HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY KID SISTER, KARA

I am proud.

My kid sister turns 40-something today and I've never be more proud of her and the person
she has become than I am right now.

No, Kara is not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company,  a movie star, or anybody famous, for
that matter. She is much more than that.

Kara is a mother who has raised four incredible children, all unique in their own way. She is
the loving wife of Chad who has given her the great life she richly deserves.

And she is my sister. An incredible one.

Kara has  always been there for me through the trying times, and there have been many of
them over the last several years. She has been my Dr. Phil, the one to  make a call, drop a
note of encouragement or kick me in the ass when I needed it.

That's my sister, Kara, who when growing up, was so much like my father: tough, driven,
resilient, but with a huge heart and a great sense of humor to match. It was that drive and
mental  toughness that helped her become a world-class swimmer and an All-American at
both Florida and USC.

But a funny thing happened to Kara almost as soon as she hung up her goggles and retired
from the sport. She morphed into my mother. Kara became so unselfish, thoughtful, and
giving. She put everybody else before herself. Never asked for anything and would not only
give you the shirt off her back, but the sweater, coat and scarf, as well.

Oh, she didn't lose my father's toughness or drive, it just became camouflaged by her
kindness,  thoughtfulness, and spirit. And that sense of humor passed on from my father
hasn't gone anywhere. It just seems to have gotten stronger. Kara is one helluva funny girl.
She is also a fitness junkie, who after four kids, has a six-pack and has the body fat of
welterweight fighter.

Kara is not perfect. She sometimes talks like she knocked off a case of Red Bull for
breakfast. When she's on the phone, the words often come out so fast, I have to get
a translator from the United Nations to figure out what the hell she is saying.

Other than that, Kara is truly amazing.  An amazing mother, wife, and friend. She is my
sister and I admire her so much.

Happy Birthday, Kara, you are the best!

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V. STIVIANO GETS HER 15 MINUTES OF FAME

Believe it or not, there was a time when people had to have a real talent to be a star.

Long before steroids, implants, and mindless reality shows, stardom was achieved the
old-fashioned way: by working hard on your craft and earning it.

Not anymore.

Thanks to social media, the land of 1,000 channels, and the aforementioned reality
junk, which ironically, are from from being real, anybody can become a star almost
instantaneously.

Say something stupid, do something controversial, or release some kind of sex tape or a
tape with heavy dirt on someone else and all of sudden, you become important. Katie,
Oprah, or Dr. Phil want to get the "exclusive" interview. The Today show wants to have
you on "live" because that would be a big "get" and a boon for the ratings and, after all,
in television, it's all about the ratings.

We've seen the likes of Snooki, Sitch, the housewives of everywhere, and all the
 Kardashians become rich and famous without having any discernible talent. Rachel Uchitel

achieved instant stardom for being Tiger Woods' girl. Yes, she was just one of the many
who Tiger had an affair with, but the media made her the most recognizable.

Now, V. Stiviano's 15 minutes of fame is on the clock.

Stiviano is the girlfriend or ex-girlfriend (In L.A., you just never know if it's current or
former) of Donald Sterling, whose racists comments got him banned from the NBA life.

Stiviano, who gladly accepted a Ferrari, two Bentley's, and a $1.8 millon condominium from
the longtime Clippers' owner, took a tape recorder into his home and all but egged her
80-year-old boyfriend (Sugar Daddy) into making insensitive comments.

From where I'm from and how I was raised, that's what you call a rat. That's what you
call sleazy. But in our world today, snakes who do this, seem to get glorified.

So, it wasn't a surprise when I clicked on the computer Saturday and saw that Stiviano is
going to be interviewed by Barbara Walters, who beat out everybody for the exclusive.

Yep,  Stiviano, who recorded Sterling spewing hate against minorities but said she wasn't
the one who released the tape to TMZ, is now a somebody. Right, and if you believe that
she didn't control who receieved the tape,  you have an I.Q. of less than two.

