Posts Tagged ‘football’

The Bright Side of Europe, International Feudalism, Drudging Veritas, PA gets what it deserves and the Superbowl post Brady Under the Fedora

Posted: February 12, 2023 by datechguy in culture, media, nfl, under the fedora
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I’ve been thinking…

We talk about why Europe doesn’t defend itself but while the Russia Ukraine war is nearing the end of year 1 it’s worth nothing that since World War 2 and American Troop stationed in Europe there has not been a major war between European Powers.

That is the longest period in centuries that this has been true and even the wars we have seen (Russia vs Ukraine, Balkans War) have all bee from states that had been broken up (Yugoslavia) or part of each other.

For all the PITN about defending Europe that’s quite an accomplishment.

Of course one of the disadvantages of this has been the empowerment of the international deep state. Once wealthy elites did not have to worry about national wars destroying their wealth they discovered they had more in common with each other than the people of the land they lived in or ran businesses in. They became, in effect their own nationality a group who believed that it was their right and destiny to direct the world around them and for others to bend the knee.

Welcome back feudalism! That’s the goal (with them as the Lords astonished that the people demand the comforts that they possess) but it is only doable against an unarmed population.

That’s why gun control will never be off the table for the left.

As I look at the attempt to wrest Project Veritas from James O’Keefe all I can think of is Matt Drudge. Because Drudge was pretty much a solo flyer it only required buying one person willing to be bought.

I suspect after the Pfizer expo an attempt to buy O’Keefe was attempted and failed and thus plan B was put into effect.

It’s always been easier to buy people to get what you want. I wonder how much the folks on the board were paid and if it was contingent on the ousting of O’Keefe?

Speaking of real reporting vs phony stuff apparently Senator Fetterman’s condition has reached a point where it is impossible for the media that insisted he was well and denounced anyone who said otherwise to tenably make that argument.

For myself, I would not allow him to resign or be replaced in any situation short of death. The people of Pennsylvania decided they wanted a brain injured invalid as their Senator and by golly they should get what they asked for.

On a personal level of course it would be nice if he recovered, it must be murder on his family and himself and I’d feel bad for anyone with such health issues but in terms of politics he decided to get onto the playing field and if he’s on the field during the game he doesn’t get the right to be left open.

Speaking of games today is Superbowl Sunday and with Tom Brady’s retirement New England’s interest in the game is going to return to the “once a decade” mode at best or more likely to the “not us” mode that it was in pre-Brady.

That a franchise had a 50% chance of making it to the Superbowl over a 20 year period is, next to the Celtics run of championships with Bill Russell, the most incredible run you will likely ever see. (You can even argue that it’s more impressive since in a best of 5 or best of 7 series you can have a bad game and still take home the gold, Brady didn’t have that luxury). Watching the sudden decline of the team has been like watching the sudden decline of the American republic. People thought it would last forever but it can’t unless you keep it up.

It’s appropriate that WEEI named their Patriots postgame show “The six rings postgame show” it will be many decades before they’re forced to rename it again.

What if Brady Goes Somewhere & DOESN’T bring a Super Bowl?

Posted: February 16, 2020 by datechguy in nfl, Sports
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In all the “Brady to Dallas” , “Brady to LA”, “Brady to Tennessee” stuff I’ve been hearing for several months now there are a lot of factors that we hear about.

  • Do they have a solid line to protect him?
  • Do they have the offensive weapons?
  • Do they have a 2-3 year QB opening (which is all he’ll play)
  • Will they commit to the contract he wants?

All of these will be factors in the decision making process for teams and Brady but there is one factor that nobody is talking about that I suspect even Tom Brady hasn’t thought of, but should.

What happens if he goes someplace and doesn’t bring a ring or at least a Superbowl appearance?

Tom Brady has been a fixture for the Pats for 20 years. He took a team that had been to 2 Superbowls in 35 years, losing both and took them to NINE superbowls in the next twenty years winning SIX.

That being the case if Tom Brady stays in New England till he is 45 and never makes another Superbowl, while sports writers might grumble and Sports Radio might buzz, fans will still love him and when he does retire give him a send off that will be almost as memorable as his playing days.

If he leaves however everything is different.

Any franchise that signs Brady is one that feels it is near the brass ring right now and figures that it is that one piece away from going all the way, which is why they will be paying $25-$40 Million for a 42 year old QB who happens to be not only the best player of all time, the most prolific when it comes to Superbowl appearances of all time but the best clutch performer of all time in the history of the game.

Once having made that commitment, a playoff appearance won’t do, a 1st round bye with a win won’t do. Anything less than a conference championship will be considered a failure and even that if it comes with a Superbowl loss with not be enough.

And the fans who support said franchise who do not have a history with Tom Brady will not blame their line, or their coach, or their receivers or defense if this happens, they will blame HIM because he was brought in and given the key to the vault to make it happen.

Oddly enough this might actually be an incentive to Tom Brady, the ultimate competitor, who wants to win more than anyone else on the field. He’s the type that actually might want all of that on his shoulders and revel in the chance to take some lesser teams flag and charge up the hill. Perhaps he feels he needs a fanbase that will challenge him rather than one that has reached a point of unconditional love.

But my advice to Brady is this. Make damn sure that this is what you want before you leave a fanbase that loves you an owner that will cater to you and a coach and staff that knows you better than any other and is in the best position to help you continue to be a winner in the twilight of your career.

