Lacrosse

Time for another fringe sport post. Normally, I watch lacrosse once a year - the men's NCAA Division I championship game on Memorial Day. My minimal knowledge of lacrosse extends to a history report I did in the third or fourth grade about the Iroquois tribe. I don't even know all the rules for lacrosse (for example, how do they determine who plays with the long sticks vs. the short sticks?), but at least it's fairly easy to follow (pass the ball, shoot it in the goal).

This year for some reason ESPN is making a big deal about the entire tournament. Maybe they are already planning programming contingencies in case the NFL and NBA seasons are cancelled this fall? Any way, lacrosse is one of the few sports that my alma mater plays on a Division I level, so I had the rare opportunity to watch my school on national TV for the first time in a long while (with the basketball team in shambles lately, I have to take what I can get!). Sure, they got trounced in the second half, but it was still pretty entertaining. Additional side benefit - I found out I get ESPNU as part of my cable lineup!

I also happened to catch 5 minutes of the Maryland-UNC game (match? fixture? some French word?), and apparently I tuned it at the right time because I saw this play live:

I love trick plays, and seeing the UNC fan (benchwarmer?) on the sideline trying to scream at his teammates was pretty funny too. If every lacrosse match features plays like these, maybe ESPN is making a good bet on lacrosse emerging from the fringe.

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Fantasy Fantasies - Monday May 16

Let's just get to this, we're already 6 weeks into the season, 25% of the way through, there's got to be some desperation out there and owners for you to exploit. Here are some guys I would be targeting and guys that I would unload

Buy Low

Uggla - I've owned Dan Uggla for 3 straight seasons, some days he'll get you a golden sombrero, some days, it's 2 HRs and 4 ribs. Buy.

Ubaldo - Another guy I think that will have a nice little summer, speculate

Crawford - Still a special player, he's going to come around, buy now while he's still struggling

Dunn - Power potential, I think he will still hit 30.

Gallardo - Still maintaining my buy recommendation, will find his groove

Sell High

Trevor Cahill - The ratios aren't there, there will be a correction, dump

Tim Hudson - One of my favorite pitchers, but never a good K rate, if someone is willing to give you talent here, take it.

Phil Humber - Another bad K rate guy, sell

Matt Joyce - A cash guy that I like, but sell if someone is willing to pay for his amazing month

Melky Cabrera - I don't think he keeps this up, exit

Cash Money Pickups of the week:

Andres Torres - leading off, speed, a little pop, back from injury, under the radar

Cameron Maybin - 5 tool skill set, always had potential, could be showing it, take a chance!

Johnny Cueto - If he's still available, move fast

Jhonny Peralta - Do you think his first name was a mistake?

Jake Arrieta - Stats are stats, the kid can pitch!

Trash Ugly Drops of the week:

Aroldis Chapman - Pretty sure I told you to trash this kid a week ago, you paid the price if you didn't!!

Jorge Posada - If he's not baseball relevant, he's not fantasy baseball relevant.

Sam Fuld - Fun while it lasted, but Jennings is coming!

Brandon League - Joining the Ryan Franklin All-Stars along with Brandon Lyon

John Lackey - I know he just hit the DL, but honestly, I can't remember the last time this guy was good.

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When Injuries Become a Blessing…

Looking back to the fall, I remember creating my strategy for the fantasy basketball season. Carlos Boozer was on my "do not draft list," and it was not that I did not think Boozer was a quality player, but I knew he was going to start the year hurt, so I'd rather take a player of less production that would actually play the entire season. I will not pretend I ever gave the Bulls their proper respect, and it is clear that they are proving me wrong. The baby bulls are grown up, and they have as much of a chance at this championship as any team left.

As a Knicks fan, I remember seeing the Knicks run all over the Bulls in the first two matchups. They spread them out, and players like Toney Douglas drained three after three. The two games might fool NBA fans around the world to think the Knicks were better off without Carmelo, yet clearly, there were key pieces missing in each game. In the first matchup, Boozer was still recovering from the injury he started his season with, and in the matchup over Christmas, Noah was still wearing a cast on his arm. The Bulls raced to the first seed in the East without their full frontcourt for most of the season.

