Girls Gone Wild not demeaning if put into perspective

By Joe McAdory

Driving down the main drag in Daytona Beach yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice a large, black bus zooming in the direction of the beach and spring break activities. It wasn’t any ordinary bus. It was the Girls Gone Wild Bus. Looks like the camera-happy dudes were on another mission to find young women willing to expose themselves for the sake of doing so all in the name of drunkenness.

Many say the Girls Gone Wild videos are demeaning to women. I don’t know. I haven’t seen one, but I probably would watch one if given to me. But demeaning? If girls feel like revealing themselves for the world, that’s their prerogative. We also have the choice not to purchase their overpriced DVDs. Girls who expose themselves make that choice, even if they claim they were too intoxicated to think straight at the time. Perhaps they should not put themselves in that situation. I’d say it is demeaning to the individuals who make unwise choices that could later come back to haunt them, and is an example of how predators with video cameras are circling like hawks to get them on film.

Demeaning to women? No. Lesser pay because of gender is demeaning to women. Not having the right to vote was demeaning to women. Husbands who batter their wives ... that’s demeaning to women. Let’s put this in perspective.

School massacre “plot” taken seriously

By Joe McAdory

Since I’ve spent this week in Daytona Beach, I couldn’t help but notice a story in the News-Journal about three middle school kids down here who face serious time for possibly plotting a school massacre. The plot, or at least a plan posing as a real plot, was displayed on one of the kids’ Web page. Kids sure like to have Web pages these days, don’t they? And sometimes these things work against them. Anyway, authorities caught wind of the “plot” and the teens are on the brink of facing serious time behind bars.

Threats, whether real or fake, must be taken seriously and all school-aged children must be made aware that such activity will not be tolerated. Parents must re-emphasize this point to their kids, even if they believe their little angel would never hurt anyone. In this case, even pretend plots can lead to serious jail time. We must do what it takes to keep our schools safe and kids should understand this.

What do you think?

Rev. Wright confuses me

By Joe McAdory

I really don’t know what to say about Rev. Jeremiah Wright other than if a man is going to use God’s pulpit to preach the word of the Gospel, then I find it disrespectful to the very God he serves to use this pulpit for any other means. Is he trying to win souls, or is he using his position to push another agenda. I thought we were trying to unify this country. Maybe I’m confused. Below is a link that blew my mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3-seOp1rg

Hangin’ with Tiger

By Joe McAdory

So how’s the weather in Alabama? I’m in sunny, but windy, Central Florida.

I spent Sunday afternoon simply amazed at the skills nearly perfected by golfers on the PGA Tour. Attending the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, I got an up-close look at their talents on display. Not only was I blown away by the distance these professionals hit the ball, but with the accuracy and precision they do it. I’m just happy to hit a ball 250 yards, but these guys do that with easy and pretty much hit the target every time.

And then there’s Tiger.

I was fortunate enough to be very close to three of his best shots in Sunday’s final round. First, I was about eight feet away from the dude when he chipped on to the green from a bunker at the third hole to save par. Later, I was about the same distance away when he nearly chipped the ball into the hole for what would have been an eagle on No. 6. Later, I had a great view of his dramatic approach shot on No. 18 to set up his even more dramatic tournament-winning putt. The dude amazed me with his overall power, chipping and precision putting. I’d like to be good at any of those three.

Bay Hill was a good venue and the Arnold Palmer Invitational was fun for the fans. For $45 per ticket to watch Tiger add to the record books, I’d say it’s a great value. I don’t think Bay Hill’s course is any nicer or much more difficult than Grand National, but the fact it’s in tourist-trap Orlando makes it an attractive stop on the tour. The course had plenty of water holes, so that would be a major issue for the average player. I thought all of the homes around the fairways took away from the beauty of the course, but I suppose when you’re playing the game you should worry about the course itself and not what lies beyond its perimeter. Anyway, those homes were pretty plush. I’d like one, but I don’t have a million bucks.

I would have photos, but cameras aren’t allowed on the course for PGA events, so I complied with the rules. Anyone looking for a decent PGA event to attend in the future, I recommend the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It’s a good venue in a good location. Plus, it’s smack dab in the middle of Orlando’s theme park country. You could see Tiger Woods one day and Goofy the next.

Auburn, Opelika mentioned in SI steroid feature

By Joe McAdory

An interesting article in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated gets deep into the heart of America’s steroid issue, letting readers know the performance enhancers are not limited to major sports. However, one particular article hits home, literally. The story at the link below specifically mentions Auburn and Opelika. Give it a read.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/03/11/steroids.godfather/