That's right, it just happened to be released so everybody on the planet could hear what
most people already knew: Sterling makes racist comments.

Stiviano knew exactly what she was and is doing. She's angling for her moment in the
spotlight. She has taken the shortcut to stardom, albeit temporary. I guess she had to do
something to cover up those blemishes on her rap sheet. Stiviano was arrested twice
in the past for petty theft and possession of a controlled substance. Sounds like a class
act to me. (wink, wink.)

There Stiviano was on the Barbara Walters special all dolled up, looking serious, and
trying to sound intelligent. She, of course, played the role of the victim and just about
every news outlet on the Internet picked up the story and promote it.

Stiviano is now a somebody. All she had to do was throw Sterling under the bus. Man,
that was easy. She'll be an Internet sensation and probably be "trending" over the weekend.

I'm sure there will be other interviews to come and offers to be made. A reality show is
likely in the works and you can bet Playboy will ask her to bare all for hefty sum.
.
Stiviano knows her star has a limit on how long it will shine and she is going to milk it
for as long as she can. What a beautiful human being.

Stiviano is bad news. She brought down Sterling and now she's being rewarded for it.

Only in America. Yes, only in America.

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DONALD STERLING AND THE L.A. CESS POOL

This is ugly, real ugly.

Donald Sterling, the owner of the L.A. Clippers allegedly made racist comments to his
girlfriend, whom he openly flaunted in his court side seats despite the fact that he has a
wife of more than 50 years who also attends the games.

Nice, real nice.

And buried beneath all the disgusting, insensitive remarks and the infidelity,  is one
thing that people seem to be forgetting: why in the world were the comments of Sterling
recorded? Why did his girlfriend go through all the trouble of a buying a tape recorder,
hide it, and then use it to document the racist views of of a man she supposedly loved.
(wink, wink)

Money and revenge.

According to the L.A. Times, Sterling's wife Rochelle filed a lawsuit against her husband's
mistress. (This is already weird and bizarre to many of us, but to the people in Los Angeles,
this is no big deal, I'm sure.)

Sterling's wife wants her husband's girlfriend to return the money and property that the
Donald showered on V. Stiviano while they were "dating". That property includes a 2012
Ferarri, two Bentley's, a $1.8 million piece of property and the $240, 000 used for the
up keep of it. Wow.

I'm sure V. Stiviano, who looks to be about 35-years old,  is in love with the 80-year old
Sterling because of  his charm, personality, and undying commitment. Nope, it has absolutely
nothing to do with his power and money.

Naturally, V. Stiviano wants to keep the gifts that Sterling heaped upon her. She scored
some real nice things and feels she has the right to keep them. The Sterling's filed the
lawsuit saying she is all but a first-class gold digger. She's been embarrassed and outed
so you know what's coming next.

Yep,  revenge.

V. Stiviano probably went to Staples and purchased a recorder and most likely set out
to rile up Sterling and document his racist remarks. She knew what she was doing.
Sterling has a long history of allegedly making  racists comments, so this was probably
like stealing candy from a baby, or a house, a Ferrari, and two Bentley's from an 80-year
old man.

Stiviano's lawyer came out and said that his client didn't release the tape to TMZ, but
haven't we heard this many times before with all those wannabe stars who somehow
saw their sex tapes released to somebody without their consent.

Stiviano made sure the tape fell into the hands of TMZ so everybody could actually
hear for themselves the dirty filth of a guy Sterling is. There is no way the Clippers'
owner can talk his way out of this one. He can't buy his way out of it, either.

The court of public opinion came down hard and swift and his own players, the majority
of whom are black, are outraged, embarrassed, and appear close to a full-fledged revolt.

Sterling won't be able to recover from this. Ever. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and
the president have already condemned the Clippers owner for his alleged racist rant.
That's a powerful trio with incredible influence. You won't be seeing many people
coming to the defense of Sterling, that's for sure.

