

Player Safety is Not the Only Issue Where the NFL Walks a Fine Line.  The whole concussion issue is all part of the fine line the NFL is trying to walk these days.  The NFL wants to limit concussions in football but at the same time it does not want to take the “he got jacked up” mentality away from the game.  The NFL says that it wants to improve player safety and donates money to concussion research but there are thoughts that the NFL would not want to use any helmets that did not generate the trademark “cracking” sound when opposing players collide.  The counterbalancing of seemingly opposing interests is nothing new for the NFL as the NFL has always walked a similar line with gambling.  The NFL is publicly against illegal gambling  but at the same time it realizes that gambling is one of the primary reasons why the sport is as popular as it is in this country.  The NFL fully understands that gambling and violence are the two major draws for the sport, but is trying to also appease society’s collective conscience on both issues.  The NFL is walking a very fine line indeed.

The Ray Lewis Farewell Tour/Dance-A-Thon Continues.  The best part of the Ravens win on Sunday is that now we all know that the next game will be Ray Lewis’s final game and there will be no more media stories wondering “will this be Lewis’s last game of his career.” The worst part of the Ravens win is that now we all know that the next game will be Ray Lewis’s final game and the “will this be his last game” stories will be replaced by “this is Lewis’s last game” stories.  So, buckle up for the Ray Lewis love-fest that will be coming to a television set near you for the better part of the next two weeks.  We will be inundated with stories about his passion, his leadership, his tenacity, and his work ethic.  NFL players and coaches will be interviewed and they will speak of their admiration for Lewis and the respect they have for him.  Videos of Lewis’s dancing, prancing, and preening before each game, after each tackle, and after each game will be played on endless loops.

Of course, the majority of the stories will not mention Lewis’s involvement in the stabbing death of two people outside of a nightclub in 2000 or the fact that he was originally charged with murder and ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice related to the incident.  There will be no mention of how the white suit Lewis wore the night of the incident  was never found or that Lewis was fined $250,000 by Paul Tagliabue due to the incident.  If the stories do touch upon this subject, it will be portrayed as a “learning experience” or another example of Lewis overcoming adversity.  No reporter will dare ask Lewis a question about the incident because Lewis does not talk about the incident.

Quite frankly, it’s all just a little too much for me to take.  If we are going to praise Lewis for the player he is on the field, shouldn’t the media at least mention the incident in 2000?  Isn’t this all part of Lewis’s history?  I didn’t realize that in a biography you can just gloss over the bad stuff.  I mean, Michael Vick is absolutely vilified for killing dogs.  Plaxico Burress has been shunned by many in the league for shooting himself.  O.J. Simpson‘s legacy is completely tarnished because he was charged with murder.  Somehow, Lewis has escaped similar scrutiny.  Lewis is a great linebacker but that doesn’t mean the fans or the media should simply disregard Lewis’s involvement in a double-murder.  (Or, we can all just watch Ray Lewis ride a raven into the sky.)

The Harbowl.  Don’t worry, though.  If – like me – you are already sick of the Ray Lewis puff pieces, at least we have the added pleasure of watching and reading all of the “Harbowl” or “Superbaugh” stories.  While I do think that it’s pretty neat to have two brothers facing off in the Super Bowl, I am petrified of the number of stories that will air on this subject over the next two weeks.  Cracker Jack teams of investigative reporters will  undoubtedly unearth old report cards and interview former grade school teachers.  I know that by the time the actual game comes around I will have been beaten over the head with this story so many times that I will no longer even cringe when the announcers bring up the sibling rivalry during the game.  Instead, I will feel nothing.  By that point, I will be in a complete state of apathy.  What should be a great, feel-good story will be like nails on a chalkboard by Super Bowl Sunday.  Good thing the NFL schedules two weeks between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

The Cries to Have the “Rooney Rule” Changed Seem Premature.  In watching the hours of pregame programming before yesterday’s football games, I heard many pundits address the Rooney Rule, which requires all teams to interview at least one minority candidate prior to hiring a new head coach, and the likelihood that this rule will be altered in the offseason.  The impetus for the potential changes is the fact that no minority coaches were recently hired despite the numerous head coaching vacancies.  From what I understand, no team violated the Rooney Rule.  So, what would the new rule require?  Interviewing two minority candidates?  Forcing teams to hire at least one minority coach every 10 years?  Requiring the teams that do not hire a minority head coach to have 40% of the other coaches be minorities?  Fine a team when it does not hire a minority as the head coach?

This seems like a bit of an overreaction to me.   Leslie Frazier, Marvin Lewis, Mike Tomlin, and Ron Rivera are all currently minority head coaches.  The previous head coaches in Oakland (Hue Jackson), Chicago (Lovie Smith), Indianapolis (Jim Caldwell), San Francisco (Mike Singletary), Cleveland (Romeo Crennel), and Tampa Bay (Raheem Morris) were all minority head coaches.  The fact that a minority was not hired during this cycle of firings/hirings is not evidence that the Rule needs to be tweaked.  The point of the Rooney Rule was not to force owners to hire minorities; it was to ensure that minorities had a fair chance to be considered for a head coaching job.

Stan Musial and Earl Weaver Were Both Baseball Legends.  Both Stan “The Man” Musial and Earl Weaver passed away over the weekend.  Both were legendary figures in the sport of baseball and should be remembered for their contributions to the game.

Aside from having mind-blowing statistics, Musial was the rare professional athlete who was rightly idolized.  He married his high school sweetheart and remained married to her for 71 years.  He missed the entire 1945 season to serve in the United States Navy.  There were no scandals surrounding Musial, and I’ve never read an article disparaging Musial.  In today’s society where parents caution their children against idolizing or looking up to professional athletes, the idea that a professional athlete could actually be a role model seems foreign.  Yet, Stan Musial was a role model.  In fact, he was the role model, and, quite sadly, there will likely never be another true role model like Stan the Man.

