“Final Grades for the Battle of the Bay, The Oakland Raiders Hosting the San Francisco 49ers”

Final Oakland Raider Grades v.s. San Francisco 49ers; Week 14:

(7-6)  San Francisco 49ers  13

(2-11)  Oakland Raiders  24

That rustling sound you heard was not birds flying overhead, it was 49er fans quickly changing from 49ers gear to San Francisco Giants Gear.

The Raider fans were as loud and excited as they’ve been all year and they were rewarded with a big win over the hated 49ers.

Shockers:

*The Raiders FINALLY used tight end Mychal Rivera and fullback Marcel Reece and it opened up the middle of the field.  They had 14 receptions for 173 yards and 2 TD’s.

*The 49ers averaged 5.4 yards per carry but if you take away the 49ers scrambles, they ran only 15 times all game with Frank Gore only getting 12 carries.

Quarterback:

The Raiders had a very rare good game plan and Carr played very well.  The offensive line gave him all day to throw and he carved up the 49ers secondary.  He was much calmer this game and handled the pass rush better.  He didn’t rush his throws and seemed more relaxed in the pocket.  Carr finally didnt’ just settle for hope throws to wide receivers and he looked more to the tight end Mychal Rivera and Marcel Reece who was a valuable outlet.

Carr was solid and accurate and finally played the way that the Raiders have hoped that he would.

GRADE:  A-

The final Raiders scoring drive was a big one and it sealed the game.  Carr played well and solidified himself as the quarterback of the future.  The offensive line protected him well and it showed.  He threw for a much better average than he normally has at 9.1 yards per catch AND was 22-28 for 254 yards with 3 touchdowns.

Running Backs: 

Central Florida’s Latavius Murray should have been playing a long time ago but finally he is entrenched as the starting running back of the Oakland Raiders.  He is big, hits the hole hard and is fast.  He ran for 76 yards against one of the tougher run defenses in all of the NFL.  The offensive line opened up some big holes for him and at times when there were no holes, Murray still managed yards.  They had a solid game against a good defense.

Grade:  B

The Raiders fans and the team should be happy to know that they have found a tight end, running back and quarterback of the future if they play them.

Offensive Line: 

The offensive line has been wrongly getting blamed at times for the teams failures.  They played their toughest competition of the year against the 49ers, and they played very well.  Carr was sacked only 1 time, and Carr at times had all day to throw.  The Raiders game plan was finally a good one.  The offense passed often on first down and they weren’t so predictable.

Grade:  B+

Some Raider fans and people in the media have wrongly gotten on this OL.  Like ex Raider Lincoln Kennedy has commented, “if you run on first down all the time when the defense has the line stacked, and you are not going to be successful.  They dominated the 49ers front line at times and it was a big surprise.

Wide Receivers: 

The Raiders wide receivers were not a big part of the offense this week but it was a good thing.  The 49ers made a big point of taking away the wide receivers and I’m sure it was a surprise to see Carr throw to the tight end and Marcel Reese all game.  It was something the Raiders should have been doing all year.

GRADE:  B

They played well when called upon which wasn’t a whole lot.

Defensive Line:

It took 14 weeks but the Raiders finally got a pass rush.  The 49ers offensive line has been hurt by injuries but it was a nice game by all.  Justin Ellis and Antonio Smith played well.  The 49ers play calling was puzzling at best.  They gave up on the run way too early.  The Raiders still have issues stopping the run

Grade:  B

The pass rush was solid but the run stopping was not very good.  Kaepernick also hurt the Raiders on some runs and the 49ers should have ran the ball a lot more.

Linebackers:

Khalil Mack finally had a good game rushing the passer with 2 sacks.  Sio Moore played havoc with his rushes and is a star in the making if he keeps improving.  The linebackers only had a combined 6 tackles but they really rushed the quarterback well.

Grade A-

This unit is the strength of the defense and the defense will be greatly improved if the Raiders shore up the defensive line.  The Raiders linebackers have played better against the run but they really put pressure on Kaepernick and that changed the game.

