Are Step-Parents' Genes Inheritable?

A quote jumped out at me in the otherwise tame Clemens interview today. I thought for a moment I misremembered what he said, until I saw the partial transcript at Awful Announcing.

"You know guys, let me just add to it. Common sense…our family has a history of heart conditions. My brother had a heart attack in his late 40’s, my step-dad died of a heart attack. I mean it would be suicidal for me to think about even taking any of these dangerous drugs."

He might as well be his step father's brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former room mate.

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Have You Gotten Your BlogsWithBalls Tickets Yet?

Ren is Jealous

That Golic gets to compete with the best.

This morning on Mike and Mike, as Ren and I were both getting ready for the daily grind, we overheard an interesting tidbit about competitive eating. Turns out Golic will be going head to head with 3 of the top competitors in a wing eating contest on air tomorrow, his penance for losing to Greeny in the Mike and Mike bracket wager.

Watch out Chestnut, he's coming after you next.

Drugs are bad... mmmmkkkaayyyy?

(Yahoo! TV)

Mr. Mackey says drugs are bad. Mike Golic didn't listen.

Our friends at Awful Announcing pointed out something I must have missed yesterday morning...

Apparently Mike Golic played around with the roids back in the day. Not sustained use, but just wet his whistle a bit.

While I am not shocked, I am slightly disappointed. It's becoming quite obvious that steroid use among athletes is as common as binge drinking on college-campuses... whether or not you make a "career" out of it, you definitely have tried it once or twice. I am glad Golic had an adverse reaction, because it would affect his day job immensely. However, I could see how this can at least help him speak intelligently on the reasons why athletes feel pressured to use the drugs in the first place. And that is a discussion that is for another blog, another day.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Why I think my husband is an idiot

Because Greenie says it's ok to.

I recently finished "Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot" by Mike Greenberg. Interesting read. While I am not really one to gravitate to sports books, I was able to read this one before Ren got to it, and I think that was smart.

I know that more often then not, I think Ren is an idiot for a wealth of reasons. This doesn't mean I don't love him. I love him tremendously, and I think he is intelligent, which is why it's frustrating that I can't comprehend the sense behind some of the things he does/says. It was extremely helpful to see this from a male perspective, and to understand how he might in turn view my thinking that he's an idiot.

Greenie basically reveals to the world, through a series of diary entries, what he seems to divulge in a more comical way via his show - that he is a nervous, over-analytical, metrosexual male who happens to be a sportscaster. There are a bunch of stories of personal embarassment, tales of becoming a father, dealing with various situations in home and on the road, and how sports has remained a constant for him in all of this and something that is very relatable.

The book isn't so much about sports; it really hits at the fact that no matter who you are or what it is you do for a profession and no matter how successful you are, you need to find what makes you happy in order to get through the day. Unless you can identify what it is that transcends all the "stuff" in your life, happiness will always seem elusive, and your life will never seem fulfilling. Not a new message, but one that was delivered in a different way, from a very charismatic messenger. His "idiocy" comes from the fact that he often times feels inadequate and unfulfilled and though he is happy with his life, he'll always try to analyze rather than accept the things that happen.

My only complaint, and it isn't much of a complaint, and he might be doing this to prove how much of a metrosexual he is, but he makes constant reference to various parts of his life that have to do with how wealthy he is. Whether it's the type of house he lives in, his affluent neighborhood, the fact that he has a live-in nanny, etc, Greenie, we know you have money. And we don't care. We love you anyway. And your book was good despite all of that, just something I noticed.

-posted by Ariel

Phillips vs. The Hat

Steve Phillips hit a cool .500 on New York teams playoff chances. While it's been well- documented that he predicted the Yanks missing out, he did foreshadow a Mets collapse (albeit he thought they would squeak in). People probably thought he was nuts on both accounts, and turns out, (since we are feeling generous) we'll say they were only half right. He's only half nuts.

This morning he announced his confidence picks on Mike and Mike.

We have come to the realization that if you are listening to Phillips soothsay, you're probably also taking fantasy advice based on what Peter King thinks he thinks he thinks, and gambling advice from a sports guy who can't outpick his wife and a guy named Hammerin' (obviously based on the night before his picks, given his losing record week in and week out).

So, since Bristol frowns upon blogs and "expert" accountability, our blog is going to hold the MLB expert accountable. Take a gander at Phillips' thoughts on Greenie's blog.

