Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed

Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.

Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.

Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.

Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.

Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.

Matt Leinart's Twitter account: if fake, should be removed

Earlier today I wrote a blog post regarding "Matt Leinart's tweet" where he supposedly wrote that Arizona Cardinals Quarterback Kurt Warner was "kinda old". The tweet was written on February 1st during the time of the Super Bowl where the Cards took on the Steelers in Tampa.

Obviously a story like this has some legs, so it carries. But now the claim in some quarters is the Twitter account is fake. The specific contact represents Arizona Cardinals Media Relations, which is an outrage. That the Cardinals knew this account existed and allowed it to remain active is terrible and a massive blunder. In a new media environment "media relations" does not stop at contacting the press, it also encompasses online content. For the Arizona Cardinals to not understand this is not good for its players or its organization. Shifting the blame toward me will not remove them of their responsibility. And not that I don't believe it's not fake but my concern is if Leinart and the Cardinals knew this account existed why it was allowed it to remain for so long? This is the month of August.

Online reputation management is something star athletes like Matt Leinart must pay attention to. As a consultant in this area, I've personally removed fake accounts and worked to improve the online image of clients. No, I'm not suggesting Leinart hire me, but this episode should serve as a causionary tale of why it's not a good idea to leave an account up and active.

Just because a Twitter account has tweets that stopped at a certain point is not enough to say it's not real - anything webpage (and that's what this is) that can be discovered in a search or has an active URL is real and that includes this Twitter account.

Matt needs to work with Twitter and have the account removed ASAP. It's not enough to rely on an obscure blog post as protection against misunderstood messages. Personally, I'm glad to learn the account's not Matt's, I hope, but I'm also very concerned that Matt's not taking the right steps to protect his online reputation.

Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake

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Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:



Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.

I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):

Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web

Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?

No one saw the tweet

Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.

By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.

Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:

Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web

Well, he was just kidding there. 

Watch what you tweet

The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.

Matt Leinart thinks Kurt Warner's "old" - a Twitter fake

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Matt Leinart at the 2006 NFL Draft:



Special Note: It's said that Matt Leinart does not use Twitter, but this account I report on below with his tweets on it back in February is still up and active. I wrote a new blog post about Matt's Twitter problem and the importance of online reputation management. Below is what I originally reported. It remains as a cautionary example of how not to handle one's digital identity. Hopefully Leinart takes the steps to remove the Twitter account, as should have been done months ago.

I happened to see the New York Times article focusing on NFL Coaches prohibiting players from using Twitter in meetings and during training camp. I had to chuckle because the Twitter frenzy is already alive with funny and controversial tweets all over the place. Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart, who tweeted this (as of this writing):

Locked and loaded, ready to make history if Kurt goes down. That Steeler D is mean, and Kurt's kinda old...9:46 AM Feb 1st from web

Wow, "Kurt's kinda old?" Matt. C'mom, man! This is the guy who beat you out for the starting job in Arizona. A guy who was brought to the Cardinals to "tutor" you in the ways of the NFL, and ended up showing you by example. Why share that you think he's old on Twitter? Did you think someone wouldn't see it?

No one saw the tweet

Apparently no one saw the tweet to even make a big deal about it at the time: February 1st. And given Twitters incredible growth in visitors since that time, I can assert that it wasn't even in the mindset of media types to look at Leinart's Twitter page, let alone report what he put on it.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

As we march toward the 2009 NFL season the Arizona Cardinals Leinart, who thinks "Kurt's kinda old" is now battling for the number two spot behind that old man against unknown journeyman signal-caller Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre was drafted in 2003 and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Cardinals.

By contrast, Leinart was drafted in 2006 amid much fanfare and anticipation. But it seems, starting from his being drafted 10th by the Cardinals rather than 3rd by the Tennessee Titans (who picked Texas quarterback Vince Young), Leinart's NFL ride would be a bumpy one. At the 2006 NFL Draft Leinart had to deal with questions about his fall from the being the expected first or third pick to being the 10th selection. Now, he's got to deal with questions about his inability to beat a couple of old guys.

