The Table: China Girl, Obama Winning, and Mahalo to a Good Phillie

JimmyRollins11International

Looks like the United States and World are crying again about China’s Unfair Training Tactics. China is being blamed for keeping Olympic Gold winner Wu Minxia in the dark about her mother’s cancer and relative’s death for the sake of national success. I am not buying it. All these Olympic athletes, and by the very nature of all professional and avid athletes, separate themselves from society to achieve great physical tasks. They are freaks and no matter how Bob Costas paints their humanity, they have sacrificed and trained for a medal. Their determination and athletic prowess should be admired, but we can not go around pointing fingers at what the right way is to train superior athletes if victory is the ultimate goal. Sounds like a lot of crying from losers.

Do you think China cheats?

National

Things are looking up for the President even though the market has taken a beating lately. With high unemployment and a health care program that has everyone scratching their head, President Obama is ahead in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  These crucial swing state voters say that they believe that Obama is a more relatable person than Mitt Romney. I guess owning horses does not really relate to Americans anymore. The Romney camp believes the negative Bain commercials are driving these recent numbers. The poll also reveals that the voters believe that neither presidential choice’s economic plans will make their lives better. Well, that just about sums up apathy and a worthless poll.

Do you think Obama is more relatable than Romney?

Local

As this is Friday and a time for weekly introspection, it is time to say Mahalo, Shane Victorino. Here are some pictures to get the tears flowing.  Shane has been a Phillie since 2002 and part of 2008 World Series Team. Here is his ad thanking Philadelphia in the Daily News. For a decade, he entertained us with his fiery spirit and wild swing. He deserved a better ending to his Phillies days.  Pacific Asian Day will never be the same at the ballpark. My favorite moment of Shane is his grand slam in the 2008 playoffs against Milwaukee and his picking a fight with the Dodgers teams. You might not be heading home to Hawaii, Shane, but we are sending you pretty close.

What is your favorite Shane Victorino moment?   

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

1. I agree with you. This is their way to win, and they do. You can't invest billions of dollars into the Olympics, expecting the ultimate in competition and then whine when countries go to such extremes to achieve that success.
2. It depends on who you're asking. Also, it depends what characteristics of their stories you're attempting to relate to. Obama's interest in sports certainly creates a connection with many Americans, men especially and middle class enthusiasts, but his unique upbrining and racial diversity is still unusual in a country that's still almost 60% white. Yet, Romney's story certainly alienates him from the 99% of America and his faith doesn't help either. However, the truth is that relatability is all about perception, and over the next four-five months there will be a great effort to paint both men's images as regular, everyday Americans.
3. Shane jumped into the stands back when he was playing Right Field in 2007, almost injuring himself. I think it was the beginning of his nickname Flyin Hawaiin. I knew this guy was always going to play his ass off for the Phils and their fans, and for the most part, he always did.