Here are a few responses to Mike's last column:
Amber From Virginia Beach writes: 25 million reasons? Are you kidding me? T.O. has always been surrounded by controversy. His ego is too big for his own good. What gets me is now that girl Kim that was there when it happened gave an official statement to police and is now flatly denying many aspects of her original account … I wonder how many reasons T.O. is giving her?
Beverly in Caddo Mills, Texas, writes: Here we go again. Another football player does something stupid and at first it’s called a “suicide attempt” by the police and EMTs who responded to the scene. Last night on the local news the police said they would not “lie or make up stories” about what T.O. said, and T.O. said he was so “confused” that he didn’t remember saying “yes I am trying to hurt myself." Hmmmmm, now today, the police have called it an “accidental overdose." Give me a freaking break! These million-dollar crybabies really make my stomach turn! Dallas was STUPID for drafting this egomaniac. I love the Mike Tyson comparison. I wonder if he will bite off someone’s ear in the game? I also wonder if Natalie from the Dixie Chicks is embarrassed that he is on a Texas team?
Steve A. writes: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I grew up watching "Saved by the Bell" ... from the time they were in Miss Bliss' class in middle school all the way through their college years! I can't believe he's sunk so low as to peddle himself to porn. I understand the whole typecasting, once a geek always a geek in TV, but heck, couldn't he have tried theater or even teaching drama to aspiring actors? Now everytime I see him in the news or hear about him on the radio, I won't remember the lovable dork who was Zack and Slater's little buddy, now all I'll be able to think about is how low he's gone.
Stephen S. from Tulsa, Okla., writes: As a die-hard Dallas fan, I miss the days of Novacek, Johnston, Aikman ... and to a further extent, the days of Staubach, Perason, Dorsett, Jones, Waters and Harris. You see those Dallas Cowboys have something that Irvin, Sanders and T.O. never had: class.
Julie in Scottsdale, Ariz., writes: T.O. is definitely the Mike Tyson of football. This guy has been bad news since he joined the NFL. Here’s a prime case of a stupid jock making too much money who does crazy things like this for more publicity. Why not try for publicity by scoring a few touchdowns?? That’s what he’s paid for!
Chris from Miss. in response to Brett from Illinois (Your Grrrs: Sept. 28): Have you ever heard of symbolism? The million-dollar players have nothing to do with all the coverage. Winning that game symbolizes a win for the city of New Orleans. Just being able to host a game means that they are officially a city again. I don't care if it was rigged. For one night, the city of New Orleans forgot about all the hardships and helped their team win a game they were given no chance to win. If you watched the game, you could tell that most of the players were not playing for the riches that night, they were playing for the people of New Orleans. You can believe what you want to believe and I can call you an OBLIVION. I believe last Monday night will be the biggest story of the season.
Scott from Baltimore writes: With regard to American's body-consciousness, I'd like to share this. Today, I dropped my 2-year-old off at daycare. Her classmates are all under three. The daycare provides a full breakfast at 9 and lunch at noon, but parents usually give their kids a snack to tide them over until breakfast. My kid sat at the table with a small bag of graham crackers and an apple juice box. Here's what her classmates had: 1) a McDonald's "Big Breakfast" with hotcakes; 2) a McDonald's breakfast meal with a meat-egg-and-cheese biscuit and hash browns; 3) 2 chocolate donuts with sprinkles; 4) a bag of 6 or so glazed donut holes. Mike, this is their pre-breakfast snack for crying out loud! It makes me think that the same people who purchase the ab machines, and go on and off the fad diets, are the people that give no regard for their eating habits or the habits of their children. C'mon, I'm not quibbling about little details here, and I'm not nickel and diming other kids' calories; these parents aren't even trying! Thanks for listening.
Zada in Philadelphia responds to Jill V. (Your Grrrs: Sept. 28): Chicken of the Sea IS tuna! I believe Jessica Simpson didn't know that. So your very loud proclamation of WRONG AGAIN should be said while you're looking in the mirror, wouldn't you say?
Lauran in Indiana writes: My GRRR is for all the government interference in our every-day lives!!!! I just finished reading an article wherein New York City government is thinking of banning trans fats from restaurants. What's next???? Banning sugar from being sold??? OK, so maybe some of us don't know how to eat healthy, but where in our Constitution does it give the government the right to tell us what we can and can't eat in a restaurant when we're paying the bill?!
It's taken me years, but I've gotten over the government telling me I have to wear a seatbelt in a vehicle that I pay the monthly payment on (I know, I know, I can hear the responses coming already — driving is a privilege, not a right); and I can see the reasoning in banning smoking in places because the non-smokers don't like the smell and the supposed second-hand smoke death penalty but, come on, why can't I eat food with trans fats if I want to when I go out to dinner???
I suppose it all boils down to the attorneys in this great land of ours who will sue a restaurant because their client died of a heart attack after eating food with trans fats in it. The same attorney will sue the tobacco companies because someone thought "light" cigarettes wouldn't give them cancer as quickly as a regular one. Now, I'm a smoker, have been for over 20 years, and yes I do smoke "ultra light" cigarettes but not because I thought they were "better" for me, but because it was my choice, same as all those people in the class action suit against the tobacco companies. Nobody forced you to start smoking and keep doing it! Come on America, wake up!! Take responsibility for yourself and your actions. If more of us would do this instead of suing at the drop of a hat, maybe I could eat what I want, smoke where I want and not be strangled to death in my car because I have to wear a seatbelt!!!
Brian C. from Hyde Park, Mass.: Mike, you did it again! After I read about the supermarket magazines hawking weight loss for women and muscle gain for men, I laughed out loud. What you described for magazine titles is exactly what is contained in these magazines, and they only benefit three people: circulation editors, pop dieticians and publishers. What should be put in huge, readable letters for these diet fads is RESULTS NOT TYPICAL;YOUR WEIGHT LOSS MAY VARY. I've also noticed that some of these magazines don't tell us whether or not these people who went from a size 24 to a size 4 maintained the weight, lost more or gained it back. No wonder the writers hide the truth in PR hype and empty platitudes!
For the record, I am an overweight man and I joined Weight Watchers. So far, it's OK, but my advice to all of you who want to lose weight: don't obsess over your weight, don't panic when the weight doesn't come off immediately and even walking a little bit is considered exercise. But when it does, it'll be worth it.
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