It's one thing when it's his word against somebody elses during a private conversation,
it's quite another when that "private" conversation is privately recorded and has
inflammatory remarks about minorities and then released for the entire world to hear.

Those racist words are on tape and cannot be erased. Ever.  Oh, sure, it may turn out
that portions of the the tapes have been doctored to make Sterling look like the biggest
racist in Los Angeles outside of Mark Fuhrman. In this world of a million apps and editing
tools, can we really put it past anyone to edit tapes and make something worse than it
actually is?

The public is getting a glimpse of the type of person Sterling has probably always been.
But we are also finding out about the depth of a character in V. Stiviano. She gladly took
Sterling's money and gifts when things were going good,  now she's serving an ice cold
dish of revenge now that her "lover" wanted to take them all back.

Oh, I'm sure V. Stiviano will get offers to bare all in a magazine, or most likely,  her own
reality show. That's how things seem to work these days, especially in Hollywood.

But who takes a recorder into a room unless they have some type of agenda? Stiviano's
agenda was to embarrass Sterling completely. Mission accomplished. His life will be a
living hell until he passes away.

Sterling actually dug his own grave, Stiviano just made sure to throw a ton of dirt on it.

Only in Los Angeles.

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MICHAEL PINEDA AND HIS TOP 10 EXCUSES FOR PINE TAR

When it comes to making up excuses, professional baseball players are in a league of their
own. Over the years they come up with excuses from the utterly ridiculous to the sublime.

Remember whena Rafael Palmeiro blamed a positive drug test on former teammate
Miguel Tejada for giving him a B-12 shot that was apparently tainted with high levels of
Winstrol?

After Sammy Sosa was busted for using a corked bat during a game, the former Cubs slugger
said he mistakenly took the one from the batting rack that he normally uses for batting
practice, into the game.

Ryan Braun pointed the finger at FedEx man, saying he was a bitter Cubs fan and
was out to get him, somehow making his urine sample that wasn't sent to the lab immediately,
filled with ridiculously high-levels of testosterone.

I don't think there's enough space on this page write down all the wild and wacky excuses steroid-
fueled and busted baseball players have used over the years. But I'm sure Michael Pineda of the
New York Yankees thought of a lot of them to use after getting busted for pine tar on his neck
in a game against the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Here are the Top 10 of them that probably went through his mind before speaking to reporters
and saying that he used the pine tar because he was afraid of unleashing a wild pitch and beaning
a hit.

10. That damn Barry Bonds! He gave me the cream instead of the clear.
   

  9. Big Papi spit in his hands, clapped them together, then rubbed it all over my neck when
      I saw him before the game.
   

  8.  I went to the Waffle House with Bubba Watson and he smeared Aunt Jemima's pine tar
       flavored syrup on me.
   

  7.  I rode Lance Armstrong's bike and must've gotten a little greased PED's on my neck.

  6.  My wife tested her new roll-on stick deodorant on my neck. Pine tar scent.

  5.  I was just using some stuff Jason Giambi left in his locker years ago.

  4.  I was channeling my inner Gaylord Perry.

  3.  Was just using some pine tar to cover up the hickey I got at Daisy Buchanan's last
       night by some Boston University co-ed.
   

  2. It was the first time I ever used the stuff.

  1. Blame it on A-Rod.

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DARREN SHARPER: NOT THE PERSON WE THOUGHT HE WAS

Darren Sharper was blessed with so many gifts there should've been a sign hanging from his
neck that read: "Filled to capacity. Standing room only".  He is tall, muscular, educated, well-
spoken and was talented enough to be a five-time Pro Bowl player in the NFL. That's a
borderline Hall of Famer right there.

Sharper, who played for the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, and New Orleans
Saints during his 14-year career,  made the transition into television where he was a rising
star on the NFL Network. He had it all: money, fame, and a great job.

Today, Sharper sits in a jail cell accused of being a serial rapist. I lost track after six women
claimed Sharper sexually assaulted them but there are plenty more than that. In some cases,
he has been accused of spiking his victim's drink with a date rape drug,  which makes this
story even more bizarre.

