Pro Sports salaries

So lately I've been wondering what exactly makes a pro sports figure worth $100 million plus. Last I checked, they were playing a game. You remember games, right? Stuff like backyard or in the street baseball with a whiffle ball so you didn't break the neighbor's windows (again). Or maybe some Nerf football in the vacant lot across the street. Nevermind that it was overgrown with a couple of feet of grass. One of us was there with a lawnmower to tackle that problem. But we seldomly tackled one another during the game. If we did, we expected to be tackled on the next play regardless of who had the ball. Basketball was played at the persons house that had a goal put up. If nobody had a goal, we hiked up to the nearest school. The nearest school to us was a mile away if you didn't walk over the exposed pipe that spanned the creek. After you walked over it, you always felt relief that you didn't fall in. Oh, did I mention that this was when you were all of 10 to 15 years old?

Back on track here now that I've wandered down memory lane....

How is it that we don't see these sports figures as outrageous? I recently read where a basketball player was set to make $136 million over the next seven years. Math time!! 136 million divided by 7.....19.4 million per year. To play basketball. Roughly 89 games in a season means that his player makes $218,000 per game. Sick. Even if I decide to get a Masters in computers, I would be lucky to see that amount of money per year!

On to how much Houston's arena cost....

To start with, the arena had a budget of $175 million. That excluded several other projects that went with the arena, but rather than list them all here, why not take a look at their official web site here. Even with that type of budget, money man listed above could have bought the arena himself. If he decided to go in halves with another player, he could have bought it inside a year without having to save for it. Just for arguments sake, I say we allot him $10 million to live on for the year. He still would have fallen just short of the $175 million by a mere $49 million. I'm sure that if he would consider making a couple of endorsements from Nike or maybe even Pizza Hut, he could have been able to afford the place on his own. With $10 million left over to live on. Sheesh. How rough could it be?

Then, instead of being able to go see the game for a decent price, the people that helped fund the new arena are now having to pay through the nose to go watch a game. OK, so I admit that I could go watch a game for $10. I had better bring something to stem the flow of blood from being at such a high altitude though. And I had also better pack something like a pair of binoculars so that I can see these guys that are all over 6 foot tall. Granted, I don't like basketball. But even if I did, I still would not have decided to spend that much money on a place that I will most likely not visit.

In lieu if paying some 6' plus tall guy to entertain me, why not use his annual salary to pay for some better schooling for my kid or buy some equipment for my brothers in Iraq? Imagine what would happen to our armed forces if we decided to put half as much money towards training them as we do to pay all the sports figures in America. Forget being bad to the bone! We would be unstoppable and would have less injuries and deaths from fighting! Is it so much to ask? I know that the common in the phrase "common sense" is highly uncommon these days. But how much better should we treat ourselves, kids, teachers, military, and others before we start treating athletes like royalty? This isn't a slam on basketball only. I think that people who play any professional sport should be limited in what they earn. It's a sport after all. Believe it or not, we could do without them putting on a show for us every week.

It's been awhile..

So here are some things that are being mulled over in my head:

In no particular order, I have been pondering personal weight loss, my mom's third marrige, pro sport's figures salaries and responsibilities, the US government taking things too far, my wife's dad who I met for the first time since we've been married (going on 12 years, WOOHOO!), a new Yamaha Roadstar Silverado, my Honda ACE 750, and lastly making some cash on the side.

Whew! That's a lot to think about! In order to get things in perspective, I plan on letting everyone that happens to stop by take a look in my head and tell me what they think by posting more info about the above items. Ready? Too bad! Here I go:

So. After reading a few of the listed items, I can see where there are a few of them that are related to one or more in the list of things. Take for instance the weight loss and wedding. My wife took several pictures at the wedding of me and my son in tuxedos. White coats, red ties, black vests, and black pants were the order of the day. After reviewing the pictures, I noticed that I looked more like the Stay Puffed Marshmallow man. This has lead me to believe that I need to get up off my fat butt and do something to get back to some semblance of a fighting weight. Now...What to do? I'm thinking that I might have to go back to basics and see how that treats me.