Since Warner and St. Pierre are both older than Leinart, it seems those elderly gents are eating his lunch. If St. Pierre wins the number two spot over Leinart, I guess we should look for Matt to tweet "Brian's kinda old" at some point in the season. Or maybe Leinart will switch to cornerback:

Maybe I'll switch to corner next year -- jk10:15 PM Feb 1st from web

Well, he was just kidding there. 

Watch what you tweet

The lesson here is simple: watch what you tweet. Matt, of all people, should know better. He's a two-time All American National Champion out of USC, and so successful that Cal fans all over both respect and hate him. Personally, I root for Matt, always have, but sometimes that dude does things that make me cringe, this tweet is one of them.

"Kurt's kinda old?"

Matt, you should pray to be in the league as long as Kurt has and achieve Warner's success over that time. But right now, the only "old man" you should concern yourself with is Brian St. Pierre. I know you're up to the challenge he presents. I know you can win the number two job - just go out and do it, because if you don't a lot of people will be disappointed in you. At that point, the idea that the NFL means "Not For Long" will come up in conversations about your career.

Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.

Change in NFL Draft: Draft moves to Three Day format with first round on Thursday Night in Primetime.

The NFL might have done the smartest thing ever in the eyes of real draft fans when they announced a change ton the format of the draft broadcast a short time ago. By moving the draft's first round to thursday night's prime time slot you draw even more viewers and even more of the "casual" football fans then ever before. you also cut a few days of late hype off of the week leading up to the start of the draft because you have the actual first round selections taking place on a weeknight. Then Rounds 2-4 on Friday and 5-7 on Saturday.

What this does for the fan is to also involve them more in the broadcast. For the People working for the teams and the media this gives them(us) an extra Day off/travel day in Sunday, so that people can file their monday stories sooner and grab some relaxation before returning to the grind. In fact, anyone looking for the draft to be shortened should be happy with the reduction in time per pick on 2008 and the format change for 2010. Even if it means one more day of coverage, it's less time on each day.

The big winners here are ESPN and NFLNetwork, because they get to add an extra day of broadcasting to their schedules. So we get an extra Day of Mel Kiper proclaiming that some other front office doesn't know how to handle their business or another chance to hear some more drivel about what some player is going to do with his bonus money instead of real football journalism like "Why did that team pass on that Runningback and take the guy who looks like he'll be packing bags at walmart next month" or how horrible that owner really is, instead of what we really want to know.

President Obama it's your birthday; mine too!

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President Obama, it's August 4th, the day you were born in 1961 in Hawaii. Happy Birthday. It's also my birthday and I'm one year behind you. I didn't know that when we met at the Mark Hopkins on St. Patrick's Day of 2007, but when I realized we had that in common it made me reevaluate a lot of events in my life. On my birthday, I wish to share my thoughts with you and everyone.

For a long time I told people that because I was that one year behind you, I was always one year away from greatness. But I don't think that anymore. I'm great, just in a different way. You see, that you are president makes it ok for me to be who I've fought to be for most of my life: smart, confident, arrogant, caring, intellectual, nerdy, caring, a trekker, a vlogger, a blogger, and other adjectives - positive ones.

I fought to be me because I never wanted to be a stereotype. I have known black men who said they had two languages: "Black English" and English". One way of talking for us, the other way for everyone else. Me? I just had one way: standard English. And I worked to be articulate because I wanted to be arrogant - no it's not a good thing but it was a weapon. It was my shield from anyone regardless of color who would dare try and put me in a "box". I made sure they knew I didn't fit, even if I had to be intellectually intimidating. But around my friends, a group that formed because of our love for "Star Trek: The Original Series", even to the point of forming a Star Trek Club, I wasn't that way.

Well, one reason was because they were just like me, so I didn't have to use myself as a weapon, I could be me and be liked. It's no wonder they're still my friends to this day, and yes, all white or Asian save for two people. Didn't matter. They were and are my touchstone. If anyone wonders what good Star Trek TOS did for America here's my answer: it gave folks like me a "place to be".