Last night, the Bulls murdered the Heat on the offensive glass, and there was nothing Lebron or Wade could do to change that. The Chicago Bulls grabbed 19 offensive rebounds -- and no, that is not a typo -- the biggest one being a ridiculous putback by Taj Gibson. Before this year, we all knew Taj was growing into a decent player, but his development would be slowed with the addition of Boozer and growing potential of Joakim Noah. But luckily for all Bulls fans, Boozer took forever to return, and Noah had multiple trips to the DL. Gibson took advantage and has gained the trust of his new coach and teammates. No moment is too big for this kid, whether it's standing up and blocking Lebron or following a Watson miss for the biggest putback this year (or maybe decade), Taj Gibson has matured and handled the pressure.

Many times injuries ruin a team, and as a Mets fan, I can clearly relate with that statement. Nevertheless for the Bulls, it clearly has been a blessing, and now that Boozer, Noah, Gibson, and Asik are all healthy, the Heat better take every defensive rebound seriously because last night they missed out on over 41% of them. Oh, and one more thing, somewhere Anderson Varejao is smiling after seeing LeBron lose in the battle of stars versus team defense and watching Wade get DUNK FACED by Taj Gibson. What goes around comes around, Mr. Wade.

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Give Durant the Ball!

While watching the ending quarter of game four between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Oklahoma Thunder something was clearly off with Durant. Durant seemed to be distracted, frustrated, and even upset. His body language told us everything we needed to know, his shoulders were slumped, his hands on his hips, and no joy or excitement in his eyes. During a 9 minute stretch in game 4 Durant did not take a shot, clearly changes need to be made for tonight's game and needs to start with the Thunder playing through Durant. Even one of the females watching the game with my friends and I notice something was not right. After watching a couple minutes of overtime she asked a simple question that was in all of our minds. "Why is that guy not passing the ball?" while she pointed at Russell Westbrook. Later she followed up with "can he please pass the ball there are people open." Every guy in the room couldn't help but chuckle, but she was right, Russell Westbrook seemed to be ignoring many of his teammates and most noticeably Kevin Durant. I remember watching Durant play for the Longhorns, and never once did DJ Augustin need to be reminded he was playing with greatness and he needed to get Durant the ball.

If the Thunder plan on facing Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference finals this on going rift between the top two players on the Thunder needs to end now. Russell and Kevin need to have the same joy playing together they played with at the start of the year and in the summer with team USA. Russell seems to go out of his way to ignore Durant, almost choosing to try to be the lone wolf hero. Even though he had a 40 point burst in game four he looked awfully stupid doing it. And in the end it still took some heroic offense from the Durantula for the Thunder to finally put away the pesky Grizzlies. Lucky for Oklahoma Conley and Mayo fouled out, which Mayo's foul should have been avoided and a clear coaching mistake. Without their guard play Memphis' front line looked worn out.

Westbrook shot 13 more shots than their main shooter. I am sorry, Tony Allen is a good defender, but not close to being good enough from keeping the ball from the hands of the leagues top scorer. Hopefully the chemistry between Durant and Westbrook returns, because it was missing the other night, and all you need to know is Westbrook played point for 51 minutes and only recorded 5 assists. Tonight Durant needs to get over 25 shots, and Westbrook gets his mates involved raking up over 10 dimes, because if not the Thunder will find themselves in a hole that only less than 20% of teams find a way to climb out of. The Thunder need a new attitude to go with Durant's new shoes he will be wearing, which were designed by one of his twitter followers!

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Sex, Sports, and Scandals

It was the day of Super Bowl 33. Falcons and Broncos. I was a huge Broncos fan -- Elway, TD, Sharpe, Romanowski. And outside of the dirty bird endzone celebration, I knew nothing about the Falcons. However, as I sat through the hours of pregame shows, it became apparent to me that Falcons safety Eugene Robinson had done something wrong. At the time, the announcers only mentioned that he was bailed out of jail the night before. However, the story was he was arrested the day before the Super Bowl for paying an undercover cop for sexual favors. The first thought that ran through my mind was, "Will he play?" (and he did). The next thought was, "WHY?!" At the time, I was naive, and I was oblivious to all the other sex scandals in sports. I remember being really angry at why he was still allowed to play when he was bailed out of jail the early morning of the Super Bowl. Little did I know that at the time, we were still in the infant stages of sex and sports.

