Magglio Ordonez for Mayor? Not so Fast

Posted in Professional Sports, Sport/Pol Crossover, US Politics on August 9th, 2013 by Ian Paregol

ChavezordonezConsistent with our core mission of bringing together Sports and Politics, The Bench Jockeys noted with keen interest the candidacy of former Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez’s who is presently running for Mayor of the Venezuelan city of Puerto La Cruz.  Like the late Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez (pictured on the left), Magglio Ordonez (pictured on the right) is an avowed socialist… maybe Ordonez’s political slant was cultivated while he was playing in Chicago.  Puerto La Cruz boasts a population of almost half a million people and hosts one of the largest refineries in oil-rich Venezuela so this position carries with it quite a bit of responsibility.  Is it really a major league baseball player’s place to be providing leadership to a city like Puerto La Cruz? So that got us wondering about 2 things:

  • 1) Who are the most accomplished political leaders who also played a professional sport? 
  • 2) Should the citizens of Puerto La Cruz decide to elect Ordonez, how have professional athletes performed as political leaders?

First we turn to Issue 1.  For starters, there have been no US Presidents who have also played a professional sport, but Read more »

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2012 Facts

Posted in US Politics on January 10th, 2012 by Ian Paregol

Well, what have we learned in the last 24 hours:  Tigers can lay eggs; Caroline Wozniacki is still a hot property; and Ron Paul is not dead yet.  Let’s start with LSU, shall we?  The LSU Tigers are still trying to score a point in New Orleans.  The beating that ’Bama put on the LSU in the BCS National Championship Game was epic.  LSU managed just five first downs and 92 total yards on a night that was dominated by Alabama’s defense.  But that’s not the whole story.  LSU’s 53 yards of passing was offset by four sacks and resulting in a net passing game of 27 yards and total offense production of Read more »

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Libya: 100 Days & Counting

Posted in International Political Scene, The Horseshoe, US Politics on July 1st, 2011 by Ian Paregol

During the initial days of Operation Odyssey Dawn, the Bench Jockeys wrote about our take on President Obama’s decision to partner with NATO forces in supporting air strikes in Libya.  (See http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/03/22/odyssey-dawn-whats-that-flower-you-have-on/  and http://thebenchjockeys.com/2011/04/05/butler-fails-to-execute-while-us-may-be-executing-to-fail/ )  Now over 100 days into what was deemed a “limited” operation in Libya, we are still asking:  What is the objective of our military involvement in Libya?

Both Democrats and Republicans oppose the intervention for an array of reasons:

  • the cost of the effort,
  • the potential for escalation and the US long-term role in a prolonged civil war,
  • the message it sends to other countries about the US definition of sovereignty, and
  • the lack of defined objectives

But the true Congressional opposition lies in the potential for unchecked military action in the Executive Branch by the weakening of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 (WPR).  By soft-peddling the President’s actions in Libya, the Administration has Read more »

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Age Old Debates – Chapter 1: The DH

Posted in Age Old Debates on May 16th, 2011 by Craig Zuckerman

Watching Jorge Posada struggle to hit my weight (when I went off to college) I began pondering the age old (ok, actually since 1973) debate of whether or not there should be a Designated Hitter in baseball.  The theory being that it is more exciting to watch a professional hitter bat rather than a pitcher attempt to hit.  (However, Jorge may be letting the air out of this argument.)  With the implementation of the DH Rule in the American League, older positional players who would normally have been put out to pasture when their fielding skills diminished, could extend their careers while keeping their accountants happy.  But should some new blood have a chance?   Clearly more strategy is involved in  Read more »

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Hybrid Theory

Posted in Sport/Pol Crossover, US Politics on May 5th, 2011 by Craig Zuckerman

After returning from five days and nine rounds of golf in Myrtle Beach with my new favorite golf club – a hybrid – it got me to thinking how there’s more and more combo platters these days.  Every day we come across two ideas/products/life forms that have somehow been combined into one presumably preferable concept.  For example, words (bigamy, from the Latin meaning: twice and the Greek meaning: wedlock), convertible bonds (what’s better than that), dogs (I prefer the Dorkie, a Dachshund/Yorkie hybrid), mermaids (obvious upside), plants (peppermint is actually a hybrid between spearmint and water mint), fruit (grapefruit is a hybrid between a pomelo and the Jamaican sweet orange), sports (Frisbee golf & Horseball [a combination between polo and basketball]) and of course, politicians.

