Random Thoughts

USC vs.USC

Dear Southern Cal (excuse me, SC),

You must be proud. All those national titles, Heisman trophies, NFL-ready recruits, and Pac-10 Titles (which are easier to get than a lolly-pop at a bank by the way) and you still have time to take the University of South Carolina to court over an interlocking "SC" logo used on various baseball apparel. My how you can flex those tan, cosmetically sculpted muscles.

It's great to see you protect your trademarked product so all of your progressive fans don't mistakenly pick up a South Carolina "SC" hat at the store instead of yours. I can see how fans could mistake garnet and black for cardinal and gold. Even though the schools are 2293 miles apart and play in different conferences, you can never be too careful.

With things going so swimmingly in Southern Cal, this was definately a legal situation that needed to be tended to. It's not like you have running backs living in mansions or point guards taking cash from agents. No, the "SC" logo battle was the fight needing to be fought.

If I may, I will suggest your next legal battle to take on.....The United States Post Office. Anyone putting an "SC" on any letter sent could jeorpardize your trademark. You'll confuse the mail carriers everywhere on what "SC" stands for and we just can't have that.

So keep on fighting the good fight Southern Cal, because not everyone knows how important you are.

Sincerely,

Confused South Carolina Resident



Gibbs Racing

Gibbs has been a topic of conversation this week in a context that few would have even seen coming.....cheating. However, this type of cheating is what I'll refer to as "Robin Hood" cheating. Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor, everyone knows the story whether its the Disney version, Kevin Costner, or Albert Brooks. It was stealing with good intentions, but in the end, it was still stealing. Same with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). They were penalized for doing a better job finding more engine horsepower within the rules than everyone else in NASCAR. (http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080723/FREE/553818544/1563/nascar)
It's the equivelant of telling the Patriots they can't use Tom Brady for the rest of the season after week 10 because he's just too good.

The team took the new rules in stride and found another way to gain back the lost horsepower. This time, they didn't want anyone else to know, so they put magnets behind the gas peddle to hide the added ponies under the hood. Can you blame JGR? You work hard within the rules, only to have the rules changes when you do to well?

Granted it was still cheating, but keep it in perspective. They were protecting their hard work, not looking for an unfair advantage. So don't go around talking about Joe Gibbs like this guy (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-whitley1908aug19,0,7436621.column). He's still one of the best men in all of sports. Gibbs understands it was still cheating and has taken care of the matter internally. Whether you rob a bank to feed your family or your drug habit, you still go to jail. Same with Gibbs, but at the end of the day you can't call him a cheater.