Defensive Backs:

Safeties Brandon Ross and Charles Woodsen were all over the field and really played well.  The Raiders had their best pass rush of the year and it really helped the defensive backs.  The 49ers had their weekly dropped passes and it’s still confusing why they dont pass to tight end Vernon Davis more, but overall the defensive backs played pretty well.  The coverage was fairly solid against the wide receivers and it wasn’t a bad effort.  The defensive backs though are making too many tackles in the run game and that is on the linebackers and defensive line.

Grade B 

The Raiders safeties really played well.  Tight end Vernon Davis was only targeted 4 times but he seemed open a lot.  Davis caught only 2 catches for 23 yards.  The Raiders did not give up a big play all game.

Coaching:

After a win usually teams are hopeful and positive but this coaching staff just isn’t the answer in Oakland.  To take months to get a good game plan and to finally make Latavius Murray their starter is frustrating to watch.

On the other hand, they had a solid game plan that didn’t involve running on every first down.  The Raiders finally used the tight end and Mercel Reese in the passing game.  I’ve been crying for them to use the middle of the field and they finally did.  They even used a slant at the goal line for a great red zone touchdown.  When the Raiders passed on first down, they were successful almost all of the time and it kept the 49ers off their game.  They also blitzed when needed and even though they had  injuries, the 49ers offensive line struggled all game.  There were still some puzzling moments, like doing play action passes on passing downs but overall this was one of the best games for this coaching staff.

Grade  A-

For the first time since the San Diego game in Oakland, the play calling was very good.  The Raiders still need to stretch the field more but they used Marcel Reece and tight end Mychal Rivera over the middle and the 49ers could not stop it.

Special Teams:

Sebastian Janikowski had a long field goal which set the tone for the Raiders.  The return game and the return defense had an ok game and Marquette King was solid.

Grade B+

An overall good, if not spectacular game by the special teams unit helped out in this win.

Next Opponent:  @ Kansas City Chiefs (7-6; last game, loss @ the Arizona Cardinals 17-14)

Outlook:

This was a much needed morale building win by the Raiders which gives a lift to their team and fan base.  Next up is an always tough game in Kansas City.  The Chiefs are in a must win situation after losing in Arizona so this will be a big test for the Raiders.  If the Raiders can control the Chiefs running game and make Alex Smith beat them like they did in the last game, they could pull out another victory in Kansas City.

“I Used to be an Open Book; Learning the Hard Way Why We Need Online Privacy”

(below is an updated version of this article)

https://theforumcelebritypodcast.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/update-my-horror-stories-why-im-no-longer-an-open-book-online-privacy-overview/

“I’m an open book”, said the naive person.

I’M AN OPEN BOOK!  Some even brag about it like it’s a badge of honor.  I learned the hard way how naive a statement that is.

I remember one time I was out with friends and one of them said how they admired that I was the type of person that was the first to try new things or to do something new instead of just following what others think or did.  Another friend laughed, “yea, Jim is the dumb one that does it first and finds out all the mistakes so the rest of us don’t have to go through it”.  They both were probably right.

I remember going online years ago as a kid.  I was in wonder over the internet.  I put in an AOL disk that I got in the mail.  At 14.8, the speed at that time seemed so fast.  The internet really didn’t have that many websites but I was amazed.  Over time I started using things like Yahoo, EBAY and Paypal.

I have always wanted to think that everyone has good in them.  In reality our culture has changed and not for the better.  Morals and character are harder to find and the evil that we see in the news is pretty scary.  Are all people bad?  Of course not; but ask the thousands that get bullied online every day how things have changed.

(one billion people lose their identity in Yahoo security breach)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-business/wp/2016/10/17/one-billion-reasons-why-the-yahoo-cyber-breach-matters/

How Social Media & The Internet Has Changed Our Communication:

The internet and social media is fun and has a lot of great rewards, but it also has a downfall.  It has made many people dysfunctional communicators.  Some people in business and in personal relationships are like Hemmingway in emails, texts and chats.  Get them in person and their personality is that of a napping frog and their communication skills are as good as one of the Teletubbies.  Look at people on dates; many don’t even talk to their partner.  They are texting others, looking at videos or even flirting with other people.  Go to a movie theater and try to find people that aren’t texting someone.  We have the attention spans of puppies on espresso and as a culture, we seem to use guesses, mind reading skills or jedi mind tricks to communicate with each other instead of just talking directly.