When President Obama extended the Bush tax cuts, his donkey’s snout became an elephant’s trunk.  When President Bush enacted TARP, his elephant ears shrunk to the size of a donkey’s. Maybe this country would be better off if  Read more »

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Just Give it a Few Days…

Posted in The Horseshoe, US Politics on May 3rd, 2011 by Ian Paregol

Although Ireland’s largest bookmaker, Paddy Power, has made Barack Obama a 2:5 favorite in winning re-election, The Bench Jockeys are not quite so sure.  The election is still 18 months away and anything can happen.  Obama will not face any competition from his fellow Democrats so he can hold onto his war chest until a worthy opponent is identified, whereas each of the GOP candidates will need to use his/her fundraising money early and often to gain separation and party traction.  History tells us that only four incumbent presidents have been denied a nomination to run by their own party:  Millard Fillmore, Chester A. Arthur, Andrew Johnson and Franklin Pierce.  Quick Pop Quiz:  What do three of these four men have in common?  Answer: Read more »

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The Bench Jockeys Set Odds for the 2012 Presidential Hopefuls

Posted in The Horseshoe, US Politics on April 12th, 2011 by Ian Paregol

April 11, 2011  – In a field as diverse as…. well,… as diverse as a Republican field can be, The Bench Jockeys have scoured the US news outlets, scrutinized birth certificates, examined any number of self-serving PR posts, and by God, done a little hard-nosed research all in the interest of being your one-source stop for the 2012 Presidential Election marathon which began last week with Barack Obama’s declaration of his billion dollar fundraising target.  Tonight, Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty tossed his hat into the ring.  

We have established the odds for every candidate who has either formed an “exploration committee” or may be jumping (or being pushed) into the Republican race against Barack Obama.  We have also included a few Independents and a Libertarian just to stay trendy, but we all know that the President will emerge from either the Republican or Democratic ranks.  As additional candidates step into the fray, we will keep you posted with updates and current odds.  When news happens that impacts a particular candidate’s odds of being selected by his/her party, we will tweet about it and post to this page.  Follow us on Twitter @benchjockeys.

And now,… ladies and gentlemen,… the nation’s first comprehensive oddsmaker lines for the Repulican Party’s nomination for the 2012 Presidential Election.

Candidate Age Background Opening Odds Current Odds
Michele Bachmann  54 Current US Rep – MN 25:1 25:1
Haley Barbour 63 Former RNC Chair/Current Gov – MS 10:1 15:1
John Bolton  62 Former UN Amb/No Elected Offices 30:1 30:1
Scott Brown 51 Current US Senator – MA 80:1 80:1
Jeb Bush 58 Former Gov – FL 50:1 50:1
Herman Cain 65 KC Fed Reserve Chair   Businessman 25:1 25:1
Chris Christie  48 Current Gov – NJ 18:1 18:1
Mitch Daniels  62 Current Gov – IN 12:1 12:1
Jim DeMint  59 Current US Senator – SC 14:1 14:1
Newt Gingrich  67 Former Speaker of House 12:1 12:1
Rudy Giuliani  66 Former Mayor – NYC 200:1 200:1
Lindsey Graham  55 Current US Senator – SC 10:1 10:1
Mike Huckabee  55 Former Gov – AR 9:1 9:1
Jon Huntsman 51 Former Gov – UT / US Amb  40:1 40:1
Bobby Jindal  39 Current Gov -LA 30:1 30:1
Gary Johnson  58 Former Gov – NM 500:1 500:1
Fred Karger  61 Pol Consultant/No Elected Office a trillion :1 a trillion :1
Bob McDonnell  56 Current Gov – VA 15:1 15:1
Tom Miller 46 Flight Attendant/No Elected Office a zillion :1 a zillion :1
Sarah Palin 47 Former Gov – AK 25:1 25:1
George Pataki  65 Former Gov – NY 400:1 400:1
Rand Paul 48 Current US Senator – KY 150:1 150:1
Ron Paul 75 Current US Rep – TX 9:1 9:1
Tim Pawlenty  50 Current Gov – MN 4:1 4:1
Michael Pence 51 Current US Rep – IN 100:1 100:1
Rick Perry 61 Current Gov – TX 50:1 50:1
David Petraeus  58 US Army General 20:1 20:1
Condoleezza Rice   56 Former Secretary of State 50:1 50:1
Buddy Roemer  67 Former Gov – LA 5000:1 5000:1
Mitt Romney  64 Former Gov – MA 7:2 7:2
Marco Rubio  39 Current US Senator – FL 20:1 20:1
Rick Santorum  53 Former US Senator – PA 1000:1 1000:1
John Thune 50 Current US Senator – SD will not run  
Donald Trump  54 Businessman/No Elected Office 18:1 18:1
Allen West  49 Current US Rep – FL 100:1 100:1
         
         
Independents        
Mike Bloomberg  69 Current Mayor – NY 40:1** 40:1**
Charlie Crist  55 Current Gov – FL 60:1** 60:1**
         
Libertarian        
Wayne Allyn Root  49 Businessman  / No Elected Office 1000:1** 1000:1**

 **For the Independents and Libertarians, odds posted are the odds of winning the presidency. 

We welcome your comments and feedback and let the posturing begin.

