Andy Wolfenson's Open Salon Blog

FREE - ON KINDLE - TODAY AND TOMORROW

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 08:02:11 -0500

Today and Tomorrow, you can download my novel, "In His Own Defense", for free on your Kindle.

Now you have no excuse not to download and read it.

Maybe you will even like it. You never know.

This is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/In-His-Own-Defense-ebook/dp/B00ANZ1KF6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360934280&sr=8-2&keywords=andrew+wolfenson

I'm On the Radio Tomorrow Morning (Feb. 14, 2013)

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:02:40 -0500

If you have ever wondered what your fellow OS'ers sound like, or, more to the point, if you have ever wondered about what I sound like, here is your chance to find out. Tomorrow morning, WCWP radio will be airing an interview that I recorded last week, promoting my newly-released book, "In His Own Defense".

The Interview can be heard at 11:00 am on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 on WCWP, 88.1 FM in the New York/Long Island area. You can also listen by logging onto the station's website at www.wcwp.org and then clicking on the "WCWP 88.1 FM" button on the right-hand side of the page, above where it says "Click an icon above to listen".

Or, if you are busy at 11:00 tomorrow morning, you can hear the interview in its entirety (broken down into shorter, easier-to-listen-to pieces) on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/InHisOwnDefense1.

And, lastly, don't forget to purchase the book, if you have not already done so, at the following site:

http://www.amazon.com/His-Own-Defense-Andrew-Wolfenson/dp/1481089013/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360796813&sr=8-1&keywords=andrew+wolfenson

Shameless self-promotion complete. Let me know what you think.

One last thing - this is the book cover, which was drawn by our very own dianaani:

Baseball's (Common) Name Game - A Little Sunday Fun

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 10:01:19 -0500

In less than a month, the beginning of this year’s episode of “Hope Springs Eternal” will begin for Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in less than three weeks. At the same time, there is no real football being played today, with the league taking the weekend off to conduct the no-contact exhibition known as the All-Pro Game before ramping up its publicity for next Sunday’s Super Bowl.

What better time, then, to start talking about baseball?

It is too early to make predictions for this year’s standings, however, as many players have changed teams, there are still several big-time free agents available, and, let’s face reality, the Yankees look like they are destined for a troubled year so why waste time extolling the virtues of other teams? Instead, as some of us look out the window to see the remnants of the last snowfall and are facing more frozen precipitation over the next couple of days, it may be more fun to forget about what will likely be a lost 2013 season and play a word game.

This is a game based on crossword puzzle clues of the past – basically, we want to pick the best pair of players – one of whose last name is the same as the first name of the other. Here are three pairs as an example:

1) Frank Robinson and Robinson Cano

(1) (2)

2) Steve Carlton and Carlton Fisk

(3) (4)

3) Hank Aaron and Aaron Harang

(5) (6)

Are any of these three the best “common name duo” ever? Or are there others whom you think are/were better? Let’s see your superstar pairings.

photo credits:

1) Frank Robinson - www.camdenchat.com

2) Robinson Cano - www.sportsillustratred.cnn.com

3) Steve Carlton - www.postershop.com

4) Carlton Fisk - www.sportsblink.com

5) Hank Aaron - www.biography.com

6) Aaron Harang - www.zimbio.com

NFL Avoids Being Tackled By the Seau Family's Litigation

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:01:53 -0500

It seems that Junior Seau’s uncanny ability to make the “big hit” on opposing ball carriers was not passed on to his family or its attorneys. News came Wednesday that Seau’s family had filed litigation against the NFL, blaming it for Junior’s suicide. The former star linebacker committed suicide last May, and examination of his brain revealed that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), presumably from the untold number of hits to the head that he sustained while playing football. The litigation, in part, accuses the NFL of both ignoring and concealing evidence of the risks associated with traumatic brain injuries.

(1)

Much will be likely written about this suit in the coming months - what the NFL did and did not know regarding such injuries, what the NFL has done to prevent such injuries going forward, about the thousands of other suits currently pending against the NFL, and about the players and their willingness to risk such injuries. Thousands of documents will be exchanged, which may show that the NFL knew of and/or buried certain evidence of head injuries, and which may also show that the player’s association and/or players had greater knowledge of the risks than we have been led to believe thus far.

