Hallworth's Doghouse

The first dog in my house this week is Washington Redskin Clinton Portis. His coach, Jim Zorn, was insulting him after missing a practice and benched him during the game on December 7th. Portis replied by criticizing Zorn’s communication and decision-making and dismissed his insults and decisions as “b.s.” No athlete should miss a practice unless he/she has a very good and legitimate reason. When skipping a practice without good reason, the athlete should know there are going to be consequences. So I support Zorn’s decision in having Portis benched during the next game. By missing practice, shows that a person is not determined or dedicated to the sport. Also, by him not showing up at practice displays laziness and undeservingness to get paid. In this case, Portis is getting paid to play. I would say that that is a fun job. If any person had the opportunity to take this job, most people would. Portis’s lesson: Go to practice!

The next dog this week is golfer John Daly. As he was playing in the first round of the Australian Open on December 10th, he grabbed Brad Clegg’s camera and threw it against the nearest tree and said, “You want it back, I'll buy you a new one.” He then later stated, “ I was looking to take a drop and a camera was 6 inches away from my face. If I was 10 under, I would have felt the same. My eyes are still burning from the flash of the camera.” Daly has not played well this year when he missed the cut at the Australian Masters and PGA tours. If Daly threw the camera because it was too close to his face or distracting, he should have politely told him to put it away instead of throwing it at the tree. If Daly is throwing the camera due to his anger, then he should see a psychiatrist or therapist. That is very rude to the spectator. In addition, he is not acting as a good role model to children because now children can think that they can smash things into trees. Furthermore, Daly is getting paid to make an appearance here and by his smashing a camera into a tree shows that he does not deserve the money. Daly’s New Year resolution: Control your anger!

Another dog in my house is Tiger Wood’s caddie, Steve Williams. He called Phil Mickelson a lefty prick and said that he hates him. Mickelson then replied saying that he was happy to have a “classy” caddie who would never say such a thing. Tiger responded that he was disappointed to hear Williams’ comments and said that he and Mickelson are talking it out. That is good that Mickelson and Woods are talking it out. Hopefully, Mickelson will forgive him since it was his caddie that said that and not him. On the other hand, Williams should be thankful that he is caddying to a great golfer. For him to go and say negative things about another golfer behind his back is rude and inappropriate. I am surprised that Woods has not fired him. I guess some people deserve a second chance. My advice to Williams: Think before you talk!

An additional dog in my home is NASCAR. They just recently settled a $225 million discrimination suit with former official Mauricia Grant, who is black. She claims that she was subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during her two years she was working for NASCAR as a technical inspector certifying cars. She alleges that there has been about 57 incidents where she was discriminated against or sexual harassed. One time she was called a “nappy headed ho” and “Queen Sheba”. If she is lying, that would be one really bad and stupid joke. She would be wasting many people’s time and money. However, if that is true, that is really bad for the company to be allowing this to go on. Although, she should have gone to her boss or the police after a few incidents have occurred that way it could have been stopped sooner. That is horrible that people today are still discriminating against blacks. I thought that was all in the past. These people need to get over it and focus on the present. NASCAR’s New Year resolution: Pay attention to employees!

More dogs in my house this week are colleges and universities. These dogs are similar to the previous dog. They are not hiring may black and minority football coaches. The Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA) is looking for a lawsuit. There are currently four black football college coaches out of 119, which is three point four percent. That is very low. A person would think that there would be a whole lot more because we are supposed to be past the age of and time of discrimination. That ended at least thirty years ago. Today, you see a lot of successful blacks. For example, there are many athletes such as Rodney Harrison, Donovan McNabb, and Kevin Garnett. Also, there are many successful black entertainers such as Will Smith, Lil’ Wayne, and Beyonce Knowles. So I don’t understand why colleges won’t hire black football coaches. Colleges and universities’ lesson: Don’t discriminate!

Another dog in my dwelling is Syracuse University junior Eric Devendorf. He has been suspended indefinitely for violating the university’s code of conduct by punching a female student in the face on November 1st. Not only has he been banned from all school activities but also he must perform community service. That is terrible that he would ever punch someone, especially in a girl’s face. I wonder if he was going out with her and was abusing her. That would be awful. My advice to Devendorf: Don’t punch anyone and control your anger!

For Your Entertainment:
The final dog in my house this week is Sondra Fortunato She wore a Santa Claus outfit, tiara, fishnet stockings, a bathing suit bottom, and high heeled boots to a New York Giants game. She also had signs saying “Go Giants” and “Have a No Guns Christmas”. This is very inappropriate for a middle aged woman to be wearing. However if it was a teenager wearing those clothes, it would still be very wrong. It is even more unacceptable when there are children present because that will be telling them that it is appropriate to wear. This also shows disrespect to her body and that she is willing to display indecent exposure. Sondra’s New Year’s resolution: Buy and wear appropriate clothes and act your own age!