But my "place to be" expanded far beyond Star Trek a long time ago. It did for a number of reasons, but most of all, the growth of our generation. As we, you and I, came of age, there were black men like us who were fighting the same fight but we didn't know each other until we reached adulthood. I could name a lot of names, but you know who they are and so do I. Our collective growth and the overall mainstreaming of elements of black culture, specifically "Hip Hop", really made it ok for me to be me and for you to become president.

Now, Hip Hop drew in teenage whites and with so many non-white girls enjoying the music, set the stage for interracial dating and for meeting black men who while they liked the music, didn't fit the black male stereotype. In fact, with both black and white men enjoying the music, all of us realized that we had not just the music in common but other activities as well. This really rapid social integration, something seldom talked about, is Hip Hop's gift to America.

America has melded, grown, and changed because of Hip Hop, and because of people like Bernard Shaw, CNN's amazing former anchor and someone many called "The Black Walter Cronkite". Your speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention marked the first time people of every stripe realized that we could have a black man as president. It was the first time people saw one of us on a national stage and accepted that person as something that person wanted to be - leader of the free world - and not a stereotype.

And now you're POTUS, and a good one at that.

So I say, Happy Birthday, Barack.

And thanks.

Tom Hayes - Let's talk about euthanasia and abortion

Abortion is a proven "wedge" issue, in the finest tradition of Karl Rove's masterful divisive politics, and it's arguably being used that way again right now in the health-care insurance reform debate. The mainstream media is commercial, so they're far from immune from the effects of the money being spent to spin, shape, frame, and control this debate.

Most of us, frankly, have "good enough" insurance, and we all get to make the choice to keep our current system. In fact, of the 5 out of 6 covered Americans, fully 3 out of 4 of them say they're mostly satisfied. So let's be clear: this isn't about the majority, this is about the 1 in 6 Americans who aren't covered. 1 in 6 - that's not quite 50 million Americans.

Now, nobody's proposed socialized medicine - if they had the doctors wouldn't be mostly in favor of reform. But it's a tested sound bite that shaves off a few votes. Did you know they need more billing clerks at Duke Medical Center than they have nurses? Does that get through to the opponents of reform at all? No, apparently they're happier with it spun by lobbyists and CEOs than sticking with reality.

They dragged in euthanasia (which then echoed through the media) because "socialized medicine" didn't make as big a dent as they had hoped. So, too, with abortion. It's being dragged into the debate for the express purpose of derailing the whole package - undermining an honest debate about our values, and shaving off a few votes here and there. It's classic Rove/GOP/special interest "divide and conquer" in the face of Obama's attempts to make real improvements.

They hope we'll ignore that the leading cause of personal bankruptcy filings is medical expenses. Never mind that the number of uninsured Americans grows by over 10,000 people each and every day. No, no, don't fret about your neighbors who aren't as well off as you, that's not your problem - just keeping listening to the $pecial interests as they spend millions of dollars per day, raised by bureaucrats at companies who decide your premiums and what they'll cover or not cover, all to influence congress and public opinion. The bureaucrats who control our access to health care right now live rich, lavish lifestyles with no incentive to change the system, let alone to cover those who need it most.

More than half of personal bankruptcy filings are triggered by medical costs. Really.

Do you think this is about somebody else? Do you think everybody you know is really covered? Do you mind that most of the raises in the last three decades for low and middle-income earners have gone right into the pockets of health insurance profiteers, because premiums have been rising at triple the rate of inflation?

Lots of special interest money is being thrown at this debate, and it's up to us to keep the truth out there, because when people hear things like abortion, socialized medicine, or alleged euthanasia for senior citizens, many have a visceral reaction and stop thinking, let alone listening. Obviously, profits are at stake or the insurance companies wouldn't be spending all that money that might otherwise be going to control costs.

Are you still thinking?

Twitter should partner with YouTube

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This just in, according to TechCrunch, Twitter now has almost as many monthly unique visitors as Craigslist.