As a fan who has watched NFL games during fall and winter weekends for four decades, it seems obvious that there is an element of violence which, inevitably, will lead to long-term traumatic injuries. Importantly, there are also countless practices in which these players have participated. Before their NFL careers, they played and practiced in college. They played and practiced in High School. They likely played in Pop Warner or some other youth organization. And, no doubt, they played “pick-up” games with their friends without wearing helmets, pads, or any other forms of protection. So how many hits have they taken? It is impossible to determine. “Thousands” likely does not even begin to describe the number.

Today’s players are, for the most part, bigger than the players of yesteryear. They are stronger and faster. The field, however, is still the same size, and the NFL is cramming larger, stronger, and faster players into the same 100-yard field. The collisions are more fierce, the playing (artificial) surfaces harder than when football first began, and, as a result, the potential for injury is much greater – no matter what type of padding you place inside of a player’s helmet.

As an attorney, I expect to hear terms that are thrown about in personal injury cases – defenses to the litigation will include “assumption of the risk”, “contributory negligence”, “comparative negligence”, and so forth. The plaintiffs will argue “willful concealment” of information and that the NFL, in order to protect its own “bottom line”, purposefully exposed its players to injury.

In this case, however, the cynic in me offers potentially the greatest perspective – why now? Why was the litigation filed during the week before the Super Bowl? Without knowing California law, I think it is safe to assume that the Statute of Limitations for such cases is not eight months, so there was no need for the Seau family to rush to the courthouse and file other than to maximize their publicity during the hype-crazy period prior to the sport’s biggest game. On that basis alone, I am skeptical.

What is the purpose of the litigation? Is it to further efforts at making the NFL games safer for its current players, or is it merely to seek monetary recovery for the Seau family? Note that I use the word “merely” very carefully here. The Seau family will no doubt argue the deprivation of millions of dollars of income due to Junior’s death, for he could have been a coach, a commentator, or done something else connected with the sport which could have led to a large payday. And that may be true. But – no doubt Junior Seau made millions of dollars during his career. As a result, the family should still be in possession of millions of dollars, such that they do not need the additional fortunes. If all of the money is gone, then the NFL is not to blame for their current situation. They can blame Junior (or themselves) if it was all spent, or his financial advisors if the monies were not invested properly.

Simply put, in this economy, where people continue to struggle to put food on the table despite working harder than ever, I find it difficult to believe that the American public will feel pity for the Seau family if they do not reap additional millions of dollars from the NFL and the other defendants.

If this sounds cruel, I apologize.

Also, that Junior Seau knew the dangers associated with playing football for so long simply cannot be ignored. He played in the NFL for 20 years. He spent his entire professional life (and his high school and college lives, etc) hurtling his body at other players in an effort to maximize his impact with them and knock them to the ground. According to reports, the suit essentially acknowledges his understanding of its dangers, quoting him from the 1993 “NFL Rocks” as saying: “if I can feel some dizziness, I know that guy is feeling double.” These are not the words of someone who did not understand that injury can result from his playing the sport.

(2)

There is also an element of the unknown that any reasonable person (another legal term) should be able to appreciate. A man who propels himself, sometimes headfirst, into other large people and intends to knock both himself and the other to the hard artificial turf must know that there may be some repercussions.

People often ask what happens if I eat something with gluten in it – as I suffer from Celiac Disease – I explain that I would likely become ill, and then feel sluggish for the next couple of days, which has happened when I inadvertently ate something gluten-y in the past. I add, however, that my real fear is the unknown. I am more afraid of the potential long-term effects of gluten intake, especially when the effects are insidious and I may not know the full ramifications until years later.

Is it wrong to assume that Junior Seau, or other NFL players, are capable of thinking the same way? Or do the paycheck and glory simply trump these concerns?

We often hear these players described as “warriors”. We hear how players who have sustained concussions want to still go out there and play, because that is their mentality. And this is glorified by those who have played the game – the “warrior” is exulted by his teammates and coaches, and the person who takes himself out of a game (e.g., Jay Cutler) is vilified. I cringed when I watched Robert Griffin III’s knee buckle during a recent playoff game. His coach was harangued for keeping him in the game when his health, and, most importantly, long-term NFL career prospects, were in jeopardy. Yet, if Coach Shanahan had taken Griffin out, over Griffin’s objection, a Redskins’ loss would have led to further ire from the Washington faithful. It is, to a certain extent, a no-win situation.