Beckham. Kemp. Kobe. Marv Albert. Vick. Calvin Murphy. Roethlisberger. Isaiah. Oden. Woods. Roethlisberger (again). Just some of the biggest names in sports in the last decade to be involved in sex scandals (and I left out alot and yes, Calvin Murphy was a stretch(htown!)). Some were innocent, some weren't. Either way, it's a reality that we have to deal with as a sports fan. At this point, nothing should surprise us anymore. But can we hold these individuals at fault? They're paid to play the game. Whether they acknowledge that they're role models or not, it's a personal decision. At the end of the day, we're going to judge an athlete by how well they did on the field and not off of it. Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player to have played the game. No one will recall that he cheated on his wife and that his divorce was the most expensive celebrity divorce ever when he paid his ex-wife $168mil.

And now, 13 years after the Eugene Robinson scandal, outside of the people in Georgia and myself, no one will remember Super Bowl 33 for the Eugene Robinson arrest and scandal because of the fact that his team didn't win. Everyone will remember it as Elway's last game and Elway leaving on top. At the end of the day, achievements on the field will reign supreme. For example: Kobe. If Kobe had not won the 2 championships the past couple of years, he will forever be remembered as the guy who broke up the dynasty and the rapist. So a note to Greg Oden: if you don't come back from your injury and take the trailblazers to atleast the Finals, you will forever be known as the 2nd coming of Sam Bowie and for indiscriminate sexting.

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LeDisappointment

 "I knew deep down in my heart, as much as I loved my teammates back in Cleveland and as much as I loved home, I knew it couldn't do it by myself against [the Celtics]”

LeBron said this Tuesday night after his Miami Heat beat the Celtics and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. When I read this Wednesday morning on ESPN I didn’t really know how to react. I’ve been a LeBron fan since he came into the league so I was glad for him and his teammates to advance, but now he was pretty much saying that he needed the Super Friends to be able to beat the Celtics.

The player that many said was the next Michael Jordan was saying he couldn’t do it alone. That takes a lot of humility, and I can respect that. But as sports fans it makes us squirm a little, because we never want to hear players admit that X team or Y player is just too much for them. In sports we idolize the underdogs. We cheer for the Butlers, the Richmonds, the Rudy’s of the sports world. We like the idea of Heart and we want our sports heroes to show it. We like the gutsy play of a winner who just can’t lose, who puts his team on his back and carries them to victory. We saw that from LeBron in 2007 when he dropped 25 straight on the Pistons and we loved him for it. But now that same LBJ is saying that he just isn’t good enough to take the Celtics. While the Cavs may not have been underdogs to everyone else when they played Boston, it’s clear that at least to LeBron, they were and maybe always would be.

So what else could he do except leave? If he really just never expected to bea ble to beat the Celtics or the Lakers or any other elite team as a Cavalier than I can understand why he felt he needed to leave. Maybe carrying the Cavaliers on his back for so long was just too much for him. Maybe the championship expectations were getting to him and he couldn’t handle it anymore. When he fled to Miami to join Wade and Bosh a lot of people thought he was a coward. Many people in the media said he was a coward for leaving the Cavs and joining Miami. They were saying that MJ wouldn’t have done it, that Kobe wouldn’t have either. And now it turns out that they were right. By his own words, LeBron admitted to needing help and that he needed to run to find it.

I don’t know how I feel about that. I can appreciate the humility it takes for a superstar like LeBron to admit to needing help. But as a sports fan, I just feel disappointed that he would admit it.

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Kentucky Derby Recap

Out of the theoretical bets I had at the end of last post, only my $2 Show bet on Mucho Macho Man paid off ($7.00 payout), for a total net loss of $21.40 (-76.4%), ouch. I was done in by a horse on my "No Chance" list (Animal Kingdom) somehow winning the race even though many of the historical precedents pointed against him:

- Racing on dirt for the first time
- Running only his fifth race ever
- Coming off an extended 6-week layoff
- Multiple jockey switches (although if I had known John Velazquez was going to end up with the mount I might have given Animal Kingdom more consideration)

On the plus side, 6 out of the 7 horses on my "Definite Potential" list finished in the top 11, and at least the four that I liked the most (Dialed In, Pants on Fire, Twice the Appeal, Soldat) did finish in consecutive order...too bad it was 8th place to 11th place!