Report from Louisiana: A sampler

Posted: January 13, 2020 by Pat Austin in Uncategorized
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By:  Pat Austin

SHREVEPORT – A sampling of news items from Louisiana this week:

John White:  Louisiana’s long-time State Superintendent of Education, John White, has decided to move on to other endeavors. I wish I could say I was surprised, but alas, Mr. White has been working without a contract for the past four years.

White became Superintendent in 2012 and his tenure has never been without controversy. He immediately instituted sweeping reforms, came under criticism for his position that the fault that Louisiana ranks so poorly in education is the fault of the teacher, and the fact that there has always been discussion as to whether or not he ever taught in the classroom.

One of the most controversial aspects of White’s tenure has been his implementation of the Louisiana version of the Common Core curriculum. White and Governor John Bel Edwards have always had a contentious relationship although they have managed to grudgingly work together; one of the Governor’s initial campaign promises was to replace White, but he could never quite get the votes of the education board to do so.

Personally, the current curriculum situation is one reason why I’m retiring at the end of the 2021 school year, and I’m not sorry to see White move on, however, I have real concerns about who comes next. I believe it will be critical for Governor Edwards and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to listen to teacher voices and input as the next superintendent is selected.

Storms: Northwest Louisiana experienced an unusual violent weather system this past weekend as strong storms and tornadoes swept across east Texas, Louisiana, and on toward the east coast. Here, in our area, we had three fatalities and much property damage.

The storms rolled through just after midnight Friday, and into Saturday morning.

Benton Middle School lost part of their roof and classrooms were inundated with water.

We are counting our blessings that this did not happen during the school day.

National Championship:  New Orleans is rocking right now as Mardi Gras season is underway and LSU is in town to take on Clemson for the National Championship. LSU has had a beautiful, perfect season and quarterback Joe Burrow has been a joy to watch. Very exciting.

President Trump with be in attendance and will be watching the game in a suite with the Louisiana delegation. Security is amped up right now, obviously. Trump figures in to sever of the current prop bets, which you can see here, including whether or not he will wear a red tie. (I’m going with yes on that one).

I’m making gumbo for game day, of course.

Geaux Tigers!

Pat Austin blogs at And So it Goes in Shreveport and is the author of Cane River Bohemia: Cammie Henry and her Circle at Melrose Plantation. Follow her on Instagram @patbecker25 and Twitter @paustin110.

Under The Fedora on Monday “Moderate” Opinion, Why Dems Attack, Selling China Rice, The Church following the rules, and a Pat’s still bring fear

Posted: December 1, 2019 by datechguy in Always look at the bright side of Trump, business, culture, economy, media, News/opinion, nfl, politics, Sports, trade, under the fedora
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If you want to know why people don’t give “Moderate” Muslims the benefit of the doubt this is why

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

It wasn’t long ago when such a piece would be too fringe even for the Guardian.

I think this tweet is the single best political justification for the media/left’s actions on Trump that I’ve read

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

if you are the party out of power looking to regain it the last thing you want is for the people being “the happiest they’ve ever been” when your foes are in charge.

At the Doug Ross Journal (where I found the above tweet) I saw something that jumped out at me.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

It turns out this isn’t a new story:

The U.S. can now ship rice to China for the first time ever, signaling a win for President Donald Trump in his efforts to reshape the trade relationship just after talks between the nations broke down Wednesday.
Officials from the nations finalized a protocol to allow for the first-ever American shipments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a statement. China is the world’s biggest rice consumer, importer and producer.

That’s from 2017 and this is from Feb

While there’s no guarantee, farmers and millers are increasingly optimistic because the Chinese ban has been lifted, a handful of U.S. rice mills have been cleared for export, and China is looking to make the Trump administration happy with commodity purchases.
It was in December that China took a major step toward making that happen, changing its customs regs and officially lifting its ban on U.S. rice. Separately, China has now officially cleared seven of the 34 U.S. rice mills that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has asked China to certify under the country’s sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, U.S. industry and government officials tell Agri-Pulse. The remaining mills are still under Chinese consideration, sources say.

Oddly I don’t remember reading it before. Remember Media Bias isn’t just what gets reported, it’s what gets promoted.

Apparently a judge in Michigan believes it’s discrimination when a catholic priest decides not to enable her in a state of mortal sin to commit further mortal sin.

Judge Sara Smolenski, the chief judge of Michigan’s 63rd District Court, received a call from the priest at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, requesting she not attend communion.
“This is not about me against the priest, and it’s not really me against the church,” Smolenski told CNN. “This feels like selective discrimination. Why choose gay people, and why now?”
Smolenski, 62, said that the Rev. Scott Nolan, the priest at St. Stephen for approximately three years, called her on November 23 and told her, “‘It was good to see you in church on Sunday. Because you and Linda are married in the state of Michigan, I’d like you to respect the church and not come to communion.’”

Actually given the Pope we have the idea of a church actually enforcing the rules of the church might actually be newsworthy.

Finally thanks to my injury I was able to watch the entire Patriots game this weekend and see them one guy keeping his balance on an onside kick away from a shot at yet another miracle comeback.

It’s a testament to what Brady has done in the past that when they managed to score the 2nd of the three scores they needed for a chance that even with under a minute to go and no time outs kicking the ball that you could hear double in the voices of the announcers in a game that should have been over and feel fear in the stadium after Edelman caught that touchdown, but in reality the Texan response was classic Patriot defense by a former Pats defensive coordinator, leave the other team just enough space and just enough time to get close but still lose.

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