This guy is a home run to nearly every woman he meets. Why the heck would he need to
knock them out with a drug? Because the man just might be a little bit twisted.

We see this man on television with the chiseled features and $5,000 suit, talking eloquently
about Cover 2 and man-to-man defenses and we assume he could get just about any women
he wants. Yeah, except that he has to pull an illegal procedure and make sure they are
defenseless to his sexual appetite.

We see the mega-watt smile and confident gait and we think Sharper can snap his fingers
and beautiful women will rush to his side, except that he allegedly overpowers them to
get what he really wants.

Like Tiger Woods,  Lance Armstrong, Michael Vick, Alex Rodriquez, and countless other
athletes, Darren Sharper is not the man he portrayed himself to be. He built an image and
reputation as a "class guy", turns out the guy might just be a dirt bag. It's possible that some
of these women are stretching the truth, we've seen it happen before, but not all of them.

There is too much evidence, too many corroborating witnesses, and too many sordid
details for this to be a set-up or something else.

This is another case of simply not knowing the athletes we think we know. People see
a 15 second soundbite of Sharper on "SportsCenter" and make the assumption he's a
great guy. They see him smiling for the cameras at a charity event and they believe that
he's a wholesome character. They see him breaking down how to defense a skinny post
by a receiver on the NFL Network and  assume Darren Sharper has it all.

Sharper is innocent until proven guilty, as least in the court of law. If all these accusations
turn out to be true, Darren Sharper will have nothing but an orange jumpsuit for the rest
of his life.  And once again, we will have been duped. All of us.

Add Sharper to the growing list of athletes who are not the people we thought they were.

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CARLOS ARREDONDO: FROM OUT OF THE DARKNESS TO HERO

Carlos Arredondo wasn't the only hero to rise up in the Boston Marathon bombing,
but he became the most famous one.

First responders, doctors, surgeons, and ordinary people acted quickly to save
lives on that terrible April day a year ago, but it was the man in the cowboy hat
who became the face of courage and everything that was good on a day destroyed by
an evil act.

Some would say Arredondo was in the "right place at the right time" as a photographer
clicked what would become an iconic image of him rushing Jeff Bauman to medical
care, but there is nothing right about an event that killed three innocent people and
maimed so many others.

But if everything, indeed, does "happen for a reason," then nobody can ever resent
Arredondo for being the one to carry the torch and for the hundreds of heroes who
emerged that day and morphing into the celebrity he has become.

Arredondo deserves everything is he is getting and then some.

In the decade leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon, he had been in the darkest of
places, experiencing pain and tragedy that no man, or parent should ever have to endure.

In 2004, Arrendondo lost a 20-year old son to the war in Iraq. Seven years later, his
other son took his own life, unable to bear the searing pain of losing a brother and best friend.

No parent should ever have to bury their own child,  doing it twice seems just so
unimaginable, not to mention unfair. Think about the pain, mental anguish, and the
guilt that arises from not being able to save or help either one of your children. Two
beautiful children that you helped bring into this world gone, in an instant.

When Arredondo was sitting in the stands near the finish line last year, he did so in
that cowboy hat. In a city where nearly every resident has a Red Sox hat, this guy was
in a cowboy one. He stood out like a Boston accent in a high school's French club.

Arredondo was there cheering on some members of his son's battalion who were
running in the race. How many times do you think he thought about his son killed
in the war and the other one who took his own life because of it?

Then, it was as if God touched him on the shoulder and said, "Carlos, this is your
moment. I have tested you long and hard enough. This is your time to shine."

Carlos came out of his personal darkness and became a hero. When a sudden catastrophic
event occurs, different people act in different ways. Some become paralyzed with fear
and do nothing.

Others become like Forest Gump and just start running until they don't feel like
running anymore.

It's hard to blame anybody for they act in those moments of terror, but it's easy to
admire, adore, and appreciate the people like Arredondo who show tremendous courage
and save a life.

