If you are a McCain fan the last few days had to be good ones. Learning from missteps in the past I think the Senator just went to S.C., spoke to the people, they heard him and I think got what I got, and he won.

As I stated earlier, please, if you do care about the upcoming election, if you are not dead set on who you are voting for, if this matters and you have a chance, just hear Senator McCain speak. He may not give you the answer you are looking for, he may not be in agreement with you on a stance or an issue, but the man is honest to a fault, to a fault. And for all the “Anti-War” folks who feel the need to rant and rave and call the Senator a “war monger” I’d tell you to do it in a forum with other suck ups or liars, not here. I know this man very well, “War Mongering” is not anywhere near this man as a character trait.

I’d argue that he’s pretty much got the experience and life lessons to be the exact opposite. If anyone on this planet would be against war you’d have to guess it would be Senator McCain. Too many people are ignorant or just refuse to take an objective look at what he means and says. He’s not pro-war, he’s pro-American. The difference to me is that he’s one of the FEW politicians that absolutely knows ANYONE promising an immediate withdrawal of our armed forces is either

A) A liar trying to get elected to public office

B) Horribly callous, irresponsible and ignorant to the lives of the men and women serving in the armed forces.

I have stated many times before in this blog I want our men and woman to come home, but not until the people in charge of the military forces believe there is enough stability in the Middle east for us to leave and not have to come back. Do you not honestly believe that every time some wing nut like Nancy Pelosi spews about the past mistakes of the Bush administration, the horrific lies told to us at the start of the war about our intents and purpose, there aren’t tens of thousands, if not millions, of hard core fanatical extremists saying “Just a little longer, if we can hang on just a little longer the Americans will leave, and we’ll turn this country back into what we need it to be to allow us to thrive once again”.

I cannot be the only person that thinks this way? I don’t want the war to last one day more, not one, but can you honestly say that we need to elect someone to office who has a middle east withdrawal as a major piece of their election agenda? I can’t. Right or wrong I can’t.

I don’t have all the answers, neither does Senator McCain, and he’ll tell you as much, but neither does Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama (the other person of unparalleled character in this upcoming election imo) and neither does anyone else running for the next Presidency.

Anyone wanting to toss out character issues or past mistakes that have to do with Senator McCain please don’t do so blindly, because I promise you your candidate has as much, likely more, dirty laundry than he has or ever will.

But like all other political posts here, the message at the end of the day is vote, if you care enough to bitch and moan about my endorsement of Senator McCain you better not piss away your chance to vote and have your voice be heard. That’s the thing at the end of every day that will and always has separated us from so many countries in this world, for better and for worse. You can write, and I can write, and we can talk and argue about these topics with passion and care, and then we can go home. No one in our families will be jailed for us voicing political opinions, or arguing them, no one gets lynched, shot or raped, or murdered.

The free people in the Middle East deserve the very same rights and opportunities. Hell every person on this planet is born with that right, what human has the authority to take that away?

I received this email from a friend and given the fact that I am now 41, it resonated with me. Thought I’d share it and hopefully someone out there putting this off might think twice.

My name is Adam.  I’ve been diagnosed with PROSTATE CANCER at the age of 45.

Let me give you some background.  There is NO Cancer in my family.  I had absolutely no symptoms. 

 In May of 2007 after some blood work from my annual physical exam a red flag occurred. MY PSA jumped from 1.0 to 3.5 over a 2 year period.  PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a test that screens your levels of protein in the prostate gland to see if there is danger of cancer. The rise in my PSA led me to see an Urologist who had my prostate gland biopsy.  It was this test that showed I had a very aggressive cancer (Gleason 9) growing inside me. The Gleason score is what is given by the lab based on the growth of the cancer.  My Gleason score of 9 basically said I had the most extreme form of growing cancer and the prognosis is NOT good.

 This PSA test has been approved by the FDA to be tested for Men over the age of 50 unless there IS cancer in the family.  For some strange reason, my internist runs the test for everyone over the age of 40.  HE probably SAVED my life. Why???? Because I was tested early and often.  Most people who get a Gleason score of 9 or 10 in there 40’s do not have a good chance of surviving more than 5 years.  The reason is that the cancer is growing so fast that is likely spread to other parts of the body.  Because I was tested, it looks like my cancer was caught early enough so that my prognosis is better than most with a Gleason 9 in their 40’s.