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Butler Fails to Execute While US May Be Executing to Fail

Posted in College Sports, Sport/Pol Crossover, The Horseshoe on April 5th, 2011 by Ian Paregol

Sadly, March Madness has concluded with perhaps one of least entertaining games of the entire Men’s 2011 NCAA Tournament.  Although UConn played some solid D, I am not so sure it was so much the Huskies winning the game or Butler losing it.  The Bulldogs were abysmal from the floor, continued to pop the ball outside in lieu of drawing fouls underneath and looked out of sync for 90% of the game.  Given his recent history of success and the unique capabilities of this two-time NCAA finalist, I am sure wunderkind Brad Stevens prepared a game plan consistent with his team’s strengths.  Butler’s game plan was to go in to Houston, defend the aerial attack to limit UConn 3s, attack its foe with some long range bombing and mop up with Matt Howard underneath.  But the circumstances changed early in the 2nd half.  Butler continued to toss trey bombs from the outside, but the boys manning the paint could not finish the job.  Oh, and while trying to defend at the arc, the gate was open inside for some easy pickins’.   You know where I am going, right?  Yep, Libya. Read more »

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Opening Day for The Bench Jockeys

Posted in Our Mission, Sport/Pol Crossover on March 28th, 2011 by Ian Paregol

It just seemed appropriate that The Bench Jockeys initiated their Blog to coincide with the start of the 2011 MLB Season.  Although there is nothing like debating AL and NL Pennant chances for the upcoming baseball season and analyzing the strengths, but more likely, the weaknesses of current and former ML players, starting this Blog at this time offers The Bench Jockeys the opportunity to assess the potential play-off scenarios in the National Hockey League, as well as the contenders and the pretenders for the Green Jacket, which is  just around the corner on April 7th.  The NBA is just absolute garbage, so you won’t see much from us about that steaming pile, but you will be able to read about the Final Four and VCU’s improbable run.  (We don’t hate basketball, we just hate the NBA.)  Conflicts, oddities and head-shaking actions within NASCAR, soccer, tennis, even the much-maligned PBA, will be served up with cheeky commentary and exploration.

But it’s not just about sports here at The Bench Jockeys, oh no.  We have opinions about any number of subjects.  And along with the sports banter, we intend to mix in a fair share of analysis about the national political scene, potential domestic and global crises, and of course, we fully intend to heckle leaders deserving of derision.  We hope that you will come along for the ride and participate in the discourse.

Oh, and in case you didn’t notice it in the pic above, Barack Obama is a lefty.  Now, there’s a big surprise.

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The Plus-Minus

Posted in Our Mission, Sport/Pol Crossover, The Plus-Minus on March 27th, 2011 by Ian Paregol

For all you non-Puck Heads, the Plus-Minus is a Hockey statistic which measures a player’s team goal differential for the time he is on the ice during even-strength and shorthanded play.  The Plus-Minus statistic is increased by one (a “plus”) for each player on the ice for the team scoring a non-powerplay goal and it is decreased by one (a “minus”) for each player on the ice when a non-powerplay goal is scored against the team.   More recently, Read more »

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Odyssey Dawn, what’s that flower you have on?

Posted in International Political Scene, The Horseshoe on March 22nd, 2011 by Ian Paregol

What in the wide world of sports are we doing in Libya?   If my pre-Hope history is correct, in 2007, then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama was of the opinion that “the president does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.”  I suppose one’s opinions may change when you’re the one making the decisions, but Obama’s failure to secure congressional support for this action is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Apparently, the reason the Administration agreed to join in Libya’s fracas was because the “Arab world supported action in Libya.”  Now we learn…. well, maybe, not so much.  According to the Arab League Secretary-General, leadership supported a no-fly zone, not tactical air strikes which could cause civilian casualities.   The question that no one is really considering is:  who is really in this from the Arab World?  Qatar is providing military support and the United Arab Emirates is offering humanitarian aid.  That’s it.  Qatar and the UAE are not necessarily the Arabian version of the Super Friends (that’s a little cartoon reference for those of you who grew up in the 70’s).

Further, President Obama has suggested that this action barely qualifies as a war.  Just like the wealthy girl who gets an invitation to the party because she gives the best presents, the US was apparently included in the Libyan Target Practice E-vite because we had some “unique capabilities.”  Uh,… unique capabilities for starting a war with a Muslim country – which we seem to be pretty good at lately. (I think we are now up to three in the last decade.)  Adm. Mike Mullen has stated, “[We are] leading it now. We’re looking to hand off that leadership in the next few days.”   That’s like playing Old Maid with two other players and you are only holding one card.  At that point, all three players know who is getting stuck with the Old Maid.

So now we have a new operation to fund, “Odyssey Dawn.”  Did they come up with that via some kind of web-based, military operation, random name generator?  What the hell does Odyssey Dawn even mean or convey?   Certainly, it is no more menacing than Operation Delightful Sunrise.  And just to be even-handed, who coined George Bush’s magnum opus, Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Wouldn’t that have been more precisely named, Operation Kill My Father’s Potential Assassinator?

Either way, this is not what an already fractured Congress needs this Spring.

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