Athletes and ink

The Winnipeg Sun ran a series of articles on athletes and their
bodyart:

Common sense rules the pros
CFL, NHL don't see need to regulate players
By Randy Sportak

The tattoo wasn't objectionable. At least not in the sense you'd
expect when thinking about what could be of poor taste.

But that didn't prevent Calgary Stampeders head coach Tom Higgins from
insisting receiver Mike Juhasz cover it before hitting the turf for
the CFL clash.

"He has a Nike swoosh on his body," recalled Higgins. "That's a
competing logo (for a major league sponsor) and we were in easy stead
to make him cover it. That was no problem.

"We had a bit of a chuckle."

Body artwork may be more prominent in this day and age but that hasn't
sparked the NHL or CFL to bring about a policy regulating them. Common
sense is the guideline.

"Tattoos are a matter of personal preference the player's part and,
other than expecting the player to observe basic decorum with regard
to general appearance, we would not want to dictate the terms of
personal preference in this regard," said NHL spokesman Frank Brown.

Seeing as hockey players are literally covered from head to toe when
in action, it's not like they're much of an issue.

For the most part, players who are inked will cover their tattoos when
attending oficial functions.

Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery landed in some hot water with
team management last season after appearing on the cover of the Sun in
a photo which captures him getting his arm tattooed.

Coach Bryan Murray stresses he had less problem with Emery getting the
tattoo than he did with the media coverage of the event.

"People do what they do," says Murray. "I don't want to make it a big
story ... the only thing I said to Ray last year, if you do that, and
you sit there and get your picture taken, every young kid in Ottawa
wants to be like the pros.

"When you do that, some parents probably are concerned. Other than
that, guys can do what they do. As I 've said my whole career, I don't
sit at the door at 11 o'clock and check curfew or things like that."

Higgins said searching through players' tattoos isn't something he
considers, though it could impact the players' opportunities for
lucrative marketing down the road.

"It's not something you will search for on someone's body," Higgins
said. " You say offensive but that's subjective. One thing that is
offensive to someone might not bother someone else. If you do find
something offensive and it's a spot that can be covered up, that's
something you can deal with.

"If there is something that does become offensive, part of being a pro
athlete is marketability anywhere in the world. If you do something
that doesn't allow you to be marketable, your chances of playing as a
professional become limited.

"It's never been a huge concern where we thought we would need a
policy in place. I would be ever so cognizant if it was something that
spreads hatred, you would consider whether you want that person on
your team. It would be something to address. I wouldn't stick my head
in the sand."

STATE OF THE ART

A quick look at what some of the pros are wearing

ANNA KOURNIKOVA, PRO TENNIS PLAYER - A large design with stars on her
back.

SHELDON SOURAY, MONTREAL CANADIENS - An Indian chief, a steer's head
with feathers.

YOLANDA GRIFFITH, DETROIT SHOCK - African symbol which means
"strength, beauty and vigilance."

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, MIAMI HEAT - A Superman 'S' along with his
daughter's name.

BRIAN MCGRATTAN, OTTAWA SENATORS - His nickname "Gratz" and a drawing
of the sun

###

More and more, body art is becoming visible on athletes
By Don Brennan

Plain as the skin on many an athlete’s arm exists proof that there
are, indeed, different strokes for different folks.

They come from a small, pointed “gun� that may not kill, but does scar
for life.

As well as being painful and permanent, they can be cool and
colourful.

Expensive and expressive.

Ugly and unidenti�able.

Yes, generally, their beauty is in the eye of their beholder.

Or be-wearer, if you will.

In the world of sports, they have become the signs of the times.

Stickers. Markings. Tats.

“Once you get one,� says the Toronto Maple Leafs Wade Belak, “you’re
addicted.�

He should know. He has “seven or eight.�

Brendan Witt, Joe Corvo, Sheld on Souray, Andrew Ference .... they are
just a few of the heavily stained players in today’s NHL.

>From Long Island to Ottawa to Montreal to Calgary, they have proven
they have some definite Hollywood in them.

The entertainment industry, you see, is covered with stars who have at
least partially covered their body.

Rapper 50 Cent is widely recognized as the most decorated of all.

Rockers Dave Navarro and Tommy Lee most recently entered living rooms
across the continent regularly displaying their body art collection
while trying to sign a singer for their band.

But tats can also be found on some of the world’s most gorgeous female
bodies.

On Tommy’s ex-wife, Pamela Anderson. On Christina Aguilera. And
Angelina Jolie. And Beyonce. And Janet Jackson. And Jessica Alba,
Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Yasmine Bleeth, Carmen Electra, Lucy Liu,
Alyssa Milano ... what?

Oh, sorry.

