Unless you have been asleep for a while, everyone heard this week that Bret Favre, quarterback of the Green Bay packers football team, has announce his retirement after 17 years in the league. He will be missed.
I won't bore you with all of Favre's stats, that's easy to look up if you are interested. Suffice it to say that he was a prolific quarterback, holds several important records, was Pro Bowl and All-Pro several times, made it to the Super Bowl twice and won the coveted game once.....something Dan Marino, Jim Kelly and several top-notch quarterbacks never did.
No, what I will remember about Favre was not the records and stats, but how he played the game. He loved to play the game, loved to take chances, and he loved to win. Favre was tough, too. He holds the record for consecutive starts for a quarterback in regular seasons and when including playoffs as well. Guts. A certain confident air about him. A player that endeared himself to the public for his grit, determination and will to win. We love winners. We loved Favre.
Now, at age 38, Favre is calling it a career. He says he has lost the passion for the game and it is time to move on.....even after coming back this past year from a tough year in 2006 to post one of his best years in 2007.
But has Favre really retired? For someone who has shown the passion he has for the game for these so many years, what will happen when the regular season approaches again late this summer/early fall. Will the lure be too much for him to be able to set aside a part of his life that has been so important to him? It will be interesting to see. Other athletes retire and come back. Will Favre be one of them, or can he really move on the the next step of his life which he richly deserves?
In any case......and for now.....we wish Favre good luck, and extent many thanks for the joy of watching this great man play a great game. Favre was a player's player, a man's man, and a fan's thrill. Good luck to one of the best, if not the best.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Let's Go 'A Few Rounds'....
Well, it's been a while since I felt compelled to add something to this blog. Not much happening in our small community, but not so in our neighboring town, Las Vegas. The past three weeks have seen many a news program devoted to reports of shootings at or near several high schools there, and it does not seem to be getting any better.
What is wrong here? What is becoming of our society? Sixteen-year-olds are shooting one another, and for what reason? As usual I have my own opinions, and they probably differ from yours, but, hey, it's my blog!
First, am I an anti-gun, anti-NRA nut? Not by any stretch of the imagination. You see, I was raised in small rural communities in Oregon where to own a gun and to use it for sport and protection were a way of life, second nature if you will. The big difference was that we were trained to use the weapons properly and safely by our fathers, uncles and Granddads. The guns were not just left laying around. And if we killed an animal, we damned well ate it. Hunting was a secondary food source.......same with fishing. Even now I own a gun. Remember, we live in a small rural community where wild coyotes still roam free. We have even lost one of our dear pets (cat) when he strayed too far from the house at the wrong time. Now we have a chain link fence to keep the pets in and the wild critters out. Still, we have a gun in the house, just in case.
But what about now? Kids get their hands on guns and express anger by going out and shooting people. I do believe there is something to the 'suggestions' that TV, movies and those crazy video games desensitize our youth from the meaning of taking someone else's life. Kids kill freely on the video games with no remorse, and it seems there is no remorse in real life killings either. It's just a game.....a deadly game.
Just how bad is it? The other night I was watching the news when a report came on that back east or midwest.....I forget where.....about some kids who were having a snowball fight. One of the snowballs was over-thrown and it hit a neighbor. The neighbor went to the the house and got a gun. When the young boy tried to apologize to the neighbor, the boy was shot and killed!
Even communications are in trouble. This morning, Dear Abby had a letter about a girl whose boyfriend ended their relationship (dumped her) by sending her a text message! He didn't even have the guts (read that as 'communication skills) to face her and tell her why!
What has the world come to? What can be done about it? Do we adopt a gun law where no one can have weapons? That is not the answer, Folks. Bad guys will always be able to get weapons, gun law or no gun law. All a gun law would do really is take the guns out of the hands of people like you and me, and the bad guys would still have theirs. Great!
We have to get back to teaching our youth what life is all about. We need to show them the way, like we did in the past. If you want to get rid of something or enact a law, ban the video games. Make death mean something again. Make life mean even more.
It used to be that when women gave birth, and they were working at the time, a maternity leave of weeks (even months) was not uncommon. Now, some mothers are back to work in what seems like hours. We leave child rearing up to baby sitters, pre-schools, teachers, and, of course, TV, movies and video games. Let's just entertain them and get them out of our way. We don't have the time for our youth anymore, so they cannot and do not learn our values.