We Are Much More Open to Promote Quicker Communication:

Most Psychology studies shows that it takes a good year to really get to know someone. That’s a lifetime now.  Instead of getting to know each other, we use Facebook, Linkedin, and Match.com, or other sites to almost “instantly” learn about someone.  The problem is it’s shallow, lazy and dysfunctional at times.  It takes time to get to know people whether we are finishing each others sentences or not.  I’ve seen people move in with others after days of meeting someone on a dating site or they go into business with someone they barely know after meeting online.  It’s sheer madness.  We want it and we want it now.  The problem is you have to build a foundation be it business or in your personal relationships, and it’s more than a profile or mouse click away.  Affiliate marketing is a huge part of internet business and in reality you are joining an unknown business run by people you don’t know.  It has a 95% fail rate for a reason.

I’ve lost my identity twice and I once was used in a scam.  Between scammers and EBAY itself, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad.  Once two German hackers got into my EBAY account and started to put up fake adds selling high end Apple products and ended up stealing about $30,000 from people having bidders send them money by western union.

The Dangers of Being An Open Book With Online Dating:

I remember being an open book on Facebook the last 5 years especially in the dating scene when I became single.  After a while people would show up uninvited to my house and work.  I had one girl that I chatted with a couple of times do a search on me and found my business.  We had coffee once and I knew she was not the person for me plus she looked too young.  One day I came into my office to see patients in the afternoon and my secretary said, “you’re girlfriend is here”.  Well that was strange because at the time I didn’t have one.  I walked in and this cute young girl who couldn’t have been 22 was there.  I asked her what was going on.  I talked to her long enough to make sure she didn’t have an ax or Lizzie Borden tattoo, but I still wasn’t comfortable.  I eventually got rid of her.

One night when I was coming home from work, a man was sitting on my porch.  It ended up being a patient; kind of a borderline mentally ill patient that was a pretty scary guy.  He found my information from LinkedIn and Facebook and did a search on me and found my home address.  It was 11:30 pm and he asked if we could talk and if he could come in.  I actually saw my neighbor looking at him and I talked him into leaving and that if he was having issues that he should go to the ER.  I slept with a loaded gun next to my bed just in case.

I write online at times for political sites and I was Mr. Open Book then too.  Unfortunately I said something some people didn’t like and I started getting death threats.  Someone emailed me a photo of my front yard saying he was watching me.  I called the police but I was paranoid whenever anyone came by.

The worst situation I had was a girl I met online and we started to talk.  She lived near me and asked to meet.  We met a couple of times and would text and talk on the phone sometimes but just friends stuff.  There was just something not right with her and my spidey sense was tingling.  I told her that we should be online friends and that maybe one of these days we could get together again but that I was really busy at work.  I’m not a sleazy person and I don’t sleep around like a lot of people do so I just felt uncomfortable with being that close.

Some pretty girls rarely if ever hear the word no from a guy and she didn’t take it well.  She went crazy.  She started freaking out telling me who did I think I was and that she could get guys 100 times better than I was.  She then said I was messing with her and that no one messed with her and got away with it.  I’ve always tried dating the sweet, girl next door types so the psycho high maintenance I’m going to kill you while  you sleep type of girls were never my thing.

At about 12:30 am I began to get texts.  Now I have a lot of friends that text me at that time because they are night owls and usually bored; but this was different.  It was a girl asking to meet and have sex.  She then began to talk about things that we can do that I’m not quite sure are physically possible; I mean I looked it up and I don’t think those parts go together or can bend that way but I still could be wrong.  Anyways, I texted her back saying she had the wrong guy and told her to stop texting me.  I found out that angry woman had put an ad with all of my information and photo on a sex add on Craigslist.  Craigslist actually told me to call the police.  I warned her and she took the ad down.  Instead of taking my time and being careful, I was an open book with all of my personal information on Facebook and LinkedIn and I let my walls down.