It’s easy to get distracted by tattoos, which is a thought that might
have crossed Anna Kournikova’s mind the �rst time she flashed the
small of her back. Not a very good tennis player? We didn’t notice,
and her sexy sticker is just one of the reasons why.

No longer do tattoos signify exclusive membership to a dark or seedy
subculture.

No longer are they strictly regarded as defiant acts of rebellion.

No longer are they worn only by bad asses and bikers. This we know,
despite what Tank Johnson thinks.

“I’m young, black and have tattoos,� the Chicago Bears lineman said
during Super Bowl week when asked about the serious firearm charges
that would be waiting for him when he returned home.

“So it’s easy to stereotype me and putme in a category.�

Of course, that he was touched by a tattoo gun is not much of an
excuse for a Tank carrying all that ammo, either.

Earlier this year, Sports Illustrated called body art the sports
world’s most flaunted form of self expression.

“Ten years ago, only boxers and wrestlers had visible tattoos,� the
mag reported. “Today they are everywhere, in every sport.�

Filthy rich soccer star David Beckham has nine tattoos. He started by
having the name of his first son - Brooklyn - scrawled across his
lower back.

He also has “Victoria,� the real name of his wife and former Spice
Girl Posh, tattooed on his left forearm in Hindi. Under it is the
Latin phrase “Ut Amem Et Foveam� which translates “so that I love and
cherish.�

Ray Lewis, the outstanding Baltimore Raven middle linebacker, has the
tattoo of a panther on his right arm because he loves cats. “I study
them,� said Lewis.

“They are cunning, quick, crafty, intelligent and focused.�

Asked if he plans to get more, Lewis replied: “No, my mother won’t let
me.�

As basketball players perform in the least amount of clothing, their
tattoos are constantly on display.

Flamboyant bad boy Dennis Rodman gave new meaning to the phrase
“In1ePaint.�

He is smeared in the stuff, from tattoos of Harley Davidson, a picture
of his daughter, a shark, a cross and many others.

Allen Iverson, the NBA’s 2001 MVP, displays 16 tattoos that describe
his attitude in life - Only the Strong Survive - as well as others
that are devoted to his family and friends.

New frontiers were recently explored by Dakkan Abbe, the president
ofNew York City-based Fifty Rubies Marketing.

While watching an NBA game on TV, Abbe �gured out a way for sponsors
to get national exposure without paying for commercial time: Temporary
tattoos.

Before considering all the details, he spoke to Detroit Pistons
forward/centre Rasheed Wallace about wearing the logo of a candy
company during a game.

Wallace declined the deal after the New York media found out about the
offer.

The league, it was later learned, would view such an arrangement as a
violation of its collective bargaining agreement with the players.

Abbe disagreed.

“The NBA is defining tattoos as part of the players’ uniforms, but a
player’s skin is not part of his uniform,� he said, adding that it was
a personal rights issue.

“I find it offensive that the league would not allow something on
someone’s skin.�

Especially for the different folks who like their different strokes.

###

Senators' Kelly: Tattoos can be a 'team-building thing'
By Don Brennan

Once upon a time, saying a team was “tattooed last night� just meant
it had suffered a lopsided loss.

Now it’s also in reference to boys going down to local parlour
together to become men.

Yes, getting tattoos is often very much a group effort — especiallyin
junior hockey.

“For awhile there, everyone was getting them ... I don’t know too many
guys who don’t have one,� says Senators centre Chris Kelly,who has
had his back patted with the permanent drawing of a sun.

“It can be a teambuilding thing, something nice to look back on if you
win a Memorial Cup or a Stanley Cup.�

Montreal Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray also was tattooed early
and often.

“When you’re in juniors, it’s a macho thing to do or something,� said
Souray, who owns �ve pieces of body art. “It’s kindof your initiation
into getting into the league.�

Many athletes get tattoos as a way of proudly proclaiming who they
are. Souray, a native of a settlement in Alberta called Fishing Lake,
is proud of his heritage.

“Some of the native symbols have always appealed to me,� hesaid. “I
think when you get tattoos, they’re supposed to mean something to
you.�

Many others have the names of their children or spouses.

Dwayne Douglas Johnson - aka The Rock - is a Taurus who wears a Brahma
bull tattoo on his right biceps. One of the biggest star the squared
circle has ever known also has a large Polynesian-style tattoo done on
his upper left arm as a way of paying homage to his ethnic heritage.

Mike Tyson says his tattoos, which feature the likes of tennis star
and civil rights leader Arthur Ashe, revolutionist Che Guevera and
Chinese military and political leaderMao Zedong, are powerful personal
totems. He also wears a controversial Maori inspired facial tattoo.

Among Stephon Marbury’s tattoos is a a heart with the word’s “Coney
Island’s Finest� written on top.

