President Obama Affirms His Support for Same Sex Marriage

Less than 24 hours after North Carolina became the latest state to ban same-sex marriages and civil unions, President Obama announced today that he now supports same-sex marriage, and thinks same-sex couples should be able to legally marry. (See the FULL video of his interview here). Between Amendment One in North Carolina and Biden saying this week that he would be “absolutely comfortable” with allowing same-sex couples to wed, Obama was forced to finally take a stance on an issue that he has waivered on in the past.

No matter what your view is on the topic, this is huge. Obama becomes the first president to openly support same-sex marriage. POTUS has oft been criticized by the left for not strongly supporting or advocating certain controversial liberal ideals, including his health-care plan that some thought was too much of a watered-down version of the plan he laid out prior to his election. Now, with the health care plan in real danger of being struck down by the US Supreme Court, Obama can cite yet another example of his social liberal values in order to appease his core base. Politically, I think there is no loss here for Obama, as most of the people who oppose gay marriage are not people that voted to put him in office in the first place. Some are applauding him for putting morals over politics because they think it will negatively affect him in swing states, but I’m not so sure the backlash will be very strong with voters on the left and in the middle. The LGBT community and its allies, who have criticized Obama for not taking a stance on this issue, will now be in full tow when November comes.

No word on whether or not Obama will try to pass legislation to this effect (he’ll wait until the Supreme Court decides the Perry v. Brown California same-sex case most likely), but this will not be the end of this issue by a long shot. With Obama firmly on the side of same sex marriages, the fight has just begun.

I won’t go too much into my own beliefs on this topic, but I’ve long been an advocate for marital equality, so this is something I’ve been waiting for Obama to do for a long time. Whether or not he was backed into this position by Biden’s remarks and North Carolina’s recent amendment, I applaud our president on stepping out in front on this issue. Love is love, and today, we’ve come that much closer to allowing gay people all over the country the fundamental right and privilege of marriage.

See the FULL video of Obama’s interview here

 MichaelYoungHistory

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2012 March Madness Podcast

Will Coach Cal finally get over the hump and cut down the nets? And if he does, will it actually count?

Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year!!! Productivity will be at an all-time low as we use work time to fill out brackets and/or watch games as we try to avoid being discovered by our bosses (who are most likely doing the same thing in their office). March Madness is upon us! This year’s tourney brings with it unanswered questions, as every tourney does. Will there be another Cinderella run to New Orleans for the Final Four? Will we see another Butler (2 straight championship game appearances) or a VCU who went from First Four to Final Four? Will this year bring about the return of the dominance of college basketball’s superpowers like the 08 tourney? Which players will become household names and/or boost their draft stock like Derrick Williams did last year? Can Bill Self and the Jayhawks stop losing to teams we’ve never heard of? Could we get a Roy Williams vs. Kansas matchup, pitting him against his old school? Can Jim Boehim-lich Maneuver and Syracuse live up to its regular season record?

Its about that time to start filling out those brackets and joining office pools, but have no fear! We’re here to help! With the help of a few friends of The Thread (Ramon and Justin) The Big Socrates and I broke down the bracket just minutes after Selection Sunday. Enjoy! (And if you make some money off of our advice, we expect a 10% donation.)

P.S. This should come in handy. Here is a tv schedule for the play-in games as well as the first and second First, Second, and Third round games! Remember, every game is televised this year on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV, so don’t miss any action! If you werent lucky enough to take Thursday and/or Friday off to enjoy the action nonstop (like I was able to do), for just $3.99 you can stream all of the action from your laptop, work computer, phone or table.

PSS: We reserve the right to change our respective brackets! After our discussion, I already feel shaky about a few of my picks!

“I do this for my culture”

-MichaelYoungHistory, The Big Socrates, Justin B. and Ramon R. 

 

NFL Playoff Preview Podcast

Will Rodgers and the Pack become the team of the 10's?

Ah yes, its that time of year again where you are fed up with College Football’s “Post Season” senseless money grab that they call bowl season and really want to see some meaningful win-or-go-home football as God intended. Well, wait no more sports fans, the NFL Playoff start next week! Friend of the thread and oft contributor Mark Rodriguez and I got together to talk predictions throughout the playoffs as well as our eventual Super Bowl champs. Enjoy the podcast guys, and let us know what we got right or wrong in the comments. Did we give your team enough respect? (Note to Cowboys Fans: We took it easy on you guys =D). Check below to get the download of the podcast (Sorry, couldnt get the audio player to work from the site). Enjoy!