Let's see if Phillips can shake his inconsistency.

What we've decided to do is pick the teams randomly out of a hat based on the same "confidence" categories to see how the random picks jive against Phillips' as the playoffs roll on.

We will monitor some basic statistics throughout the playoffs to see how accurate Phillips' and the hat's picks turnout to be.

Here's the breakdown:

ED. NOTE: This morning, YFTS' chief pointed out that while Greenie's site had the Yankees over the Angels, while the Yankees are actually playing the Indians. It must've be a typo as he noted in the commentary: "I think the Cleveland Indians are going to upset the New York Yankees."

Greenie has since fixed his site.

The amended hat picks: Red Sox over Angels, Yankees over Indians.

Says the chief: "You know, I would chalk it up as a silly error, if it weren't for the fact that his entire profession is based on this stuff. Or if i had chalk."

NFL Un-Boo-Ables

This morning, Ariel's boys on the Deuce (Mike & Mike) offered a list of players they deemed "un-boo-able." It had your Duncans, your Jeters, your Bradys and the like. I'm sure get the picture.

With everyone salivating over the start of the NFL's regular season and fresh off their fantasy football drafts, HHR would like to lecture you on who on your team we feel has earned the distinction of being boo-proof.

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

Marv Levy: Feel free to boo anyone on the current roster.

Miami Dolphins

Rickey Williams: Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

New England Patriots

Tom Terrific: Unless he starts having baby mama drama, in which case, knock yourself out.

New York Jets

Booooo Booooooo Boooo!

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Steve McNair: So maybe he’s on the downside of his career, the man’s a warrior Id take to battle any day.

Cincinnati Bengals

How could you boo any of these upstanding citizens?

Cleveland Browns

Art Modell: Get over it.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Najeh Davenport: You don’t want him pooping in your closet do you?

AFC South

Houston Texans

Matt Schaub: At least he’s not nicknamed Ookie.

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning: You could have had Ryan Leaf to kick around. Think about that.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Fred Taylor. Feel free to boo his groin, though.

Tennessee Titans

VY. Nice warrior to replace the previous one. Hook’em Horns.

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Sam Adams: Makes a mean summer ale.

Kansas City Chiefs

Tony G.: Best of his era. Got his contract extension so he can stop whining.

Oakland Raiders

Warren Sapp: He swallowed the last guy that had the audacity to boo him.

San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers & LT: Just think, this could have been Michael Vick and/or Fredo Manning.

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

Carrie Underwood: Single handedly mushed Tony Romo’s career. Thank you very much.

New York Giants

Tom Caughlin: You try dealing with a bunch of prima donnas and knuckleheads.

&

Eli "Fredo" Manning: He's had unreasonable expectations. It's not that he under-performs, it's just that he's not very good. Get used to it. And to think, to get him you let the Superchargers get Merriman, Kaeding and Rivers. Sounds fair.

Philadelphia Eagles

Donovan McNabb: Give the guy an f’n break. (But those bounce passes he throws in the flats make me want to strangle him.)

Washington Redskins

Chris “Hot Pants” Cooley. He’s got legs, and he knows how to use them.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Kyle Orton: Plays hard, parties harder.

Detroit Lions

Barry Sanders. Hey, Dunbar, it’s time to stop blaming Barry.

Green Bay Packers

Brett Favre (a point of contention on the M&M list). I don’t care how long you have to wait for season tickets, he’s earned the right to throw 53 interceptions a year.

Minnesota Vikings

Mewelde Moore: Seems like a stand-up kind of guy. According to his Wikipedia entry:

Asked if he saw strippers or sex on his boat, Moore immediately replied: "Oh no, none of that. Sex? What are you talking about? That's crazy. Look man, I'm engaged. That would put me in trouble."

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

Joey Harrington: This isn’t what he signed up for.

Carolina Panthers

Bunch of cheaters. You think Pinkston and Thrash would have gotten all jacked up on the line in the ’03 playoffs if they were on a level playing field? Even their kicker was juicing.

New Orleans Saints

You’re not supposed to boo anything related to N.O. I think Congress passed that law early last season. A little known amendment to that law said the officials had to give away the Eagles playoff game to them.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jeff Garcia. You’ll see. !VIVA GARCIA!

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

Kurt Warner: Don't mess with Jesus or Brenda.