“When I got that I was like the �rst person out of Coney Island to
turn pro,� he says. He also has a panther standing on the top of a
mountain, which he got when he was 13, and a Mont Blanc pen trail with
his family’s names scripted around his arm.

“My tattoos revolve around my life,� says the New York Knicks guard.
“I think tattoos are something that tell who you are and how you
feel.� /copy and paste from http://winnipegsun.com/Series/ThisAn...9/3645355.html

--
Curt

On Feb 20, 5:00 pm, "Curt" <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:

(Actually, Curt wrote nothing, he just posted someone else's words)

<snipped>

Feeling guilty again?


Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
[...]

> (Actually, Curt wrote nothing, he just posted someone else's words)
>
> <snipped>
>
> Feeling guilty again?

Again? No original thoughts from you ever? ;o)

And, pssst. If anyone should feel guilty, it's you, imo. Didn't you
just mention something about an obituary? :oD

> Kavin

--
Curt

On Feb 21, 6:22 am, "Curt" <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:

>. If anyone should feel guilty, it's you, imo. Didn't you
> just mention something about an obituary? :oD

Come now, Curt. I keep telling you, me wanting you dead is really the
same thing as wanting the eradication of influenza or AIDS.

Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
[...]

> Come now, Curt. I keep telling you, me
> wanting you dead is really the same thing
> as wanting the eradication of influenza

So, I'm the flu? You obviously should have had your flu shot, if
that's the case. ;o)

> or AIDS.

AIDS as it relates to you must be a new acronym. At least from what
I've read in RAB, right?

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...ed46ce968edbbe

Where you write, "I took a volleyball to the face."

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...9aeb6514a4cf14

Where you write, "Well, as I was adjusting a volleyball net today, a
nice, little, middle-school girl shanked a volleyball into me."

Awful Intramural Defense System? :oD

> Kavin

--
Curt

On Feb 21, 6:27 pm, "Curt" <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> AIDS as it relates to you must be a new acronym.

No, I said it relates to you.

Same disease Curt. You know, the one people get from being fucked in
the ass by an infected individual. The one people get from a tainted
blood transfusion. The one African girls get from having their
vaginas sewn shut and then fucked by a man twice their age who is
infected by HIV.

That one Curt. You and THAT AIDS.

Try to make it witty.

Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
> "Curt" wrote:
>
> > AIDS as it relates to you must be
> > a new acronym.
>
> No, I said it relates to you.

Oh, as it relates to me? Well, then.

Arouses Idiotic Dogmatic Spewing? (Otoh, I guess that's as it relates
to me, but moreso how you relate to me, so...)

Hmm.

AIDS as an acronym as it relates to me! Okay.

Awfully Ingenious Daily Sayings?
Arrogantly Immodest Daily Sayings? (Hey, as long as I'm tooting my own
horn, I guess that variation of the preceding is applicable!)
Ain't I Doubly Sensational? (Wait, that's as I relate to you. Oh,
well.)
Artistic Imaginative Dynamite Sexaaay! (Confidence counts, Kavvy.)
Altruistic Innocent Dutiful Sincere (But I guess I already mentioned
modesty kinda, eh? D'OH!)
Advise I Down Stay (Reversed! Oh, wait again. That acronym applies to
you, though, Kavvy. Never mind.)

[...]

> Try to make it witty.

HOW'D I DO???!!!!?

> Kavin

Would a semicolon have helped?

--
Curt

On Feb 21, 8:04 pm, "Curt" <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Kavin Taylor wrote:
>
> Would a semicolon have helped?

No, but you taking it up the colon by a guy with full-blown AIDS
might.

Kavin

KavinTaylor@gmail.com <KavinTaylor@gmail.com> wrote:
Kgc> No, but you taking it up the colon by a guy with full-blown AIDS
Kgc> might.

http://www.jerkcity.com/jerkcity2062.html

remember, AIDS would still be called GRIDS if not for all those
silly bisexuals.

lish "who the hell are you
crank@got.net & why are you talking to me?" -pm
43.9% / 30 RANA 128 / 70

Kavin Taylor wrote:
> "Curt" wrote:
[...]

> > Would a semicolon have helped?
>
> No, but you taking it up the colon <snip>

So, you're talking about a perforated colon rather than a
semicolon. ;o)

> Kavin

--
Curt

On Feb 22, 6:34 pm, "Curt" <curtja...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Kavin Taylor wrote:
> > "Curt" wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> > > Would a semicolon have helped?
>
> > No, but you taking it up the colon <snip>
>
> So, you're talking about a perforated colon rather than a
> semicolon. ;o)

Hey, whatever turns you on.


Kavin

Kavin Taylor wrote:
[...]

> Hey, whatever turns you on.

No, thanks.

> Kavin

--
Curt