 

Podcast Download: Mediafire or Hulkshare

 

“I do this for my culture”

–MichaelYoungHistory & MarkRod

 

College Football 2011 Preview: Big 12

Ahhh, yes. It’s August September, meaning that college football is right around the corner HERE!!!!! Need to know who to watch this season? Well, we got you covered! Myself, The Big Socrates, and friend of the Thread Mark Rodriguez will break down the entire field by conference and tell you the players, teams, and dark horses to watch for this year. We’ll also let you know who is entirely overrated and won’t be making much noise come December. We’ll break down all of the conferences, so check back with us! You can check out our other posts on the ACC, Pac-12, Big East/Independents and the SEC. And as always, leave us comments to voice your opinion.

With that said, today, we’ll break down the Big 12. Now, i’ll admit my biases up front; I bleed burnt orange, meaning that I hate OU and everything they stand for. I’m also not the biggest fan of A ampersand M, which is intensified by their constant bitching and moaning. Just go ahead and leave already! We won’t miss you! But more on that to come. Anyway, as a die hard Texas fan, I tried my best to be objective. So enjoy!

Big 12 Conference (MichaelYoungHistory)

Big Game Bob: Stoops and the Sooners try to live up to the lofty expectations

Yes, there is still a Big 12 conference (for now). With the departure of Nebraska to the Big Ten (which now has 12 teams) and Colorado to the Pac-12, the Big 12 is now down to 10, meaning no championship game and a round-robin schedule sans divisions. However, the winner of the conference still automatically qualifies for a BCS game; but nobody cares. This is because there are a few teams in the conference who have national title hopes. With 3 teams ranked in the preseason top 10 (OU #1, A&M #8, OSU #9), there will be plenty of Big 12 games that have national title implications. In the background of all of this is A&M’s pending departure to the greener pastures of the SEC “another conference,” where they desire to get out from under the great shadow cast by the Texas Longhorns. There is talk of the Aggies being replaced with schools ranging from SMU to TCU, and even Pitt, BYU or Notre Dame.

(Note: I could care less if the Aggies leave the Big 12 b/c I know Texas will be fine REGARDLESS, but I really REALLY hope the two teams come together and continue the yearly tradition! We’ve been playing each other since 1894! Get it together guys! Great article on why the series must live on here.)

The main goal of Dan Bebee, the B12 commish, has to be to keep OU in the conference. If OU leaves, that spells the death of the Big 12, period, so whomever we bring it, they better make OU happy. Also, as of last Friday, UT’s much talked about Longhorn Network has officially launched, though no major cable providers have been tapped to pick up the network as of yet. This may cause some serious issues for Longhorn fans both abroad and in Austin, because estimates say only about 20,000 TV sets have a cable provider that has signed on for Longhorn Network. Ouch…Anyway, clearly, there is alot going on in the Big 12 off the field, but thats not what we’re here to talk about…Lets talk football.

 

College Football 2011 Preview: Pac-12

Ahhh, yes. Its August, meaning that college football is right around the corner. Need to know who to watch this season? Well, we got you covered! Myself, The Big Socrates, and friend of The Thread MarkRod will break down the entire field by conference and tell you the players, teams, and dark horses to watch for this year. We’ll also let you know who is entirely overrated and won’t be making much noise come December. Today, we’ll break down the the New (and improved?) Pac-12. We’ll break down all of the conferences before the season kicks off, so check back with us! (Check out our past post on the ACC. And as always, leave us comments to voice your opinion. Now, lets dive right into the Pac-12…

Pacific 12 Conference (Pac-12) (MichaelYoungHistory)

Kiffin’s Excused Absence: Oregon, Stanford vie for Pac-12 Supremacy

Does the name “Pac-12” seem a bit strange to you? Well, that’s because its brand spanking new. After the old Pac-10 and Texas could not come to an agreement, the Pac-10 added the likes of Utah and Colorado to make the conference an even 12 teams and split them into two divisions in order to add a championship game. Conference realignment has been a huge issue for the past few years, so the Pac-12’s preemptive strike set them up well. Utah is a great football program and has been since Urban Meyer was their coach in the early 2000s. The Utes have been to 2 BCS games, including a huge win over eventual Alabama in the Sugar Bowl a few years back; the same Alabama that won the title the next year. While Colorado hasn’t been good since Kordell Stewart left, they still play big time football in Boulder, and their fan base is very loyal. Their brand of football is a bit traditional compared to the wide open offenses in the Pac-12, but opening up the Colorado television market was a big gain for the conference.

