Jason Whitlock compares the reaction to the Ryder Cup loss to the Olympic basketball loss… making the same point I made earlier when I compared the basketball loss to the World Cup of hockey loss.

That’s 3 international embarrassments in a row, and only one has generated a truly vitriolic public response. Why? Why the difference in the reaction to the Ryder Cup beatdown and the Olympic basketball beatdown? They lost for basically the same reasons, so why?

I think you know why. Americans are just itching for a reason to hate on people who happen to be young, black, wear cornrows, and have some tats. Middle-aged white men who are traditionally groomed and dressed get a pass, despite being guilty of the same things… on and on it goes.

What an odd little phenomenon these are… I’ve seen everyone wearing them. I tried to buy some when they first came out, but the Nike website was sold out of them until like 2009, and I’m not paying $10 for one on EBay so some jag-off can profit off of something that’s supposed to be raising money for cancer research.

Anyway, it was a cool little idea. Inexpensive, unobtrusive, for a good cause, and something everyone could get in on. But, like everything else, it’s absolutely been beaten into the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad it’s popular, and I’m glad they’re making a lot of money for cancer research… I just hate to see something that should be meaningful reduced to being a fashion accessory. A blatant rip-off wristband that has nothing to do with cancer research (or, presumably, anything else that might relate to a good cause) is even being included with the new Lil Flip CD. That’s too bad… Flip and Sony are bastards, for sure.

But, the bastards not withstanding, I’m glad the bands took off like they did. The long-term good certainly outweights any petty complaints I have. Good work, Lance.

I didn’t think Dick Vermeil had it in him. Between fits on crying today, Vermail managed to get in a nice little shot at backup RB Larry Johnson, saying that if he was going to play this week, he needed to “take the diapers off.” Ouch.

That was Dick Vermeil breaking that one off, not Bill Parcells. I just can’t imagine how soft Larry Johnson must be. If Dick Vermeil is making cracks about you being a baby, then… it might be a lost cause. Vermeil’s preferred approach is to take a guy aside, tell him he loves him, cry his eyes out, and share a warm embrace. But he skipped all that this time, and went straight to the low blow.

And Larry Johnson’s going to be paying for it for the rest of his career. If he ever gets a starting job, or advances his career to the point where someone might care about him, you know there are going to be diaper cracks coming from everyone in the world. And that kind of thing doesn’t go away… thanks a lot, coach Dick. If I’m the Texans mascot, I’m putting in a diaper this weekend when Larry Johnson’s in the game.