Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 10:24 AM) Sometimes it is really sad how much you actively try to minimize accomplishments and events because they don't affect you personally. There are a lot of people in this world that are a hell of a lot more affected by this than you will ever admit to. So I shouldn't have an opinion on the response to this story because it doesn't affect me? Come on. I'm not trying to minimize anything. I'm not bashing this guy. I'm not saying it's a non-story. I'm not saying it's meaningless. I'm saying let's tone down the historical relevance here because it's a career bench player coming out after his (most likely) last season playing. He's basically John Amaechi part two. I just think the reaction is a stretch. It's people having this story tee'd up for so long and now that it's here they're going overboard. Obviously you all disagree with me and that's fine. We'll agree to disagree. I have a general problem with the media and people generally over sensationalizing everything. This is just another example.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 10:10 AM) So unless LeBron James or Kevin Durant came out of the closet, the strength Jason Collins showed to blaze the trails in the NBA of all leagues is meaningless. You must be a real blast at parties. It's not meaningless and I said this story is significant. I just don't think the ZOMG! FINALLY, A PROFESSIONAL SPORTS PLAYER HAS COME OUT, QUEUE THE PARADE! response was really justified. That's all.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:58 AM) What he did was important for himself and many others who, thanks to the bigotry of others, struggle with who they are and with being open about it. He deserves widespread support and recognition for having the courage to come out. This is the type of hyperbolic crap I just don't buy. 2 days ago 99.9% of the country didn't know who this guy was. They'd never heard of him. And now you're telling me that a complete nobody who came out is going to help other people? Really? You don't think this is media spin just a tad because they've been waiting for this story for so long?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:48 AM) but the ones who... well... mattered. and the ones the right always fall back on as the "christian" founding fathers (franklin, jefferson, etc) were... well... not Well, first, who "mattered" wasn't the original point, but second, you need to go back and read up on these guys before proclaiming for a fact what they believed and how they classified themselves. It's not at all clear cut like you're suggesting.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:47 AM) Who exactly has done that? Everyone covering the story yesterday? The fact that he got a personal call from the President? I'm sure he's not LITERALLY going to get a medal, but he's being treated like a national hero.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:37 AM) Come on Jenks. You have to understand that Collins coming out is, in fact, a big deal. On Broussard, I put the blame on ESPN for providing that platform. Broussard should have been smarter about what he said, but ESPN shouldn't have tried to cover this from anything other than a sports angle. I think it's significant, I don't think it's something to give the guy a medal for.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:28 AM) It's larger than just Broussard's comments on an NBA player. The LGBT community is singled out for all sorts of hate and attacks claiming to be based on religion while so many other things get a blind eye. People break all sorts of religion's rules without being told that they can't be Christian or that they're living in "open rebellion of Christ." Thankfully, that hateful side is pretty rapidly losing the cultural struggle over this issue. You can see this by their reactions largely being "oh well, big deal!" instead of the outrage and condemnation we'd have seen even just a few years ago. also lol @ "media driven hype machine," no he was responding to a pretty significant moment for sports/LGBT and being paid money to say bigoted things. I think this article in The Nation gets why this was an important moment. Jason Collins felt that he had to hide who he really was because of the bigotry of others. He took a brave first step and hopefully others will feel comfortable being open about who they are in the future. In 10 years, I can't imagine anyone will care if an athlete is gay or straight. The LGBT community has just gotten louder the last decade, as has the "cause," so the "anti-" crowd has been equally loud in response. The Christian faith has ALWAYS had a problem with adultery. It was made illegal in most states because of it and some states still have laws on the books making it illegal (Illinois included). There's not much more to be said about how Christians shouldn't do it. And LOL if you don't believe this was all about PR. Yes, it's great that he finally felt comfortable to do this, but people were falling all over themselves trying to praise the guy. Oh! Obama even called him! Remember? The guy that didn't want gays to be married 6 months ago because they lived in sin? Oh, but he's a hero! f*** that. He's a professional basketball player who came out at the end of his career to an overwhelmingly accepting/apathetic country. He's not a hero. Gays are everywhere in our culture. Stop pretending like 99% of the country wants to persecute gays and what this guy did is equal to Rosa Parks. You'll notice that the collective response from your average American was "oh, ok."