 The irony of this is that my wife made the appointment this year for me.  You know you get wrapped up with work, family and life. Never seemed able to make the time. I just kept coming up with excuses.  Thank god she made this appointment.  Don’t be like me!

 So what is the reason for this message?  MAKE SURE YOU GET YOU ANNUAL CHECK UPS AND MAKE SURE YOUR DOCTOR TESTS FOR PSA.  They are already taking blood for other tests they can do a PSA too.

 Maybe this exam will save your life or a family member or a friend. It most likely, and hopefully saved mine.

Outside of the Lord, my wife and my father there was no person who impacted my life more than Johnny Podres. A true mans man if there ever was one. As I enter the final year of my major league career and baseball life I can only hope that when it’s all over the body of work will be something Johnny would be proud of.

Johnny made me realize that being a man wasn’t about the macho cool stuff we think men are supposed to be, but rather compassion, care, commitment, loyalty, integrity and drive. He asked everything of me and always got everything I had. He made me realize the only limits in my life were self imposed, that pushing yourself mentally and physically were what separated players when they crossed the white line.

We spoke often about ‘big games’ and he instilled this belief in me, even before I had a chance to pitch in a truly big game, that when the time came I’d answer the bell. The post season success I’ve been blessed to enjoy I’ve always known to be a direct result of who and what he was. I’ve never in my life run across anyone that didn’t have something kind and good to say about him, and after knowing him the past 17 years I know why.

I’ve certainly said and done things over the years that he’s made note of, and lectured me about, but at the end of the day making Johnny feel good about me was a life long goal, and still is.

The thoughts and prayers of the entire Schilling family go out to the Podres family. John’s wife Joanie is a princess of a woman, and a true friend, our thoughts and prayers are with her.

MLB, the Dodgers and players everywhere lost a very good and kind man today.

A few weeks back when I had the honor of attending a discussion between Senator McCain and the people of New Hampshire, one of the things he told me as we were walking to the stage resonated with me. He said “This is what Democracy, in it’s purest form, is all about. Presidential candidates in front of the people answering their questions.”

Last night I got a glimpse of something similar to that. I had the honor of attending the 1st annual Medfield 4 the Military. This event is really what the country is all about. People coming together for families of our fallen heroes, injured heroes and families with loved ones serving abroad.

The town of Medfield, in co-operation with industry giants like Microsoft, EA, Harrah’s Casinos, Hasbro, and many more teamed up with Medfield residents to host 250 people from these military families. Dinner was cooked and served by a local restaurant named Primavera’s, for FREE!

Santa was there, the 2007 World Series Trophy was there, Comcast was there to video Christmas messages for families with loved ones overseas during the holiday and a company called Carepacks (www.carepacks.org ) or email info@carepacks.org .

It was a pretty emotional and incredible night. The participants walked through an American Honor Guard of Flags to enter the school, the event was held at Medfield High School, and were registered and then seated for dinner. After a brief introduction they had dinner, saw Santa, and did the things setup for them to do. At the end of the night, as they left, their families were given gifts from the foundation. We asked the families send us their kids Christmas lists and we used the over 20K in cash donations to shop for the children individually and hopefully help the parents make their childrens Christmas a bit happier.

The residents of Medfield, led by the man who made this entire night happen, Gates Ouillmette, answered the call in true fashion. This event went from an idea to inception in less than 30 days and again, was an honor to be able to participate in. The stories of the families ran from heartbreaking and gut wrenching to inspiring and heroic. We had many Purple Heart attendees, as well as Gold Star mothers and their families.

I just wanted to publicly thank every person that attended last night for allowing us to share in your holiday and to tell you what a true God given blessing it was to be able to share in your lives for even a few minutes. I pray safe travels and returns to all who have loved ones currently serving, God’s comfort and grace to those in attendance who have lost a loved one and Gods healing touch to those in attendance who had injured family members.

God Bless and have a wonderful Christmas

From the residents of Medfield, Mass.

