Welcome to the Young Bull Briefing

Welcome to the Young Bull Briefing. Each post that appears on this blog will touch upon current issues in the areas of sports, business, pop culture and politics. While my opinions are solely my own, I welcome any comments agreeing, supplementing, or challenging my views. I like to think of myself as 70% tell-it-like-it-is truth, 30% political correctness. Therefore, I see no future for myself on NPR.

In terms of where the name comes from for this blog, the best explanation comes from a user-created dictionary called urbandictionary.com. If you follow the link, the second definition on the page is the most applicable. Young Bull is a slang term that describes a younger person of the male gender. Its counterpart, Old Head derives from the same origins. Old Heads are distinguished by an extensive knowledge of the world, a sense of street smarts that Young Bulls do not have yet. It is my belief that we are all Young Bulls constantly striving to be Old Heads. Silly terminology but it's the thought counts.

Now to the topic of the first post...

Being a Yankees fan, I watched the American League Championship Series with a high-level of interest. Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers, there was a team in the AL with a better overall team, the Texas Rangers. The manager of the Rangers is a man by the name of Ron Washington. In March 2010, it was revealed by Sports Illustrated reporter Jon Heyman that Washington had tested positive for cocaine use in a MLB drug test administered the year before. Washington subsequently apologized to the fans and the media, even offering his team the option to have him resign. The team refused and Washington went on his way albeit he would not escape becoming the butt of several jokes (see picture above).

Now back to the 2010 Major League playoffs. Washington's Rangers, who had previously never won a playoff series in their franchise history, beat the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays, a team that had compiled the best AL record in 2010. The Rangers' next opponent, the New York Yankees, had won more World Series than the Rangers had even played playoff games. Behind superior pitching and hitting, the Texas Rangers reached their first World Series in their history.

This brings me to the topic of this post. Does winning cure all? It's often been said by sports analysts that sports figures with troubled pasts often are shunned by fans until they can prove themselves when they get back on the field. Maybe Washington isn't the best example but the winning cure all phenomenon certainly exists. To paint a better picture, think about the following athletes: Ben Roethlisberger, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Ray Lewis, Alex Rodriguez, and Ron Artest. With the exception of Roethlisberger and Woods (but keep their names in mind) all of these athletes went on to win a championship in their respective sport after going through serious issues on and off the field. Did the fans embrace these athletes before the championship was won? Sure. But if there were losses instead of wins would these players still have had the kind of support the following (non-championship winning) season?

Back to the subject of Roethlisberger and Woods. Both are trying to put recent off-the-field misconduct in the past. What will it take for the sports media/fans to get past both their off-the-field misdeeds? If both go on to win championships in their respective sports, all will be forgotten. A new chapter in their books will be written. If their on-the-field performance doesn't stack up, their sins of the past will be made out to be part of some greater force, a bad karma of sorts. Why do sports fans dole out forgiveness in exchange for wins? I'm not saying it's right or wrong, it's just something we as human beings do. And they say sports and social issues aren't connected...