(Yahoo scans emails to give to the government)

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-exclusive-yahoo-secretly-scanned-customer-emails-for-us-intelligence-sources-2016-10

Protect Your Photos:

You want to talk about open books, just go on Twitter or instagram.  People put up naked or sexual photos literally potentially ruining their reputation.  I knew a nurse once who got fired and many felt the reason was her Facebook photos that were extremely sexual.

It just blows me away how people can send near strangers naked photos of themselves and even videos.  It’s both dumb and risky at the same time and lacks class.  I know many are insecure these days needing lots of attention but man.  Once something is on the internet it is there forever!  Photos are easily stolen and I found out the hard way how people can use them to try and embarrass you or make you look bad.

Take Back Your Privacy:

I realized then that between big business pimping out our web surfing habits, locations, purchasing habits, and all of our social media information, I was not going to be used or exposed.  Now Samsung admits to recording us through some of their tv’s and appliances are the next to hook us up online.  Unfortunately there is only so much we can do to protect our information, but I’m determined to keep my accounts as private as possible.

I finally said “enough”.  I had written for many publications online but I started over.  I got a pen name and I stopped posting up family photos and giving personal information.  I closed all of my social media sites and started over.  I told my 3000 Facebook followers that I was moving on and that it had gotten too weird for me.  Magically all of the drama ended shortly after.

A New Lease on MY Online Life:

I started to write again and it felt good to not be weighed down by internet drama.  I’ve now restarted and I’ve been much less open online.  The drama is mostly gone.  Even though I have over 40k followers on my two Twitter accounts, I keep people at a distance. I now don’t have to deal with the nonsense.  I don’t put my real birthday online, or my address or my name, and I’ve slowly created safe, fun and healthy online relationships with some turning into friendships.  I’ve used Google voice for contact phone numbers and I feel much safer.

Social media and technology has entrenched a high level of trust in the latest generations and I worry about them.  Corporations have slowly eroded their sense of privacy and their respect for it.  I think some would put blood sample results online if they were asked to; they are open books and trust everyone.  They don’t have any money now but when they get older and start making money, taking their identities will be like taking candy from a baby because they are so trusting.  It’s even a risk with our money.  When I met with my banker once he spoke under his breath and told me not to use the banking application because in reality financial apps in his opinion were not safe.

Linked in is the worst.  Why in the world would I tell about myself and my business to people that are competitors so they could know what I am doing and what I’m working on.  I was taught to keep things under wraps.

It used to drive one of my ex girlfriends insane when every where we went; or even if I was online; people would tell me their life stories.  I’ve talked to people at times who will tell me their most innermost secrets and I barely know them.  Maybe in a way people are just lonely and with all of the dysfunctional communications, they just need a human being to actually talk to in person.

The Moral of The Story:

People can do what they want but I think people need to wake up and not be open books.  For our jobs some of us are forced to be as open as possible but on our personal accounts it’s our choice.  The world isn’t as safe a place anymore and people need to be much more careful.  You shouldn’t be a fearful hermit, but you also shouldn’t be Shirley Temple.  It takes one identity theft, one bad thing said online, or one picture to ruin a reputation and cause years of headaches.  Sorry Steve Zuckerberg, Apple and Google; I’m not trusting you any more.  Learn from my mistakes; I always make them before everyone else does.

 

Colombia & Soccer Rises Above Violence, Pain, & the loss of Andres Escobar For Redemption.

 

“Life doesn’t end here”.  

Andres Escobar, Colombia footballer

It still hurts today.

When you say the name Andres Escobar to a longtime soccer fan, immediately the smile will come off of their faces and a sadness will be seen.  The pain is still there for the memory of the murder of Colombian soccer star Andres Escobar even 20 years later.