Well, TechCrunch didn't include Craigslist's visitor statistics in its blog report, I did, but the point is at 44 million unique visitors, Twitter is just shy of Craigslist's 50 million as of May 2009. If there was any question how large Twitter has become, or how important, that stat should answer it.

But with all of this traffic, where's the revenue model? Is it just burning venture capital cash or is there a plan? (Spark Capital's Todd Dagres says there's a money-making plan and his firm has pumped $35 million into Twitter with the confidence the approach will work.) As of this writing, Twitter is free of charge and is devoid of ads. While different approaches have been discussed, here's one I've not seen before.

Partner with YouTube.

In the model I envision, Twitter would allow its users to embed videos by YouTube Partners directly on their profiles. In turn, YouTube would pay Twitter a percentage revenue fee from the traffic generated by Twitter-based YouTube videos. It's a way of allowing Twitter users to "jazz up" their profiles with videos, much as they do with photos, which in some cases are corporate logos anyway.

My point is, Twitter's already becoming commercialized because businesses are establishing pages on it. Having a provision to add video isn't really pushing Twitter in a direction it should not go. I think this provision would be a massive hit, especially in cases where the YouTuber has breaking news on video that then goes viral on Twitter. Moreover popular YouTubers are also in demand on Twitter, like iJustine, one of LA's Top Twitterers, so Twitter become a way to expand the YouTube Partner reach.



I don't know what the overall revenue impact would be on the Twitter, but its certainly a win-win: Twitter doesn't have to worry about additional traffic weight to its servers, and YouTube makes more money from the additional traffic from Twitter that it then shares with Twitter.

So, if you notice Twitter pages having YouTube videos embeded, you know where the idea came from.

Lou Dobbs home to "birthers" and white supremacists

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On YouTube.com

After years of ducking complaints about his occasionally offensive coverage, Lou Dobbs, host of CNN's Lou Dobbs show, may finally see either the end of his days of pretty much getting away with whatever "fact" he puts out, or the end of his show altogether. As one who went on a video attack regarding his economic views a while back - see below - I'm glad to see it. But Lou's idiotic views on the economy pale in comparison to his use of story angles from white supremacists groups, even to the point of using websites representing such views as sources. Indeed, one Newsvine blogger SkeeterVT links the current "birther" movement and Dobbs coverage of it to white supremacists groups, but it's not Dobbs first time helping such wingnuts. More after my "Lou Dobbs in an idiot on the economy" video:



Dobbs is friend to white supremacists

Google "Lou Dobbs white supremacist" and one sees over 23,000 results, the vast majority related to his series of stories on illegal aliens. In fact, it was an every day constant drum beat from Lou well through 2008. But Bill Scher of the Huff Post reports that as far back as 2006, Dobbs story source was the Council of Conservative Citizens, a group that was pointed to as having a "white supremacy" ideology according to the Anti-Defamation League. What was Dobbs talking about? The supposed "Mexican campaign to recapture the Southwest", an idea that was slammed by many as completely, well, idiotic.

And the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), another anti-racism watchdog group, has pointed specifically to Dobbs for hosting white supremacists as far back as 2004. One of them, Glen Spencer, has spoken at least twice to the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens, which has described blacks (like me I guess) as "a retrograde species of humanity." And the SPLC explains that Dobbs never mentioned the affiliation of Spencer or for that matter Joe McCutchen who was famous for writing anti-Semitic "letters to the editor" to various publications.

Virginia Abernathy was another Dobbs guest with ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens, in her case as an editorial adviser according to Commondreams.org and other sources.

CNN offered an explanation for the Dobbs connection to the Council of Conservative Citizens in an email to onepeoplesproject.com as presented by LaLuchaSigue:

A freelance field producer in Los Angeles searched the web for Aztlan maps and grabbed the Council of Conservative Citizens map without knowing the nature of the organization. The graphic was a late inclusion in the script and, regrettably, was missed in the vetting process.

Oh c'mon! Blaming this on one field producer doesn't even touch the question of who booked this cast of characters to be on Dobbs show!

