Fair Game?

I just got finished reading ESPN's bombshell attack on The New England Patriots. Released three hours before the time of this posting, 12:00 EST, I literally just finished the lengthy article.

I'm dumbfounded.

The article, mainly about Spygate, a scandal in 2007 involving the video taping of opposing teams hand signals, talks in detail about the accusations leveled at the Patriots organization and mainly at it's head coach Bill Belichik back then. It's like I was reading a step-by-step guide on how to "cheat and cover it up". The authors claim to have interviewed dozens of people involved in the scandal at the time, and according to this report, Goodell, Belichick and Kraft all conspired to cover it up. But do really know that's what happened?

Oh boy, is all I'm going to say about how I felt reading what I just read. It is a scathing, explosive, expose on what, according to this article, was a game changing cheating scandal that rocked the Patriots and the NFL. A large amount of the information in this article has never before been made public, which makes reading it for the first time eye opening, to say the least.

The timing of this article is interesting considering some of the same people involved in Spygate are involved in Delfategate-and I'm not sure why ESPN has decided to report this now-and not then-when the facts were more relevant.

It doesn't look good-for anybody involved and ESPN has not been without their fair share of biased, inaccurate reporting on the Patriots- HERE. We have wasted 8 months talking about this whole Deflategate debacle and to be quite honest, at this point I don't know who to believe.

I'm not sure what to think here except that my theory that cheaters never really get away with cheating. And really, why cheat? It robs everyone involved and in this case it's the NFL, the New England Patriots, the fans and the game. This game is about a lot of things and money is the first and foremost reason to lie and cheat, but what about the fans? We are the ones who help pay the hefty salary's of those involved.

Doesn't make it OK by any stretch, and so we are all left to wonder why? Cheaters never prosper, is the old adage from my childhood that comes to mind, but it would seem the NFL continues to prosper despite it all.

WTF?

I'm saddened over yesterday's news of the tragedy in Virginia. Three young people snuffed out because of hatred.

It's unfathomable that a mentally and emotionally disturbed person ONCE AGAIN kills because he/she feels he should, or could. This headline is becoming more and more common in our society. What is this world coming to? This time a young, accomplished duo of journalists and the woman they were interviewing were gunned down. Three lost their lives and the other is fighting for hers. I say three because the shooter killed himself and although it's easy to not care about his life, we must.

Were there warning signs?

Yes, the shooter was fired from jobs multiple times for "disturbing behavior" but how are we to predict he would turn his anger into a deadly tragedy? The Shooter reportedly faxed a 23 page "suicide note" to ABC News two hours after the shooting. In his missive he claimed to be upset over the recent racially charged, deadly church shootings in South Carolina. He said he admired the shooters of Columbine High School and Virginia Tech and called one "my boy right there".

The question we are left with today is how do we prevent this? Can we?

Because a journalist should be able to report from the field without fear, students should be able to learn in a safe environment and church goers should be able to worship in their sacred place without a lock on the door.

And one more deadly shooting headline is one too many.

Death Of A Superstar

News of L'Wren Scott's suicide comes after the 49 year old designer was found yesterday morning in her New York apartment by her assistant. L'Wren Scott, by all reports, was a fashion superstar. Her high end fashion line bearing her name was a red carpet staple amongst A-list celebs like Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Amy Adams. Her love life was A-list too. She was the long time girlfriend of the one and only Mick Jagger. Sources report that the two were very much together at the time of her death and Jagger is said to be "devestated" by the news.

On the surface, everything looked to be as if she was living a dream. A successful fashion house known in celebrity circles, a rock star boyfriend (some would argue the ULTIMATE rock star boyfriend) the perfect picture of success and someone who had achieved rank to the pinnacle of her profession. "Picture" being the operative word. What we now know is that that picture was a facade. Truth be told L'Wren Scott had been plagued with financial woes lately and her company was rumored to be at least $6 Million in debt.

I am touched by her death on so many levels:

• As a woman closer to her age than not
• As a business woman-trying to achieve that "brass ring" in my profession
• As a person who envied her life from the outside looking in

I wonder how deep and dark her personal issues got, to make her take her own life. Loosing face in an industry that she was so well respected had to be devastating, but not uncommon. She certainly was not the first to face financial trouble and unfortunately she won't be the last. The sad truth is the line between success and failure is all to close in many professions. How bad does it have to be? How does one get to that desperate point?  

My thoughts and prayers go out to her loved ones...yet she continues to dominate my thoughts. I'm sorry she felt that desperate and I wonder if something could have been done to prevent her death. I guess we will never know. 

Emily Post 101: A Survey

Is emailing a thank you note acceptable etiquette? The answer may surprise you.

The experts say handwritten thank you's are still tops, but there are exceptions to the rule. According to Emily Post, a handwritten note is preferred for gifts, but if the gift comes from a close friend or relative an email note is acceptable. The other exception is a thank you for a job interview. In that case an email thank you is highly encouraged and can aid your chances for the position.

I would venture to guess that in this wired age of technology, easy and instant email communication with another individual is not only acceptable, but eco-friendly. What would all the "greenies" say to Emily Post?

I will admit that I love a quick note in my inbox, expressing gratitude and well wishes, but I also understand the impact of a note taken from pen to paper. The handwritten note has become a lost art form. I read once that Princess Diana was a stickler for thank you notes. She always hand wrote her thank you's and always within 24 hours of the gesture. Blue bloods steeped in tradition, but it drives home the point about the importance of saying thank you.

Tell me what you think.

Harry's Willy

Ok, so really?

Big fricken whoop. Harry got caught showing his willy in Vegas while on what was reported to be a drunken escapade. Again, big fricken whoop.

Yes, he's third in line to the throne. Yes, he's a British Royal. Yes, he's got a certain image to protect, but at 27 he's a young guy who made a slight error in judgement. Not unlike most single, young guys his age.

Where's the scandal? Looks to me like he was having a good time and feeling comfortable in his own skin. At least he was covering "the crown jewels". If he were a married man, yup, huge scandal. If he were on a mission to the US, to speak about sexual abstinence, yes, a disgraceful turn of events. But the Prince never claimed to be a choir boy and no he isn't any of those things.

His crime? He got caught with his pants down by a cell phone and he just happens to be Queen Elizabeth's grandson. My question is where was Palace security inside that Las Vegas hotel room?

I guess when you are the late Princess Diana's son, the most beloved Royal to date, and your public persona is far more important than the charity work that you do and good that your celebrity brings to a cause, it's not ok to get your freak on naked with some skank in a hotel room.

Really?

Yeah, cuz when you're Prince Harry what happens in Vegas stays on your resume forever.