In the 1994 World Cup held in the U.S., there was one team that everyone wanted to see and that was Colombia.  They were like rock stars with the likes of Carlos Valderrama, Carlos Rincon, Andres Escobar and so many others.  From the famous scorpion kick from their goalie, to the fun and amazing way they played, Colombia was definitely the team to watch.  Defensive star Andres Escobar at the age of 26 was ready to sign a large contract after the World Cup with famous Italian team AC Milan.  His dream of marrying his Fiance Pamela Cascardo and living in Italy to play soccer was coming true.

In an amazing 26 international game stretch before the World Cup, Colombia lost ONLY one game.  In the World Cup qualifying matches they gave up an unreal, 2 goals.  They were on fire dominating the World Soccer scene.

To qualify for the World Cup in 1993, they needed to tie Argentina.  Instead they gave what I believe is the worst loss for Argentina in Argentina, 5-0.  What was amazing is video shows as a sign of respect, the Buenos Aires fans giving rounds of applause to the Colombians after the game.  It placed Colombia for the first time on the world stage of soccer.  Pele and many others announced that Colombia would win the World Cup in the U.S.  The country Colombia partied like rock stars and their passion was amazing.  For once they would shed the reputation of being a violent and out of control country, and gain the respect they wanted.

At that time the rise to prominence for Colombian soccer was linked mainly to one thing; drug cartel money.  Colombia had never been a world power.  The three biggest drug Cartels, owned teams in the Colombian soccer league.  Soccer was the perfect way to launder money that they had gained illegally.  With that money they now could afford the great fields and players that were needed to make them a world class power in soccer.  One of the drug Cartel leaders was Pablo Escobar.  He was so powerful and rich that Forbes Magazine had him as one of the richest men on earth.

A house is only as good as it’s foundation and when you have a foundation built on drug money, only pain and violence will follow.  That’s what happened to Colombian soccer.  Colombia was a mess in general with more murders being committed per capita there, than anywhere else in the world.  Public officials and politicians were bought off, and like many players said, you couldn’t trust anyone.

Pablo Escobar ran for office to avoid extradition to the U.S. for his drug running; and he won!  He and the other cartel leaders used Soccer to launder the money by lying about players salaries and bonuses and also about gate receipts and ticket sales.  Pablo Escobar did a lot for the poor, building housing and soccer fields and helping out the little guy. He also had public officials murdered and after one match where he didn’t like a referees call, he had the soccer referee gunned down in a parking lot after a game.  Much like Al Capone did in Chicago, it created a love for him like a modern Robin Hood to cover up for the violence and pain that he created.  Eventually though Escobar was killed and even a few of his family members were slaughtered; in front of their wives and kids in some cases; right before the World Cup would start.  After he was killed Colombia was in a violent chaos.  No more order in the underworld.

The stress on the Colombian players was now overwhelming.  Andres Escobars’ great friend and teammate Chonto Herrera was told the day before their World Cup match that his brother was murdered.  They began to worry about their own families safety.  Some players began saying they now had to win or wonder what would happen back home.  Andres shy smile was now gone.  In an interview he said he finds peace by trying to read at least a little bit from the Bible every day.  He found comfort in having a picture of his late mother and his fiance Pamela Cascardo in his Bible.

Andres was unlike any 26 year old you’d ever know.  While many were party animals, his faith was a foundation in his life.  He also loved his country and the poor.  His family talked about him going to stores and buying toys and driving through the city giving them away in poor neighborhoods.  Even before he signed a big contract, he set up scholarships for poor and needy kids.  His father was a banker and he set up foundations to help the needy.  His whole family had hearts of gold and his heart was no different.  He was handsome, kind, humble and felt for those in need.  Everyone loved him.

In the first game of the World Cup the joy was out of the faces of the players of Colombia.  In a stunning match, Romania beat Colombia 3-1.  The World was shocked.  Their next game was against the U.S. who they had never lost to and who had never been a world power in soccer.  Unfortunately the violence at home was getting worse and so was the stress of playing.  Also there were rumors that the Colombian cartels had lost millions in bets that were placed for Colombia to beat Romania and many were not happy.  There were rumors abound and you could see the fear and the pain in the players faces.