Arredondo, like so many other first responders did everything right that day, and
deserves to be rewarded. He is more famous than all the rest, but there isn't a person,
even if this sometimes petty, jealous, and resentful world, that has a problem with it.

Carlos Arredondo is a true hero. It may never extinguish the blaze of personal pain he
suffers everyday, the result of losing his own flesh and blood, but I hope it has given
him great joy and satisfaction that he saved many others from experiencing the
mind-boggling pain he's had to endure.
pain.

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BOSTON STRONGER

 
April 15, 2013.

That was the day that two bombs rattled the core of Boston and brought the world class city
to its knees. There was death and destruction thanks to a deliberate act of terrorism by brothers
who were filled with anger and hell bent on making other people's lives as miserable as theirs.

In the hours after the bombings, I heard more than a few Bostonians say their town, their city,
and their marathon would never be the same, as if those two bombs destroyed everything.

 

Those pessimists were partially right---Boston isn't the same as it was before the bombs
went off. Today, 365 days after one of the worst moments in its storied history, Boston is
stronger, much stronger than it was before those homemade bombs detonated.

It was a great city before April 15, 2013, now, because of its strength and resiliency, Boston is
far beyond being just great. It is spectacular.

I lived in Boston on two different occasions.  I occupied an apartment on Newbury Street,  the
next one over from Boyleston Street and less than 1,000 yards from where the blood was shed
and people died or were maimed for life. I knew all about the heart, soul, and mind of the city.

Boston had been a tough as nails city before those bombs went off on Patriots Day, one of the
biggest holidays in New England. People in Boston rarely want any help from anybody, especially from an outsider. They may reluctantly give you the shirt off their backs just as long as you make
sure it's dry-cleaned when you return it.

They don't have time for small talk and if you don't worship at the altar of the Red Sox, Patriots,
Celtics, and Bruins, you're invisible to them. And Lord help you if you ever utter a bad word
about Tom Brady, Bobby Orr, Larry Bird, or Ted Williams. It that happens, be prepared to fight.

However, the soul of Boston was scorched on April 15, 2013. The entire region was shattered
and emotions were as raw as a cold night in February. Their town was damaged, their people
were killed, and their brothers and sisters were maimed for life.

For just a short time, Boston let its guard down. They showed the world they were hurting. But
if anyone thought the bombings would weaken the city,  they were sadly mistaken. We saw the
strength of the city well-before the smoke from the bombs had vanished into thin air.

First responders responded in a way that few have ever done in a life-changing catastrophic
event. Heroes like Carlos Arredondo, the man in the cowboy hat who suffered his own
personal tragedy losing two sons, one in military action, the other from suicide.

It's easy to ask how much pain can one man handle? But Arrendondo put his personal pain
aside and ran to aid others, not knowing if another bomb would go off and take him.

Arredondo saved Jeff Bauman, whose legs were shredded. He pinched a gushing artery to
keep Bauman from bleeding to death. In a world dearth of heroes, Arredondo was a knight
in shining armor.

More than 15 people who were enjoying marathon Monday, woke up with limbs missing,
their lives changed forever. But they have battled through emotional and physical pain to
try and resume their  life's journey.

They showed much more courage, fight, and will than the athletes on the professional
teams in town can only dream of.  They inspired us, moved us, and made us appreciate the
human will and spirit like never before.

April 15, 2013 ripped Boston apart for short period, but a year later, the city is stronger than
it has ever been. Ever.

It is not Boston Strong, but Boston Stronger. The city is better than its ever been, and next
Monday, the Boston Marathon will be the greatest marathon on American soil--bar none.

People are running in this race to raise money for charity and just to be part of the healing
and reconstruction process. It will be the most watched, most covered, and most exciting
marathon this country has ever seen.

And it's Boston's Marathon. That will always be the case. However, this year, it will be better
than it has ever been. Ever. Just like the city itself.

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