Dobbs, white supremacists and the birther movement

And just when I though Lou had returned to more credible reporting, he sits with white supremacists once again in giving a platform to the birthers. As I explained above, Newsvine's SkeeterVT's blog post today connects Andy Martin, a well-known white supremacist and friend of and guest of Fox News Sean Hannity, is now associated with Dobbs as one who's actions are given credibility by Dobbs' coverage. Forget Alan Keyes, who's a fake conservative searching for votes, attention, and money, people like Martin should be feared and not given a platform, even indirectly, by people like Dobbs.

CNN should be ashamed

CNN is a better organization than the way they're allowing Dobbs to present them. There's a wealth of evidence that Lou Dobbs is providing a home for white supremacist views and opinions. Dobbs even went so far as to go out and by "Obama Waffles" and CNN did nothing. Why? And why has CNN not made an issue of this until now?

Ratings.

When Lou was hammering Mexicans and hosting white supremacists, the ratings were terrific - as much as 816,000 daily viewers in 2006 and a 33 percent increase over 2005 - and CNN came to his defense. But now, Dobbs ratings are down 15 percent as of this writing and during his coverage of the birther movement; its the ratings fall that makes Dobbs suddenly expendable to CNN. While CNN's defended Dobbs recently, there are behind the scenes rumblings that his show may have met its end.

Thank God!

Making money off race hate may have worked in the pre-Obama America, but in an America with its first African American President Obama and first Latino treasurer in Rosie Rios, to offer but two examples of our ever diversifying USA, the racist media party is over.

Iron Girl, Title IX, and the strong woman movement

I just returned from my monthly visit to Georgia, where my Mom's living. I always enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the semi-rural town she lives in outside Atlanta, but I can't help noticing one thing: all of the fat people, especially the women. Suburban Georgia seems to have missed the "strong woman" movement, which is what the "Iron Girl" competition is all about. Ironically, Iron Girl's held today in Atlanta! (Now, when I refer to strong woman I'm not limiting the term to women who engage in powerliting or feats of strength. That's on the extreme end but the same lifting techniques and equipment used by extremely strong women are employed on a normal basis by many women today. I'm exploring the growth of that practice and women in athletics, like the members of the  U.S. Olympic Women's Synchronized Swim Team who talked about the torch issue in my video .)



Iron Girl: for women only

According to its website, Iron Girl started with just two events in 2004 and now has 10 around America: Clearwater, FL, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta, Del Mar, Syracuse, Tempe, Bloomington, Seattle, Columbia MD, and Del Mar. Considering how the strong woman movement - as I call it - arguably started in California, it's shocking that there's only one event in the state, and none in Northern California. (Oakland would be the perfect place for an Iron Girl event.

But why are events like Iron Girl growing? And why is it suddenly it seems normal for women to be strong and look strong?

Why it's now normal for women to show muscle

I can remember a time when a woman flexing was considered not "ladylike" but not anymore. Frankly, I think a woman with muscle is just plain sexy, and have for most of my life, but now the industrialized world has caught up to me. The reason for this can be directly attributed to the success of Title IX, the national legislation which tackled school sex discrimination in athletics. The preamble to the law reads: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any programs or activity receiving federal financial assistance." That covers every public and most private school athletic programs in America. Before Title IX, called the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, the most commonly accepted ways for a woman to participate in athletics were cheerleading and square dancing. A woman playing, for example, Tennis, was fine that racket sport was looked upon as something mainly for men' for women it wasn't ok to be a jock.

Then came Bill Jean King.

I remember the circus around her then-anticipated match against blowhard Bobby Riggs. Everyone I knew as a small boy wanted to see King, who was made fun of by a number of people on television before the event, kick his arrogant butt, especially my Mom. O Sept. 20, 1973 in Houston, King beat Riggs in three straight sets; the match was seen by 50 million people. One of those people was Pasty Mink, the force behind Title IX.