Although I can't think of a good segue to keep a good flow of thoughts here, I'm sure there is one out there. So until I can find it, I'm going to continue on like I did find it. If I have tricked you into following along this far, my segue has worked! Now, onto the government issue. I have recently learned that our freedom of speech is going to be more limited. This will include what can and can't be said across a church pulpit. Starting in January, it will be officially illeagal to preach against sin. You can preach the love of Jesus, but you can't say what you think or biblicly know to be true any longer. This means that any preaching against gay and lesbianism is right out. It's to be considered a hate crime now. What a crock of crap! Fair warning here, I'm 110% against any "alternative lifestyle" that is out there. This means that if you are gay or are a lesbian, I cannot and will not condone your choice of lifestyle. I will, however, continue to love you as a person regardless of your choice. Confused yet? Let me explain: Hate the sin, love the sinner. I am not homophobic. If I were, I would not have been able to work in some of the places I have worked. I would not be able to call some people that I have worked with friends any longer. This is as absurd as the "alternative lifestyle" that is being allowed to happen. I have a hard time believing that you are born with a "gay gene". Anyhow, back to the main point here. The government is now able to send in a spy to make sure that preachers are not offending anyone and complying with the patriot act. More to come on this one because I haven't had a chance to read over this and would be making an uninformed opinion rather than finding fact. On with the show!

To let you know how this ties in with my wife's dad, he is a staunch believer that the government is out to get him. How much is he aware of this you ask? When we went shopping for a new wedding set for the wife and I, we went to a store in the local area here and were greeted at the door by a man that I assumed was the manager. He welcomed us in and gave his name and a handshake to everyone there. This included my wife, both kids, myself, and my father in law. As he was shaking our hands, we introduced ourselves by giving him our name as well. Common courtesy dictates this as just good manners. But the 'common' has fallen out of 'courtesy' just as fast as it has fallen out of 'sense' so it seems these days. When it came time for my dad in law to give his name, he chose to give his initials instead. Sheesh. Talk about a trust issue! Sadly, he might be on to something there when the patriot act goes into full effect and people start getting detained for no apparent reason. This time I mean it: On with the show!

After getting a flat on the scooter the other day, I ended up at the Yamaha dealer. Long story short, get some sort of towing insurance with your bike. I say this because the tow was $45 alone. The grand total was $128.46 for parts, labor, and tow. Ouch. This is what happens after you run over a screw in your companies parking lot. Job hazards suck! Anyhow, after waiting all day on the tow truck guy, we get it to the dealership right as they are closing. After talking to the after market parts manager, he shows me a beautiful bike. With my wife sitting there waiting on me, he fires it up. Yup. Love at first sight (and sound)! The bike itself is black and white with white wall tires, a windshield, and DG HardKrome 3" straight pipes. Wow. 1700 cc's of thumping goodness! One look towards my wife tells me "Ain't no way, fat boy!" &$$^%&*$!!!!!

So, the next day, I get off of work early and head back over to the dealership after picking up my bike at lunch. Why did I go back? Simple! I had yet to sit on this beauty nor did I know how much dosh they were asking for it. I should have never sat on it. Man that thing is comfy! And priced at $11,300, I nearly signed papers that day. That would have been the end of me for sure! I am officially in lust with this new bike. I'm kicking myself to find a way to make an extra 6-7k so I can go buy it. Maybe I can take a part time job at Mickey D's after the holidays to make the payments. Let's do the math real quick: I will be needing to make about $175 extra per month to cover the bike and insurance. Hmmm...At minimum wage minus taxes, that's only....40 extra hours of work per month. So if I give up all riding time on Saturdays, I could theoretically make my payments by working 10 hour shifts. Hmmm...Somehow, I think that I can do without. Maybe not do without, but live without. For the moment, that is. On a more positive note, my wife tells me that if I can make $60k per year, I can go pick up the bike as soon as the first paycheck comes in. Anyone need a geek at their disposal? $60k and I'm yours!