The NFL is currently in such a no-win situation. When it tries to protect its players, the very players whom it is trying to protect cry that it is unfair, that the game is being ruined. Defensive players complain that the quarterbacks are being coddled. They complain about their inability to hit receivers, the so-called “defenseless receivers”. At the same time, however, ex-players have filed a mountain of litigations against the league, claiming that it did not do enough to protect them from injury. The Seau litigation is merely the latest thrown on top of the pile, yet it may prove to be the most publicized due to Junior Seau’s stature as a player as well as the fact that he did not simply die, but, rather, he committed suicide, just like several before him, including, most recently, Dave Duerson and Ray Easterling.

Sometimes, however, the need to blame others must, inevitably, lead back home. We must take responsibility for our own actions. Here, it is different because the player in question is no longer here, and it is his family who has brought the litigation. It may be hard for them to prove that the NFL caused his suicide. It could have been the thousands of hits sustained before his NFL career that caused his CTE. It could have been actions outside of his playing in the NFL. And, of course, his “assumption of the risk” and “contributory” or “comparative” negligence in continuing to play, even after he began to exhibit signs of irrationality, according to his own family, will also be a factor for the court and/or jury to decide.

It has been opined that suicide is either the greatest form of cowardice and selfishness, or that it is truly the act of a desperate person who sees no other feasible alternative. I make no opinions as to that here. But the cynic in me, the attorney in me, and, yes, the fan in me, all draw the same conclusion. The NFL was not responsible for Junior Seau’s suicide. Nor was the helmet maker, nor the teams with which he achieved his glory on the gridiron. The person responsible for Junior Seau’s suicide was Junior Seau. No amount of money, to his family or anyone else, can ease the pain of his loss, and no amount of money can avoid the conclusion that he caused his own death, the very definition of “suicide”.

The fact that the litigation was filed, to me, is sad. The fact that it was filed this week, timed to be publicized on the eve of football’s greatest game, a game that Junior Seau had the good fortune to enjoy with two different teams, is sadder. It could have detracted from the game, but, as the media attention about the litigation seems to have already ebbed, only two days later, perhaps the media-attention seeking litigants and counsel have misplayed their hands. We can only hope.

(3)

So, the players are able to focus on preparing for the Super Bowl, the Har-bowl, or whatever else you want to call it. These players are preparing to reach the height of their careers with a victory, as well as, perhaps unwittingly, add to the litany of collisions and hits which may lead to long-term disease and/or difficulties.

And they all know it. Junior Seau knew it. We all know it. One of the big criticisms of the baseball players who took steroids to improve their game was that they were potentially sacrificing their long-term health. How is that different from any football player who straps on pads and walks onto the football field?

photo credits:

1. www.content.usatoday.com

2. www.joonspeaks.wordpress.com

3. www.blog.47brand.com

Baseball Hall of Fame & Lance Armstrong - Needles Everywhere

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:01:23 -0500

It has been quite a week for the endlessly-intertwined worlds of professional sports and performance-enhancing drugs. Days ago, the Baseball Hall of Fame voters emphatically slammed the doors to their hallowed building in the faces of players who used such drugs, were accused of using such drugs, or who merely played in an era where such drugs were prevalent. In so doing, the now holier-than-thou baseball writers shunned baseball’s all-time home run king, the man widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, and, in a true case of collateral damage, a man who amassed more than 3,000 hits while maintaining a squeaky-clean image.

(1)

That Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were denied entry into the Hall was no surprise. After all, the voters have sent clear indications over the past several years that the “cheaters”, for want of a better term, would not be granted the privilege of having their visages embossed on Hall of Fame plaques, at least not for now. But for people like Craig Biggio, the newfound “rules of entry” proved to be quite damaging. Biggio now stands as the only eligible member of the heretofore elite “3,000 hit club” who is not enshrined in Cooperstown. This is so despite the fact that Biggio has never been accused of using any form of performance-enhancing drugs. It is a clear case of “guilt by association,” and is an indictment on the voters that he was denied entry.