Even before King's hammering of Riggs, Mink had successfully wrote and caused the passage of Title IX in 1972. She was spurred to do so after being denied admission to medical school because she was a woman. While Mink's intent was to open access to education for women, it had a dramatic impact on the growth of women's athletics because of King and coaches like Billy Lynn, who's Sui Ross State University (Texas) women's volleyball team was the first to win a national championship. But it took cable television, the Internet, and the constant increase in media outlets to produce the hunger for sports-related content that accelerated the growth of women's athletics. By 1990, television featured all kinds of women's sports, from tennis and track to something new: bodybuilding. After years of women being told to cover up their muscles, they were showing them and getting paid to do it.

At that point, the idea that a woman could be strong and sexy was introduced to American Culture. Since 1990, media's expansion has led to the constant propagation of the image of the strong woman. Add to that the heath and fitness craze, the wellness movement, and the "sexualization" of women with muscle (where now its considered sexy for a woman to have muscle) and we have America's evolution to a point where the first lady, Michelle Obama, is praised for her toned arms as much as she is for her charm.

The future of the strong woman?

As we move toward the end of the first decade of the 21st Century, look for more women to participate in such activities as "fitness bootcamps" where a trainer puts her "subjects" through a battery of activities involving intense weight lifting and running.  Women-only athletic events like Iron Girl are common.  And in fashion, clothes like the sleveless blouse are popular in the US and the UK because of Mrs. Obama's style, and guys like me say "More, more!" There's nothing to suggest that the propagation of the image of the strong woman is under attack anywhere in America...except suburban Atlanta.

CDFL Playoff week(#4)

Today (Sunday 8/2/2009)

We will Broadcast two Games Live on UStream.tv at 5pm (Westchester Nighthawks vs Bergen Bears) and 7pm (Orange Sprit vs Rockland Rattlers) all times eastern. The Games will also be shown on Verizion Fios ch. 32 in most east coast states. On Tuesday night don't forget to catc the CDFL Review and coaches show at www.Blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters at 7:30 pm Eastern

The CDFL Broadcast team is Tammy Prince & John Kelly on Play by Play and Dr. Bill Chachkes on color commentary.

Valleywag's Ryan Tate hates the term "Fox News Bonehead"

In my multi-part blog entry on Erin Andrews (which included the video above) I ran across an little gem by now-Valleywag Editor Ryan Tate regarding the website activities of one Fox News correspondent Courtney Friel, who was one of the guests of Fox News star blowhard Bill O'Reilly on the matter of the nude video of ESPN's Erin Andrews. I got after Tate for using this title:

Secret Bikini Shots Of Fox News "Bonehead"

Because I was under the impression that Tate was using someone else's quote to about her to channel (a popular term now) his perception of Friel. I was under the impression Tate himself believed Friel to be a "bonehead" because in the blog post he didn't write the text to separate himself from what he wrote. Well, the ever-observant Tate saw my blog post and sparked a great and friendly email exchange (Ryan's cool) where he wrote:

I quoted the term, twice. Why do you quote things you don't
necessarily agree with? Usually because they're interesting. That
doesn't mean you think they're true. In this case, we have an anchor
who has stirred up a lot of critics. I can't say I agree with them,
because I haven't watched her show and never professed to. What do I
have to go on? What I do know is how she's handled the critics, and
what she's said, which is what I wrote about/ Hard to do that without
quoting the critics.

and...

That's because I didn't rail against the term. I'm not saying I knew
it to be wrong; I knew not whether it was correct or incorrect, and
did not pass judgement on it either way. The post you quoted wasn't
about whether she was a bonehead, it was about her removing racy
pictures from her own website, and more broadly how she presented
herself (the "horse dick" video). Her critics are relevant in this
context because it's a possible explanation for her pulling the
images.

This was a far cry from the exchange I had with Kara Swisher of the Wall Street Journal, who employed the same device regarding Twitter in stating that it was "simple", which I disagree with. Where Ryan was cool, Kara was nasty and overbearing, basically ordering me to make a change without explaining why she used someone else's quote about Twitter.

Kudos to Ryan!

As one who's paid to give an opinion, I'm used to those who write or say "I think this" or that, rather than hide behind a quote. But at least Ryan gave me his point of view separate from what he wrote and without the insults and orders Swisher threw at me.