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:22 AM) yeah no. most of the founding fathers were Deists Yeah no. SOME of them were, including some of the more prominent ones (Jefferson, Franklin and possibly Washington). Though it's still debated how to classify their beliefs since they agreed with Deist principles yet also believed God impacted human activity. The majority were, or had significant roots in, Christianity. http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 09:09 AM) He didn't just defend his own particular version of religion, he claimed that Jason Collins couldn't be a real Christian because he's openly gay. That kind of language is frequently used against members of the LGBT community but not against adulterers and people who wear clothing made of more than one fabric, both serious sins in Leviticus. Did someone ask him about adulterers? Or was he responding to a media driven hype machine about a gay basketball player?

Steve call your source to confirm!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 04:27 PM) The only really relevant issue, aside from the general way it makes his employer look...is whether making this kind of statement impacts his ability to cover the league. Frankly, it might; i wouldn't be giving him an interview or talking to him off the record any time soon if I had info to leak. You're discriminating against him because of his religious beliefs?

I don't really see a problem with what he said. That's his belief, so whatever. I guess we can go down the line of whether or not he should be saying that as a reporter for ESPN, but these guys get into all sorts of topics that aren't sports related, so i'm not sure why he can't speak his mind on a sports-related topic.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 03:46 PM) Wow, I am surprised Kerr said this. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post...ose-should-play Kerr's last point is the most damning IMO. For the last few seasons I thought Rose was very Jordan-esque in his drive to win and be the greatest. Well, not anymore. He's appeasing his handlers/sponsors instead of helping his teammates win.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 03:25 PM) Ok, i admit my analogy probably wasnt the best. I'd probably be best for me to shutup for a while. I'm not having a good thought articulation day. lol Your fear of being seen as anti-gay shows how f***ed up this country is. Clearly homophobia is rampant if you feel compelled to not express your thoughts on this story.

I think 90% of the country gave a collective "an NBA player came out? Ok. Wait, who is Jason Collins?" response to this. The rest of the 10% were gays and anti-gay people.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 02:19 PM) Assembly Hall in Champaign is now the State Farm Center. I like it, good, reputable company sponsoring us that allows us to get our renovation funding closer to being done so we can upgrade our facilities. It was badly needed. Closing another chapter on the sports program. Assembly Hall is gone, the Chief is gone. Sad. (although I agree the money was much needed and will help going forward).

Where did he say that?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 01:47 PM) *slowly raises hand* Damn dude. You must be a baller. I spent a little over 8k and was not very happy about it. But I waited like 7 years to propose, so I felt I owed it to her (and did). Looking back, much like our wedding (self-paid), I wish I had gone the cheaper route. That's a lot of money that could have cut down student loans, bank rolled a decades worth of vacations, etc.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 01:41 PM) There's no set range. It depends on how much you make and what your lady wants/expects. I know people that spent a few hundred bucks and some that spent $30k-$40k. What kind of moron spends that much on an engagement ring?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 10:20 AM) lol nice photo choice edit: but more importantly that's huge, first openly gay male American athlete in a major sport "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete..." Oreally? That's why you called two SI writers out of the blue and invited them to your house for an interview?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 08:57 AM) We've used this place for dirt before and will probably be getting some more next weekend. http://www.homelandscape.net/ Any landscape place should sell dirt, mulch and stone in bulk. Was the price pretty fair? Reading around online it seems like prices vary widely and that there is a lot of competition.

Does anyone know of a good place to buy soil and mulch that can be delivered in bulk to the western suburbs? I spent all weekend building a roughly 60 foot by 6 foot retaining wall in the front of my house that now needs to be filled with some top soil and covered with mulch. Given the amount I'm going to need it's going to be much cheaper to buy this in bulk instead of buying 60-70 bags at Menards/Home Depot.

Wasn't all the talk this year about how this is the worst draft in decades? Why do people get so upset about it?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 12:57 PM) ChiTribSports ‏@ChiTribSports 1h Jereme Richmond, troubled ex-Mr. Basketball, arrested again http://trib.in/ZA3XgU What a pathetic loser. All he had to do was not fail in school for 2 years and he would have made millions. Instead he's a criminal with a growing rap sheet.

QUOTE (Brian @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 10:23 AM) The Stacey King call was awesome because he said "Watch Out" just as Taj was starting to jump. Until he ruined it by repeating his "www.myface.com" line 2-3 times. I love SK but he needs some new material next season.