Morning rant…Tiger Woods…

[DawgNatty]

Who I am no fan of…just checked out of a Swiss rehab facility for drugs and alcohol.   He becomes one of a long line of stars that has gotten help for multiple addictions…sex, alcohol, drugs…  I’m never going down the road of saying there aren’t addictions and it isn’t a “condition”, I have a hard time putting it in the disease category…but, this isn’t about semantics.   We can debate the “self-control” side all day and I’d likely lose the argument.   

All that being said, gambling has been in the spotlight lately as an addiction.   Texas Tech brass is telling us the poor boy needed help and he got almost 30 days of it.    He’s a now recovered gambling addict.   Free from the shackles of not having to worry about his football future.   All of that may be true…but, I’m gonna say this:   Gambling may be a disease, a sickness, a condition…electing to gamble on your own teams play is a straight up choice!!!!   Period!!    We used to live in a world where actions had consequences…ask the Black Sox.  Ask Pete Rose…

We’ve reached the point where you’re above the law if you have athletic skills.   But, when the one cardinal sin of sports is ignored…just damn.

[Tomato Sandwich]

There is power in moderation.

Remember why Rick Neuheisael was fired?

[McDonoughDawg]

I like to shoot craps from time to time…

[GriffWoody]

As I sit here and type today, the boy will gamble on a game again during the season, if allowed to play or not. I guarantee. Rmember this comment and let’s revisit a year from now.

[ToccoaDog]

Won’t be too hard for a QB to bet on and win the OVER on interceptions thrown

[DawgNatty]

Won’t be too hard for a QB to bet on and win the OVER on interceptions thrown

Right?  Or game plan?  Or…many of the prop bets you can make now.

[junkyarddawg]

Who I am no fan of…just checked out of a Swiss rehab facility for drugs and alcohol.   He becomes one of a long line of stars that has gotten help for multiple addictions…sex, alcohol, drugs…  I’m never going down the road of saying there aren’t addictions and it isn’t a “condition”, I have a hard time putting it in the disease category…but, this isn’t about semantics.   We can debate the “self-control” side all day and I’d likely lose the argument.   

All that being said, gambling has been in the spotlight lately as an addiction.   Texas Tech brass is telling us the poor boy needed help and he got almost 30 days of it.    He’s a now recovered gambling addict.   Free from the shackles of not having to worry about his football future.   All of that may be true…but, I’m gonna say this:   Gambling may be a disease, a sickness, a condition…electing to gamble on your own teams play is a straight up choice!!!!   Period!!    We used to live in a world where actions had consequences…ask the Black Sox.  Ask Pete Rose…

We’ve reached the point where you’re above the law if you have athletic skills.   But, when the one cardinal sin of sports is ignored…just damn.

I will by no means pretend to be an expert when it comes to addiction. But I have volunteered in multiple areas to do service work and lost friends to addiction.

In my humble opinion, which I always retain the right to modify based on new knowledge, addiction is a combination of genetics plus environmental factors. And I also believe addiction is tied very closely to general mental and emotional health.

For lack of a better explanation, genetics loads the gun; environment pulls to trigger. 

There is no one specific addiction gene. But I believe there is a combination of multiple genetic factors that increase the probability that any specific person is at a higher risk for addiction.

We could get into the messy details like the brain’s reward systems, epigenetics, DRD2 receptor, ALDH2, but then I’d just be pretending I understand stuff that I have read about but really have no clue about.

For me, when trying to understand why or how on becomes an addict, I ask myself the following question when I witness someone who appears to be suffering due to addictive behaviors:

Why would someone choose to do that to themselves?

So there’s got to be more, deeper answers that I don’t understand. And I am not claiming that finding an answer to that one question explains everything about the why and how of addiction.

Regarding the Tiger Woods example, there's a long list of very successful and wealthy people who have suffered from addiction. Common social reaction is to treat them with disdain and mock them. And as a flawed human I’m not above that type of thinking at all, unfortunately. But what it tells me is that money is not the answer for every affliction, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. 

All that stated, while I do believe that some people are genetically at higher risk of addiction than others, every single one of us (mentally sane, rational-thinking humans) is responsible for our own actions / behaviors. 

And everyone one of us should be held accountable for our actions and how those actions impact others. That includes the Texas Tech player.

Just my humble opinion, which is no better than anyone else’s . As stated, I reserve the right to change it based on additional knowledge.

[DawgNatty]

Who I am no fan of…just checked out of a Swiss rehab facility for drugs and alcohol.   He becomes one of a long line of stars that has gotten help for multiple addictions…sex, alcohol, drugs…  I’m never going down the road of saying there aren’t addictions and it isn’t a “condition”, I have a hard time putting it in the disease category…but, this isn’t about semantics.   We can debate the “self-control” side all day and I’d likely lose the argument.   

All that being said, gambling has been in the spotlight lately as an addiction.   Texas Tech brass is telling us the poor boy needed help and he got almost 30 days of it.    He’s a now recovered gambling addict.   Free from the shackles of not having to worry about his football future.   All of that may be true…but, I’m gonna say this:   Gambling may be a disease, a sickness, a condition…electing to gamble on your own teams play is a straight up choice!!!!   Period!!    We used to live in a world where actions had consequences…ask the Black Sox.  Ask Pete Rose…

We’ve reached the point where you’re above the law if you have athletic skills.   But, when the one cardinal sin of sports is ignored…just damn.