Any way, I think I've learned that the Derby is probably too big of a crapshoot to find consistent value since the field ever year is huge and the horses are all young with minimal past experience, but it's still fun to speculate each year.

Hopefully one day I'll actually get out to Lousiville to watch the Derby in person, but watching in HD isn't a bad alternative. The Derby is labeled as the most exciting two minutes in sports, but this creates a problem for NBC each year having to create filler for their coverage. Some thoughts on the filler coverage this year:

- The coverage always consists of the crowd singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" before the race. This year's singing featured repeated shots of Joey Fatone in some luxury suite??

- The coverage also features awkward interviews with the owners/trainers walking from the paddock to the track with their horses. They always have their kids walking with them (tradition I guess?), and I always feel bad for the sideline reporters because the owners/trainers are too nervous/excited to offer up anything insightful. At least no one was on crutches this year like two years ago when Mine That Bird's trainer decided to make the walk even though he had a broken leg.

- Speaking of sideline reporters, I have to give some extra respect to the horseback sideline reporter (Donna Brothers for NBC) who interviews the jockeys right before and right after the race. She has to to concentrate on asking the questions and holding the microphone in position all while making sure her horse keeps pace and doesn't run off. This year NBC also had a helmet cam, so somehow she had to make sure that was pointed correctly too...pretty crazy. I hope she gets paid as much as the NBA sideline reporters (Craig Sager, uggh).

- I also enjoy NBC giving one fan a chance to put in a $100,000 Win bet each year. Last year the guy actually picked Super Saver correctly and won almost $1 million, and he was back this year standing in the background whenever they checked in with this year's lucky fan. I also like the serious guy they have hanging around carrying a gold briefcase with the $100k in cash. He always looks really worried that someone's going to jump him for the cash, even though there are armed guards surrounding them.

Well, with the 2011 Derby over, the focus now switches to the Preakness. Almost as soon as the race was over, Gary Stevens proclaimed that Animal Kingdom would really like the surface at Pimlico, so I guess that means he has a chance? It's been a few years since we had a Triple Crown possibility going into the Belmont, so hopefully Gary's right. With a bunch of the Derby contenders dropping out, the field should be much more manageable to analyze, but there will probably a few new contenders too. Hopefully I can actually come up with some winning bets next time!

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Cooperstown Hair-itage

The baseball world has becomes more obsessed with Brian Wilson's beard to the point you can even interact with it on MLB.com.

Now Nike has taken the time to honor the greatest unique facial hair looks in Major League Baseball history!

      Ozzie Smith             Brian Wilson             Jeff Bagwell

     Reggie Jackson          Keith Hernandez         Dennis Eckersley

Thank you Brian Wilson for you dedication of growing you beard so that we can appreciate the legends of Hair-itage hall of fame.

Go grab you cooperstown hair-itage shirt now!

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The Biggest Loser

A man who can lose with dignity is an honorable man. And today, ladies and gentlemen, Kobe Bean Bryant is that man.

As many of you know, I might be one of the biggest Kobe haters out there, but if there's ever a time to give credit where it's due, the time is now.
A few hours ago, the Dallas Mavericks busted out with their brooms and swept the Los Angeles Lakers into a dustpan of uncertainty. The Lake Show will now be without the greatest head coach of all time heading into next season, with nothing but the same championship expectations and another year of wear and tear on Kobe's body. It's hard to find the silver lining in a near-40 point blowout, but Kobe showed me something today that deserves respect.

In the 2nd half of the game, as the Mavericks were pulling away from the 2-time defending champs, the Lakers showed their frustration. Now, the first incident between Lamar Odom and Dirk Nowitzki was a little physicality and a lot of acting. Maybe I'm a bit biased since Lamar is the sweetest dude on 'Khloe and Lamar' (no homo), but I've seen the replay enough times to come to the conclusion that it did not deserve an ejection. But then again, maybe an early trip to the locker room was his dream come true, who knows.

But the second incident with Andrew Bynum taking the cheap shot on JJ Barea? For those of you who haven't seen the play, here's the video:



That play was dirty, childish, and completely uncalled for -- I hope the NBA comes down hard on Bynum for it. I mean, hey, I'd be mad too if a 5'10" scrub was ripping my team's defense to shreds, but there was a chance for Barea to be seriously hurt with that foul. The irony of the whole situation was that he was escorted off the court by Ron Artest. C'mon, you know it's bad when you are more out of control than Ron Artest.