To the uninformed, Earl Weaver may appear to be an archetype of the “old-school” manager.  The managers who fought with umpires and played their hunches.  Indeed, many people misconstrue Weaver’s famous philosophy ( “pitching, defense, and the three-run homer”) as an indication that Weaver was not a strategist or a “thinking-man’s” manager.  Weaver, however, was probably ahead of his time.  He was one of the first managers to utilize statistics to justify a platoon.  His philosophy about the “three-run home run” was a testament to his theory that outs are the most precious commodity in baseball (a philosophy which should sound familiar to anyone who read Moneyball). Weaver exploited a loophole in the Designated Hitter rule, as he would routinely write his previous day’s starting pitcher in as the DH and would then pinch-hit for the pitcher with a batter based on the situation.  This resulted in MLB baseball creating a rule that the starting DH must bat at least one time (unless the opposing team changes pitchers before the DH’s first at-bat).  Weaver was every bit a “thinking-man’s” manager.  He just happened to also hate umpires.

Why Would Anybody Want to Listen to Tiki Barber‘s Radio Show?  So, CBS has a new national sports radio station based out of New York City.  The new morning show (dubbed “TBD in the AM”) features Dana Jacobson (last seen on – gulp – ESPN’s First Take), Brandon Tierney (longtime sports radio host), and Tiki Barber (former New York Giant running back and wife dumper).  The decision to hire Barber at all – let alone as a co-host of a morning show – simply baffles me.

Let’s look at Tiki Barber’s qualifications:

• He was an above-average running back for the New York Giants from 1997-2006.
• Despite the facts that Tom Coughlin (the Giants head coach) corrected Barber’s fumbling problems and that Barber enjoyed his best years under Coughlin, Barber publicly criticized Coughlin on numerous occasions (after a playoff loss in 2005, after a regular season loss in 2006, before his final game in the NFL, and immediately upon retiring).
• After publicly announcing his retirement during the 2007 season, Barber retired to pursue a career in broadcasting as a television personality.
• Barber’s first act as a “personality” was to publicly criticize Giants quarterback Eli Manning for his lack of leadership skills.  Manning ignored the criticism and promptly led the Giants to a Super Bowl victory.  (Good call, Tiki.)
• In 2007, Barber wrote a memoir entitled: Tiki: My Life in the Game and Beyond, which almost no one read.
• Beginning in 2007, Barber was a correspondent on NBC’s The Today Show and an analyst on Football Night in America.  By 2009, Barber was no longer used as a correspondent and his appearances as a football analyst dwindled.  It was widely reported that NBC executives found Barber cocky and impersonal.   His contract was not renewed when it expired in May 2010.
• In 2010, Barber left his wife of eleven years (with whom he had two sons) and who was pregnant with twins.  Barber dumped his pregnant wife for a 23 year-old NBC intern named Traci Lynn Johnson.
• In 2011, it was reported that Barber and Johnson would hide out in Barber’s agent Mark Lepselter’s attic so his affair would not become public.  Barber compared his situation to Anne Frank attempting to hide from Nazis during World War II (“[I]t was like a reverse Anne Frank thing”).
• In March 2011, Barber attempted a comeback in the NFL that was “not about the money” even though it was completely about the money.  No team signed Barber.
• In 2012, Barber founded Thuzio.com, a company that permits fans to pay money to hang out with famous and not-so-famous professional athletes.  For example, for $500 you can eat lunch with Tiki or for $3,000 you can have Tiki attend “your birthday, bar/bat mitzvah, wedding, or anniversary party.”

Based on Tiki Barber’s track record recounted above, I again pose the question:  Why would anybody want to listen to this man?  What about Barber’s history made the CBS executives think, “I really think the public wants more Tiki Barber and would be very interested to know what a jerk like that has to say about sports?”  What audience is CBS hoping to attract? New York Giants fans don’t even like Barber.  I certainly have no desire to ever listen to Tiki Barber talk about anything, ever.  Based on the early comments from listeners, it does not appear that many others do either.

Martin Luther King, Jr.  In honor of Martin Luther King Day, here is one of my favorite MLK quotes:  ”The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. “

Just 22 days until Yankee pitchers and catchers report . . . .

@SI_PeterKing every Obama cabinet member is white. Tell us specifically which NFL organization is racist. Or are you just throwing mud?—
Soft Ball (@sball4715) January 18, 2013

@JiggsPorklerind doesn't matter if they're white, brown, purple, black or blue. NFL is always going to hire the best available.—
MSB (@MicahBrunner) January 18, 2013

I love @si_PeterKing needing to mention "14 coach/GM hires. All white". Is it possible that maybe there were no qualified black coaches?—
You don't know me. (@RealHeyKennedy) January 18, 2013

If they're qualified, who cares? RT @SI_PeterKing: Fourteen coach/GM hires. All white. Just for the record.—
Lev Naginsky (@levnaginsky) January 18, 2013

@SI_PeterKing How many owners do you think said, "go get me the white guy?" Trying to make a story out of nothing.—
Beth DeBruyn (@bethasd) January 19, 2013

I'm so tired of the 'race card' being used. It's infuriating. RT @SI_PeterKing: Fourteen coach/GM hires. All white. Just for the record.—
Shane Alexander (@Alexander1Great) January 18, 2013

To the media, hiring the best possible candidate does not occur. Instead, it must be motivated by hatred or racism.