Biggio did garner the most votes of any candidate, but fell 39 votes short of election. The next highest vote-getter, former pitcher Jack Morris, finished three votes behind Biggio. For Morris, one of the greatest pitchers of his time and the man behind possibly the second-best game ever pitched in World Series history (an epic 1-0, Game 7 victory for Minnesota over Atlanta in which he hurled 10 shutout innings, capturing the title for the Twins and earning him MVP honors) election on this ballot had a sense of urgency – next year will be his fifteenth, and last, time on the ballot for election. He also has been swept up, it appears, in the tidal wave of anti-drug sentiment, even though he has never been accused of engaging in such improper conduct.

Good Guys v. Bad Guys

I previously wrote of a “double standard” of sorts for performance-enhancing drug users. Those who were friendly and amiable, I argued, were more easily forgiven by the public and the world of baseball:

http://open.salon.com/blog/andywolf/2009/08/10/hey_big_papi_-_como_se_dice_accountability

Due to this “double standard” well-liked players like Andy Pettitte, who actually admitted to using HGH, and David Ortiz, who was accused of using PED’s, could smile their way through their admissions or denials and not lose any of their stature with the baseball public. On the other hand, players were who not well-liked, especially those disliked by the press, would be vilified at every turn. Such was the case, I argued, with malcontents like Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez.

The Hall of Fame vote, I would urge, proved my point. Witness the votes garnered by seven accused steroid or other PED users:

Player # of votes % of vote

Jeff Bagwell 339 59.60%

Mike Piazza 329 57.80%

Roger Clemens 214 37.60%

Barry Bonds 206 36.20%

Mark McGwire 96 16.90%

Sammy Sosa 71 12.50%

Rafael Palmeiro 50 8.80%

Note the disparity in the voting totals. One could argue that the accusations involving the top two, Bagwell and Piazza, were not as loud as the others and that they were not involved in the congressional hearings regarding steroid use. I would also argue, however, that they were the nicest and friendliest of the bunch. The truth is that rumors about their usage were fairly wide-spread for some time; both went from normal-sized to gigantic in a short period of time, a la Bonds, and certainly much more than simple weight-lifting would have permitted. But they were nice. That’s the key.

In contrast, both Clemens and Bonds were surly, combative, and often disliked by the press. They are viewed as the poster children for the steroid era, and, despite being widely considered among the best at their profession, face a large uphill battle for induction. But they still amassed significantly more votes than the bottom three men above. Partially because their statistics and accomplishments were greater, no doubt, but also because of external factors.

McGwire, who famously refused to discuss “the past” before congress, later recanted his denials and admitted to the use of improper substances. To some, it was a catharsis. To others, it was too late. Yet Big Mac still sits in a major league dugout, having left St. Louis to be the Dodgers’ hitting coach. It appears, however, that he is allowed to wear a uniform but will never gain proper entry into the Hall. Sosa was a smiling bear cub for years, but his testimony before congress was comical at best (he pulled out the “No hablo ingles” card in order to avoid properly testifying) and the backlash continues.

(2)

Worse, still, was Palmeiro. Defiantly wagging his index finger at his inquisitors, he emphatically denied the use of any form of performance-enhancing drugs. Some time later, however, while with Baltimore, he tested positive for such drugs. In what seems to be little more than a case of “you made us look really stupid”, the baseball writers have saved their greatest wrath for poor Rafael. Only 8.8% of the vote is an abysmal showing. This is especially true for someone who is one of only a handful of players to have amassed 500 home runs and 3,000 hits in a career. Even if we delete his last two seasons in Baltimore, when we know that he was using such drugs, he still garnered 2,800 hits and 520 home runs; certainly Hall of Fame statistics, and better than players like Bagwell and Piazza, who, as noted above, placed much higher than him in the voting.