But this is when I saw my first glimpse of Kobe's maturity. If you watch the play unfold, Bynum elbows the midair Barea to the ground, and Kobe puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head in disgust. Then, after the game, Kobe and a few of his teammates sought out JJ to check if he was okay and to apologize for Bynum's foul.

So thank you, Kobe, for showing the world how to lose with class. I can't respect a lot of the other stuff you do, but I can respect that.

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Fantasy Buy and Sell - May 8

What a week in baseball, with two no hitters (one ugly, one spectacular). How did I do last week in terms of buy low, sell high you ask??? (linky):

If you bought on Pena, Hudson, Gallardo, Ubaldo, or Jeter (nice Sunday stat line), kudos to you. The windows are probably shut on keeping these guys for a low price. If you sold Russ Martin, Lohse, or Zobrist, congrats!! Not sure if Berkman, Masterson, or Francoeur will keep it up, but I own Masterson and don't mind seeing him do well.

Here are more buy low, sell high options for this week:

Buy -

Uggla - Still maintaining my buy recommendation

CarGo - Still think the talent is there, buy buy buy!

Choo - Might have had a little too much soju, but still a 5 cat performer and the Indians are playing way over their heads!

Ryan Dempster - I think he's been a little bit unlucky, might still be able to get him cheap

Bumgarner - No wins to show for his great pitching this season, speculate

Sell -

Vernon Wells - If anyone offers you anything of value, take it

Carlos Beltran - As a tried and true Met fan, I say take your gains and walk away

Liriano - I'm a huge Liriano fan (and owner), but I would listen to offers

Buchholz - I would sell, the ratios are questionable

Neil Walker - What a sleeper pick, sell now if you can

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98-0

If you followed the postgame from last night's Game 3 of the Mavericks/Lakers series, one thing definitely stands out...no team has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit. 98-0. That's what the Lakers will have to ignore coming into Game 4 of the 2nd round in Dallas tomorrow. But like with all things in life, there's always a first with everything.

Granted, I've been a Dallas fanboy since the days of Jason Kidd (1st time around), Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn, and the once very lowly Mavericks. I want the Mavericks to win it all each and every year. I've been through the banter of the '06 Finals, the jokes of Ericka Dampier, the "I hate this and that" about Dirk and Cuban and Dallas, etc etc etc etc. It's old news to me. Even the latest knock from a friend via Facebook..."if any team's gonna squander a 3-0 lead in the NBA playoffs, it would be the mavs." I'm sure many people are nodding to that statement, but let's just make the obvious even more obvious. We're talking about Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. Who couldn't see them coming back from 0-3 deficit against any team?

Jalen Rose (ESPN analyst) said it was a done deal and gave the Mavericks a premature congratulations last night. I may be a Dallas fanboy, but I'm a realist too. I'll just go ahead and name one player from each team that I think will dictate Game 4 (and even rest of the series barring a Mavericks sweep).

Lakers: Shannon Brown.

If there was a 7th Man of the Year Award in the NBA this guy would have won it the last two years. He's a high-energy and high-flying guy off the bench that has yet to really establish a presence with the Laker's second unit. But he's no slouch. We saw in Game 3 that he's capable of creating havoc for the Mavericks (4-8 for 10 pts 3 rebs in 19 mins). He attacked the glass well, took it strong in the offensively paint, and played sound defense against Game 2's hero JJ Barea. Everyone's been ripping on the Laker's big men this series, but the Lakers need their guards desperately to step up and Brown is the key. He needs to be the catalyst and an instant sparkplug on the offensive end. Too many times have I seen him passively try to facilitate an offense that is dying for a true scorer. He's shooting just fine (44% FG% in postseason) but scoring just 6 points/game won't cut it. If the Lakers want any chance of winning, Brown needs at least 12 points and a few steals. A dunk here or there would greatly help his confidence too.




Dallas Mavericks: Peja Stojakovic.