 

College Football 2011 Preview: ACC

Ahhh, yes. Its August, meaning that college football is right around the corner. Need to know who to watch this season? Well, we got you covered! Myself, The Big Socrates, and friend of the Thread Mark Rodriguez will break down the entire field by conference and tell you the players, teams, and dark horses to watch for this year. We’ll also let you know who is entirely overrated and won’t be making much noise come December . Today, we’ll break down the ACC. We’ll break down all of the conferences before the season kicks off, so check back with us! And as always, leave us comments to voice your opinion. And with that said…

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) (MarkRod)

For the Love of Bobby Bowden: It’s a two-horse race for the ACC Crown

The Seminoles look to regain their spot atop the ACC

The Atlantic Coast Conference is still trying to become the dominant conference it dreamed it was going to become when it raided the Big East in 2004. That never came to fruition as the ACC as a whole has not been in the national title picture since Florida State played for the BCS crown in 2002. When you look back at it’s history however, the ACC has depended on Florida St. to carry the conference nationally since they joined the conference in 1991. The dreams of Miami and Florida St. dominating the conference year in and year out quickly died once both teams fell into constant rebuilding mode after Miami joined the conference in 2004.

 

NBA Playoffs Preview

Football season is long gone. March Madness has turned into April Sadness, and the only thing we sports fans are hearing about is the NFL lockout, baseball games that don’t matter, and NHL Playoffs. Blah. But, have no fear! The NBA playoffs start THIS WEEKEND! There are some great matchups in the first round, and four die hard fans here at The Thread (facecurtainista, The King’s Law, our resident NBA guru WPWinter and myself, MichaelYoungHistory) are here to break down the matchups for you, as well as predict this year’s NBA champ! Like any great playoffs, we hope to see physical play, fights, technical fouls, buzzer beaters, tears, epic fails, great finishes, and if we’re lucky, Artest will go into the stands again…Anyway, with no further ado, the 2011 NBA Playoffs!

Eastern Conference

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers (The King’s Law)

 

Love Is…

So, I’m not usually the sappy type, but its one of those days. I’ve been a bit down today, but I got an email that cheered me up in a second. Some of you may have seen this, but some group of “professional people” polled children ages 4-8 on what love is. Of course, some of the answers are priceless, like a more advanced version of “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” Here is the article in its entirety, but I’ve picked out a few of my favorites to share with you all.

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy – age 6

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine-age 5 (<— word)

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica – age 8

The thing that makes the article so good is that you would get similar answers from adults. If someone walked up to you on the street, what would you say? The fact that something can be so pure that both children and adults struggle to define it, yet all seek it is pretty incredible. Hope this made your day as it made mine.

-MichaelYoungHistory

 

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Mathew 27:46 is so relevant to my sports life in the last 14 months or so. I don’t know what I did, but the all-knowing Sports Gods hate me right now. ALOT. Don’t believe me. Have a look at my bad fortune! (Note: if you didnt realize this by now, this post has absolutely nothing to do with religion lol)

The Beginning…

It all started around January 7th, 2010. A day that shall live in infamy for myself and fellow Longhorn fans. In Pasadena against a vaunted Alabama team after a near victory against the Suh led Nebraska team in the Big XII Championship, Texas was a heavy underdog. However, the horns came out swinging, stopping Bama on an ill-advised fake punt. Bama looked scared. Texas looked pumped to shock the world. Then it happened…

Colt Mccoy gets hurt early in the National Championship game. Little did we know that it would be his last play as a Longhorn. Still gives me chills...

 

ThreadBlog Album Review: L@sers

Yes hip-hop heads, your 3 year wait is finally over.  On March 8th, we will FINALLY get a long-awaited release from the one and only Lupe Fiasco. After Lupe gave us his classic (not used lightly) second album “The Cool” in late 2007, it was clear that he was one of the most creative artists out and one of the best lyricists we’ve seen in a long time. The album garnered high praise from both critics and fans alike, and gave him his first smash hit with “Superstar.” Prior to the album’s release, Lupe had already told fans that his next album, at that time titled “LupE.N.D,” would be coming shortly thereafter. After the label refused to set a date for the album, some pushbacks, a few title changes, more label drama,  a valiant fan protest, talk of retirement, a couple of mixtapes, and a few more leaks, Lupe will finally bless us with his 3rd album, now called “L@sers” (pronounced Lasers). The music heads here at #TheThreadBlog have gotten their hands on an advanced copy of the album. The question is, does it live up to the hype?