St. Louis Rams

Travis Minor: He’s Baby Jordan. Oh, wait.

San Francisco 49ers

Nate Clemens: You think it’s easy trying being the highest paid defensive player in League history? You don’t know pressure.

Seattle Seahawks

Matt Hasselbeck: It takes a real man to pose for this:

I could be your hero baby...

Finally. After what seemed like an eternity of Mike and Mike fill-ins, my boys are back. I cannot take it when they're gone. Even the most revered of sports writers and commentators could not turn my gray skies blue, cannot put the pep back in my step, cannot complete my morning routine the same way as my boys.

Many mornings I hear them discuss the trials and tribulations of sports' most infamous offenders. Whether it be criminals, cheaters, or just plain old divas, their discussions and opinions on today's sports leagues and players stretch beyond an update of the days news, and into a larger social commentary regarding the efficacy of sports.

This morning, Greeny brought up a very good article about the integrity of professional sports. This is a subject that gets me fired up. Not because I will stop watching or enjoying sports, but because to me it transcends sports and becomes a sort of greater example of the general deterioration of the human spirit.

The article is a very good read, indeed. When me and the Mr. decide to reproduce, I am going to teach my children that it is ok to value and respect sports figures for their merits on the field but that they are humans like everyone else. It matters to me how these people conduct themselves off the field because in today's society, if you choose to live in the public eye, you need to accept responsibilty for your actions in all parts of your life. I don't feel bad for any of these people. If you can't handle the pressures, if you can't handle the fame, if you can't handle that your life is constantly under the microscope then chose another profession.

I understand that people make mistakes, but as a professional anything you have to realize that your mistakes will be noticed by all. I will tell my kids that their sports heroes can be heroes of their sport but that as much as they excel on the field, they may fall very short off the field.

And don't even get me started on the NBA ref.... he pretty much solidified my hatred of professional basketball. But I'll save that discussion for another day.

-posted by Ariel

Me, Mike and Mike

It's about 8:00 AM. I slowly rise from a deep sleep to the sounds of Preston and Steve blaring from my clock radio. Slowly, and quietly, as to not awake the ticking time-bomb that is my sleeping husband, I walk the bathroom and begin my daily dance of shower, hair, makeup, teeth, etc.

I emerge from the steam and dampness refreshed, ready to face another day. But not because I feel clean and awake. I know that beyond that door back in the bedroom awaits two familiar faces that I've come to enjoy and greatly appreciate over the past two years. No, not Frank and Sophie my feline children.

Ahhh.... its Mike and Mike.

Relationships are all give and take. When I moved in with my husband (way before he was my husband) my morning routine of The Weather Channel and the Today Show were replace with SportsCenter or the occasional rerun of Saved by the Bell. As time wore on, my patience with SportsCenter dwindled. They re-air the same stories over, and over, and over... just gets old.

Soon, I noticed there were different voices coming from my TV in the morning.... one, a familiar voice, a voice from my childhood. A voice associated with Sunday afternoons in fall and winter, when I would sit among the men in my family (everyone except me and my mom) and watch the Eagles. "Mike Golic is on ESPN now?" I asked. Hmmm.... I'll give him a try, if only because he was an Eagle. "Who's that other guy with him?" I ask, as I try to glean some sort of understanding about the two men with whom I'll now share my morning routine. "He's pretty good, I think you'll like him," said the hubby.

And so the love affair began. Each morning I look forward to their insightful sports commentary married with their love of pop culture and covering the stories that I usually have to wait to see on Access Hollywood or Extra. They are funny, quirky, and oddly attractive, but that's because every woman loves a man with a sense of humor and the ability to mock himself.

Being a woman "in the know" comes with many advantages. I genuinely enjoy sports, and consider myself a pop-culture junkie. Mike and Mike give me the tools I need to be a savvy businesswoman while feeding my addiction of who-wore-what-when and whos-pregnant-with-whos-baby. I can discuss A-Rod, Mike Vick, Lindsay Lohan, Brit-Brit, the all-star break, the NFL draft, Emmy nominations and Barry Bonds breaking the record pretty seamlessly, all while entertaining discussions with both male and female colleagues. Starting a sentence with "So, on Mike and Mike this morning...." puts me in a league of my own, and impresses the toughest of critics.

Mike and Mike... I love you. Keep on keepin on.

-posted by Ariel