So, it seems clear that the writers are not only barring those who allegedly used drugs (famously, none of them have been actually “convicted”), but are also establishing a pecking order of the accused based on their personal feelings toward same. At the same time, however, they appear to be harming players who seemingly played clean, like Biggio and Morris, while clogging the Hall of Fame ballot for years to come. According to Buster Olney of ESPN, this will prove even more of a problem next year – all of the players on this year’s ballot will be back (except for Dale Murphy) and they will be joined by several people who should be Hall shoo-ins, like former teammates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, neither of whom were ever linked to such substances. One could argue, in fact, that Maddux should be the first unanimous election of all-time, having amassed staggering statistics without the aid of PEDs, while pitching to batters who, by some counts, were all (or almost all) using some form of synthetic assistance. The following year will bring still more candidates, including Randy Johnson, whose statistics rivaled Maddux’s and could also be considered a possible unanimous selection.

A possible solution

I profess that I am torn on whether the “accused” should be allowed into the Hall, or whether, they should be allowed with a special “steroid-era” designation on their plaques. Mere accusations cannot form the basis for denial, but the evidence against players like Clemens and Bonds, despite their apparent Teflon-status in the courts, screams guilt. On the other hand, there are players like Piazza and Bagwell who were damaged, it seems, by the whispers against them even though those allegations did not rise to the levels of those such as Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, and McGwire. And even if players did use, what if they amassed Hall-of-Fame caliber statistics before being caught, like Palmeiro?

(3)

The Hall of Fame Committee must make a definitive decision on these players. To allow them on the ballot, clogging the process and at the whim of the voters, seems to be a non-response to the issue. Realistically, if 26% or more of the voters (remember, a player needs 75% of the votes for induction) are truly hell-bent on never electing a player even accused of steroid use, then those players should simply be removed from the ballot. Let the voters decide who should be removed from the ballot, thereby removing the logjam and permitting the election of others. It would be a one-time decision as to each player, as opposed to the 15 years of denial that can result if they are left on the ballot.

And if those who are removed from consideration seek some form of retribution, such as filing court action to be reinstated to the ballot (how ludicrous a waste of the court’s time would that be?) then let a court determine if these players can or cannot be considered for election to baseball’s most esteemed building.

To continue to leave their fates in the hands of vindictive voters, the same writers who, by all counts turned a blind eye to such drug usage only a decade or so ago, seems equally ridiculous.

Lance Armstrong – “Please love me again”

Now, today we have the news that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong plans to admit that he engaged in blood doping during his record run of Tour de France titles. In what is clearly little more than an attempt at salvaging what may be left of his career and reputation, Armstrong, who has fiercely denied rumors of impropriety for years in spite of a mountain of evidence to the contrary, is apparently willing to confess to the world, via an interview with Oprah Winfrey, that all of his protestations have been lies.

(4)

Armstrong hopes, obviously, that people hear his contrition and think back to the smiling face of US Postal Service cycling, the cancer survivor, and the person who formed the “Livestrong” Foundation and raised millions of dollars for cancer research. And if they do, he reasons, then, like Messrs. Pettitte and Ortiz, he may be forgiven. He must hope, however, that the general public does not recall the person who, in his vehement denials, threw teammate after teammate under the proverbial bus, his false cries of innocence leaving a wide swath of damaged reputations and careers across the competitive cycling spectrum.

Armstrong may find himself, unwittingly, in the same position as baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose. For years, the player known as “Charlie Hustle” denied the rumors of his having bet on baseball games for years, even after he accepted a lifetime ban from baseball. He did so, like Armstrong, in the face of evidence which not only suggested, but clearly showed, his guilt. Finally, after years of denials, Rose admitted, in a book, to the gambling. To the world of baseball, however, it was too late to come clean, and Rose is still banned from baseball, the gates to the Hall of Fame still slammed shut.

More importantly, Rose’s confession was too late for the court of public opinion. That should cause Armstrong some worry, because it is that court that he will be pandering to with his no doubt crocodile-tear laden confession, which will be, according to reports, broadcast this Thursday. He will not be reinstated to competitive cycling, nor will his seven Tour de France titles be returned to him after his mea culpa. He is doing this all for the fans, for the public, and for his reputation. Like Pete Rose before him, however, the better likelihood is that his pleas will fall on deaf ears.

photo credits:

(1) www.nydailynews.com

(2) www.bleacherreport.com

(3) www.123rf.com

(4) www.cbssports.com