Ok I get that. We all get that and anyone that actually read the post will understand that I was not saying Roger used, I’ve never said that. My comment was that as a fan, as someone that he made a major impact on, given the circumstances surrounding his personal trainer and the testimony he gave. I want him to find a way to make me believe he didn’t use. He doesn’t have to, he could care less what I think. As I stated when I posted the piece, it was my opinion and mine only.

I can only go on the information at hand, and the article below is written by someone I vaguely know but who obviously knows the ‘rat’ so many people have no trouble calling out. How is his integrity and credibility any more or less relevant than anyone else’s involved here?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/15/AR2007121501111.html

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Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Andy Petite, Todd Pratt, Gary Bennett, Paul Byrd, Dave Justice, Fernando Vina, Alex Cabrera, Brian Roberts, Lenny Dykstra, and many more. I know them, or have been friends with them, or know them through competing against them, and many more names on that list.

If you plan on writing some idiotic off the cuff rant slanted one way or another feel free to close the page now, it will be deleted. The opinion I am offering is mine and mine alone. Regardless of whether you view it as right or wrong it’s my opinion from what some might call an insiders perspective. (more…)

(Another one of those emails sent to me that I felt compelled to pass along and because I am a sucker for this stuff check out this link to the You Tube video. Oh and those of you calling out this ’scam’ or ‘hoax’ don’t bother. I don’t care where it started or what it was, what it is now in this format is cool as hell and meaningful in my opinion.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wUZytHdPqU]

RED SHIRT FRIDAY’S

If the Red shirt thing is new to you, read below…

Last week, while traveling to Chicago on business, I noticed a Marine sergeant traveling with a folded flag, but did not put two and two

together.

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On December 22nd the town of Medfield will host the 1st Annual Medfield 4 the Military Christmas event.

The event has been organized to give Christmas to families who have lost loved ones during the war, have had loved ones injured, or have family currently serving overseas. The corporate response has been absolutely overwhelming. From Microsoft to Reebok, to Electronic Arts, Hasbro and many many others we’ve received a ton of support.

Any Massachusetts based families interested in attending please contact us at the email address given below. We are nearly full and limiting the amount of participants this first year to insure that Santa has enough presents and we have enough time to create a truly memorable and fun holiday experience for families who truly deserve to be given a great Christmas.

We are asking anyone that would like to give, from 1$ to 1000$ to donate if they want to.

Anyone wishing to make a cash contribution please mail to the following address

Medfield 4 the Military  c/o the Curt and Shonda Schilling Foundation

5 Clock Tower Place, Suite 140

Maynard, Mass

01754

Anyone wishing to donate gifts please contact

Medfield4theMilitary@yahoo.com

Additionally please check out www.38studios.com and clink on the “Contest” link in the lower portion of the main page to get details on the 1st Annual Massachusetts game Challenge that was announced today.

I’ve actually always taken pride in my use of the English language. As the many college English Professors here have pointed out, I suck at it. I will make an effort starting with this post going forward, to clean it up and make it legible.  Problem is my mouth and hands sometimes engage and act before the brain, and I basically type as I think it through. Sometimes in a hurry I don’t spell check but I’ve gotten thrown under the bus enough that I will pay more attention from now on.

The post earlier with multiple fonts was me cutting and pasting obviously, the comments throughout the post that I was commenting on. Made it hard to follow where I was commenting and others were being quoted. I’ll try and clean that up as well.

Let me say one more time though, I completely understand the disagreement with regards to my political views, that’s cool. I get that you are supposed to back who you believe in. Please don’t post links to other blogs or media outlets trying to validate your reasoning for hating Senator McCain or loving someone else. You can attack whatever you disagree with personally or politically about the Senator but attacks on his character fall on deaf ears for me. He’s accountable, that doesn’t mean perfect, it just means accountable.

Ok this is political opinion. If you aren’t interested or don’t care what I think, don’t read any further.

I had the honor of participating in a Town Hall with Senator McCain last night in Nashua, N.H.

He started the night by saying something that resonated with me. This town hall event, this forum, was Democracy at it’s most basic level. The ability for citizens of this country to question their candidates on issues that matter to them, and get responses, it doesn’t get any better than that. (more…)