I will by no means pretend to be an expert when it comes to addiction. But I have volunteered in multiple areas to do service work and lost friends to addiction.

In my humble opinion, which I always retain the right to modify based on new knowledge, addiction is a combination of genetics plus environmental factors. And I also believe addiction is tied very closely to general mental and emotional health.

For lack of a better explanation, genetics loads the gun; environment pulls to trigger. 

There is no one specific addiction gene. But I believe there is a combination of multiple genetic factors that increase the probability that any specific person is at a higher risk for addiction.

We could get into the messy details like the brain’s reward systems, epigenetics, DRD2 receptor, ALDH2, but then I’d just be pretending I understand stuff that I have read about but really have no clue about.

For me, when trying to understand why or how on becomes an addict, I ask myself the following question when I witness someone who appears to be suffering due to addictive behaviors:

Why would someone choose to do that to themselves?

So there’s got to be more, deeper answers that I don’t understand. And I am not claiming that finding an answer to that one question explains everything about the why and how of addiction.

Regarding the Tiger Woods example, there's a long list of very successful and wealthy people who have suffered from addiction. Common social reaction is to treat them with disdain and mock them. And as a flawed human I’m not above that type of thinking at all, unfortunately. But what it tells me is that money is not the answer for every affliction, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. 

All that stated, while I do believe that some people are genetically at higher risk of addiction than others, every single one of us (mentally sane, rational-thinking humans) is responsible for our own actions / behaviors. 

And everyone one of us should be held accountable for our actions and how those actions impact others. That includes the Texas Tech player.

Just my humble opinion, which is no better than anyone else’s . As stated, I reserve the right to change it based on additional knowledge.

I agree with everything you said.   I’ve been lucky to deal with less addiction situations than most.   But, I can say my father dealt with things I chose to do on free will quickly and harshly.   It sure weighed on my mind when I wanted to do those things again.   

The “responsibility for your actions” is the part where I feel we get it wrong.  Fine, you f’ed up…we forgive you…doesn’t mean you get back what you had.

[junkyarddawg]

Who I am no fan of…just checked out of a Swiss rehab facility for drugs and alcohol.   He becomes one of a long line of stars that has gotten help for multiple addictions…sex, alcohol, drugs…  I’m never going down the road of saying there aren’t addictions and it isn’t a “condition”, I have a hard time putting it in the disease category…but, this isn’t about semantics.   We can debate the “self-control” side all day and I’d likely lose the argument.   

All that being said, gambling has been in the spotlight lately as an addiction.   Texas Tech brass is telling us the poor boy needed help and he got almost 30 days of it.    He’s a now recovered gambling addict.   Free from the shackles of not having to worry about his football future.   All of that may be true…but, I’m gonna say this:   Gambling may be a disease, a sickness, a condition…electing to gamble on your own teams play is a straight up choice!!!!   Period!!    We used to live in a world where actions had consequences…ask the Black Sox.  Ask Pete Rose…

We’ve reached the point where you’re above the law if you have athletic skills.   But, when the one cardinal sin of sports is ignored…just damn.

I will by no means pretend to be an expert when it comes to addiction. But I have volunteered in multiple areas to do service work and lost friends to addiction.

In my humble opinion, which I always retain the right to modify based on new knowledge, addiction is a combination of genetics plus environmental factors. And I also believe addiction is tied very closely to general mental and emotional health.

For lack of a better explanation, genetics loads the gun; environment pulls to trigger. 

There is no one specific addiction gene. But I believe there is a combination of multiple genetic factors that increase the probability that any specific person is at a higher risk for addiction.

We could get into the messy details like the brain’s reward systems, epigenetics, DRD2 receptor, ALDH2, but then I’d just be pretending I understand stuff that I have read about but really have no clue about.

For me, when trying to understand why or how on becomes an addict, I ask myself the following question when I witness someone who appears to be suffering due to addictive behaviors:

Why would someone choose to do that to themselves?

So there’s got to be more, deeper answers that I don’t understand. And I am not claiming that finding an answer to that one question explains everything about the why and how of addiction.

Regarding the Tiger Woods example, there's a long list of very successful and wealthy people who have suffered from addiction. Common social reaction is to treat them with disdain and mock them. And as a flawed human I’m not above that type of thinking at all, unfortunately. But what it tells me is that money is not the answer for every affliction, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. 

All that stated, while I do believe that some people are genetically at higher risk of addiction than others, every single one of us (mentally sane, rational-thinking humans) is responsible for our own actions / behaviors. 

And everyone one of us should be held accountable for our actions and how those actions impact others. That includes the Texas Tech player.

Just my humble opinion, which is no better than anyone else’s . As stated, I reserve the right to change it based on additional knowledge.

I agree with everything you said.   I’ve been lucky to deal with less addiction situations than most.   But, I can say my father dealt with things I chose to do on free will quickly and harshly.   It sure weighed on my mind when I wanted to do those things again.   

The “responsibility for your actions” is the part where I feel we get it wrong.  Fine, you f’ed up…we forgive you…doesn’t mean you get back what you had.

“Fine, you f’ed up…we forgive you…doesn’t mean you get back what you had.”

100% agree. In fact, most times that is a prerequisite for growth; learning to accept and deal with the consequences.