Peja, aka the Serbian Sniper, has been everything and than some for $402,065 that the Mavericks invested in him in January. Mark Cuban might be super rich, but that doesn't mean he's a dumb shopper...at times (a la Ericka Dampier's 7 year/ $73 million). But unlike Dampier, Stojakovic has produced in the playoffs and was easily Game 3's unsung hero (11 pts 3-4 3pt in the 4th quarter). However, in order for the Mavs to move onto the Western Conference Finals, the Mavs will be relying not only on Peja's impact on the offensive end, but even more importantly on the defensive end. I saw in the First Round (against Portland) some of the troubles that Peja had on the defensive end in guarding the likes of Gerald Wallace, Brandon Roy, and even LaMarcus Aldridge. He seemed to be out-worked, out-hustled, and always a step behind. Even during the first two games in LA, I would cringe whenever Kobe found a mismatch with Peja in an isolation situation. But to my surprise in Game 3, he stepped up and stepped up big when the Mavericks needed him the most. That 4th quarter was all about how Peja was able to handle Lamar Odom off the drive (and well...yes his barrage of 3 pointers). So while even his sweet jumper is a vital component to a deep playoff run, Stojakovic will need to step up his defensive prowess to keep his minutes on the floor. Even with rumors of Caron Butler coming back if the Mavs make a deep run, I don't see that happening if Peja is playing lights out on both ends of the floor. Plus, Caron looks good in his suit. Remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Though I don't see a sweep this series, 99-0 is easily attainable for the Dallas Mavericks. If the Lakers do end up coming back, I'll make sure to delete this post and pretend like I never jinxed the Mavericks.

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I got half yo back, Rashard Mendenhall

Everyone knows where they were on September 11. It is, in many ways, this generation's JFK assassination. The shock, devastation, and hopelessness stirred in each of us as we were glued to our television sets all over the nation. I, for one, will never forget the images of people jumping to their deaths from the top floors of the World Trade Centers to avoid being burnt alive. Then, naturally, these feelings of despair gave way to rage and a call for justice against those responsible.

Osama Bin Laden became the face of the attacks. And now, in 2011, nearly a decade after 9/11, Osama Bin Laden is dead.

People's reactions ranged from fans chanting "USA" at a Phillies/Mets baseball game to citizens parading the streets in pure gleeful celebration.


Rashard Mendenhall, the starting running back of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was not so amused. In a Twitter barrage that has ended up costing him his Champion endorsements and countless fans, Rashard voiced:

• “What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side...”


• “We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style.”



• "I believe in God. I believe we're ALL his children. And I believe HE is the ONE and ONLY judge."



• "For those of you who said you want to see Bin Laden burn... I ask how would God feel about your heart?"

I must admit that I have no idea how to react to the news of Osama's death, but the backlash against Mendenhall is incredible. While he later posted a blog entry to apologize and attempt to clarify his tweets, I don't see how there's anything to apologize for other than his conspiracy-theorist quip about 9/11. While there are many out there, myself included, who don't think we know the whole story of what happened that fateful day in New York City, this was neither the time nor the place to question it, and Mendenhall should have known better.

With that said, I wholeheartedly agree with his statement regarding the celebration of Bin Laden's extermination. Ask anyone who knows me -- I love this great nation to my core -- but the overwhelming hatred and uncontrolled cheer was truly frightening. I think what irks me most is how many times the word "justice" has been thrown around.

A decade ago, President George W. Bush had promised that "we will find these people and we will bring them to justice." Then, this past week, President Obama, during his announcement to the masses concerning the covert Navy SEALs operation, said, "...on nights like this, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to Al Qaeda's terror, justice has been done."

What is this "justice" we are speaking of, and is it our job to carry it out? And does this justice serve any purpose other than making us feel better? Does Bin Laden's death eradicate all the pain and hurt that he has brought upon so many American families?

Like Rashard Mendenhall, I too believe that only God can judge. All in all, I'm just glad that it wasn't me who had to make the decision to carry out the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden, as I am still struggling through the ethics of the entire situation. Yes, I do understand that he was the leader of Al Qaeda and probably plotting to do more harm to Americans, but, without going into too much of a tangent that would likely lead to discussions of capital punishment, I'll just say that I'm not entirely sure it is man's authority to "bring them to justice."

I will leave you with these follow-up thoughts from Mendenhall: "I wasn't questioning Bin Laden's evil acts. I believe that he will have to face God for what he has done. I was reflecting on our own hypocrisy. During 9/11 we watched in horror as parts of the world celebrated death on our soil. Earlier this week, parts of the world watched us in horror celebrating a man's death."

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