Against the Americans the impossible happened.  On a simple cross by John Harkes of the U.S., Andres tried to stop the ball and he accidentally kicked it into his own goal.  It was a dreaded moment that I will never forget.  I told my friends right then and there, they are going to kill him.  My friend said it’s just a soccer game and I was dumb to think that.  Even when I was a kid I loved history and cultures and I just knew growing up what some cultures could and would do.  A chill goes up my spine right now even writing this.  I still feel the pain of that moment.  I see Andres face on the field knowing what he had done and the possible ramifications.  One of his teammates commented that you could see the fear and the pain in Andres eyes after that moment.  In irony, Andres sister said that the second Andres did the mistake, her 8 year old son became upset and said that they are going to kill Andres.  She said that people loved Andres and that he would be safe.  Young people know more than what adults think.

Andres own goal made it U.S. 1 Colombia 0.  Another goal followed and after a late goal by Colombia the U.S. had stunned the world and beaten them 2-1.  Colombia beat the Swiss 2-0 in their third game but with Romania beating the U.S., it meant Colombia would go home.

There are conflicting reports but there was supposed to be a trip with Andres and his family where they would visit parts of the U.S. Andres didn’t go and he came home.  Friends and teammates say that he was crushed by his mistake but he answered all of the media’s questions.  In time the people of Medellin; his home city; were very supportive and caring.  He began to feel better.

On one night Andres was asked to go to a club.  Many of his teammates begged him not to go but he said he didn’t want to hide and that he would be alright.  In a club in Medillin, the Gallon brothers; notorious Colombian cartel members; began to mock Andres relentlessly. This upset Andres greatly saying he just made a mistake and he was sorry for it.  After a heated argument Andres left the club.  In a chilling video in the parking lot, Andres was gunned down by cartel bodyguard Humberto Castro Munoz with a .38 caliber gun.  His friends saw the shooting and rushed Andres to the hospital where he died 45 minutes later.  Andres girlfriend said that the murderer was laughing and yelling goooooooooaaaaaal when he shot Andres.  The World Cup was still going on and the soccer world was angered and outraged.  Colombia was in turmoil.

Andres death was too much for the country to take.  The grief now was unconsolable.  One famous Colombian writer said, “for the first time in my life, I’m ashamed to be Colombian”.  The country gave bodyguards to players with some having up to 40-50 of them to protect them and their families.  One players child was kidnapped.  The entire country was in pain and hope was hard to find.

The soccer team would never be the same.  Many retired or just played abroad.  Most vowing that they would never play for Colombia ever again for what happened to them and Andres.  It was rumored that after days in jail, the Gallon brothers paid off the courts with 3 million dollars in cash and were set free.  Murderer Humberto Munoz was the fall person and he did only 11 years of his 40 year sentence.  He was let out for being a model prisoner.  Andres Fiance and family were outraged.

Colombian soccer began to fall off the map.  For years it struggled.  Fans stopped coming; the pain was too great.  In 2010 at the owners meeting for the Colombian soccer federation, 14 of the 18 teams were now near bankruptcy.

Fast forward to the last 4 years where there has been a form of redemption.  The Colombian soccer team is now back at the World cup.  With a talented squad, they are now trying to prove again that their reputation for being a violent country based on drug money is wrong.  Their past haunts them.  I have some Colombian friends and they are a very kind and passionate people with great pride.  They long for people and other countries not to judge them and to get to know them.  They are also honest about their past and hopeful for their future.

A statue of Andres is now at a park named after him where soccer fields are.  Andres always dreamed of having soccer fields all over for every kid to enjoy.

Andres’ last written words were published in newspapers everywhere.  They were, “life doesn’t end here”.

Even with the loss of his physical life, Andres is still touching people today.  I hope through his memory, along with the soccer fields and parks made in his honor, that more people will support Colombia’s attempt at becoming the peaceful nation that Andres dreamed of.  I know that for millions of soccer fans in Colombia and all over the world, no one will ever forget the great Andres Escobar.