Is it any wonder we are headed in the direction we are with today's society? I have a hunch that it will get worse instead of better. And who is to blame? We all are.............Think about it.
What is wrong here? What is becoming of our society? Sixteen-year-olds are shooting one another, and for what reason? As usual I have my own opinions, and they probably differ from yours, but, hey, it's my blog!
First, am I an anti-gun, anti-NRA nut? Not by any stretch of the imagination. You see, I was raised in small rural communities in Oregon where to own a gun and to use it for sport and protection were a way of life, second nature if you will. The big difference was that we were trained to use the weapons properly and safely by our fathers, uncles and Granddads. The guns were not just left laying around. And if we killed an animal, we damned well ate it. Hunting was a secondary food source.......same with fishing. Even now I own a gun. Remember, we live in a small rural community where wild coyotes still roam free. We have even lost one of our dear pets (cat) when he strayed too far from the house at the wrong time. Now we have a chain link fence to keep the pets in and the wild critters out. Still, we have a gun in the house, just in case.
But what about now? Kids get their hands on guns and express anger by going out and shooting people. I do believe there is something to the 'suggestions' that TV, movies and those crazy video games desensitize our youth from the meaning of taking someone else's life. Kids kill freely on the video games with no remorse, and it seems there is no remorse in real life killings either. It's just a game.....a deadly game.
Just how bad is it? The other night I was watching the news when a report came on that back east or midwest.....I forget where.....about some kids who were having a snowball fight. One of the snowballs was over-thrown and it hit a neighbor. The neighbor went to the the house and got a gun. When the young boy tried to apologize to the neighbor, the boy was shot and killed!
Even communications are in trouble. This morning, Dear Abby had a letter about a girl whose boyfriend ended their relationship (dumped her) by sending her a text message! He didn't even have the guts (read that as 'communication skills) to face her and tell her why!
What has the world come to? What can be done about it? Do we adopt a gun law where no one can have weapons? That is not the answer, Folks. Bad guys will always be able to get weapons, gun law or no gun law. All a gun law would do really is take the guns out of the hands of people like you and me, and the bad guys would still have theirs. Great!
We have to get back to teaching our youth what life is all about. We need to show them the way, like we did in the past. If you want to get rid of something or enact a law, ban the video games. Make death mean something again. Make life mean even more.
It used to be that when women gave birth, and they were working at the time, a maternity leave of weeks (even months) was not uncommon. Now, some mothers are back to work in what seems like hours. We leave child rearing up to baby sitters, pre-schools, teachers, and, of course, TV, movies and video games. Let's just entertain them and get them out of our way. We don't have the time for our youth anymore, so they cannot and do not learn our values.
Is it any wonder we are headed in the direction we are with today's society? I have a hunch that it will get worse instead of better. And who is to blame? We all are.............Think about it.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Ahhhh....Politics
Super Tuesday, or Super-Duper Tuesday......Although the Republicans are beginning to show preference for John McCain as their candidate, the Democrats yesterday settled very little, leaving that battle still up for grabs. Congratulations to McCain on his showing. The GOP maverick won in nine states, including all of the winner-take-all contests and garnered 423 delegates while Romney won in 7 states and received only 130 delegates. Quite impressive for a candidate who is deemed not conservative enough for some GOP bigwigs.
The Democratic race, however, was confusing to me. Hillary won 8 states, Obama won 13. Hillary picked up states with larger delegate counts and got 471 delegates to 437 for Obama. The popular vote was a virtual tie. Hillary was aided by her appeal to women, Latinos and older white males. Obama won over the youth vote (18-29 yr-old), Black vote and made a good showing in the overall white vote. The results really settled nothing and this thing may go down to the wire at the Convention. The GOP race will be settled long before that.
There was some interesting political analysis on ABC during the coverage last night, one in particular. Although Hillary and Obama are locked tight in this duel, it was pointed out that Hillary is campaigning on the 'change' issue as a change from the Bush (and GOP) administration, while Obama is campaigning on the broader issue of change from politics itself and the way politics are conducted in modern day society. Interesting. Could that fundamental difference be the deciding factor as this race moves forward?
No matter. Either one will definitely be a change from the current administration and it looks like that will happen. In my opinion, the GOP does not stand a chance come November if history repeats itself. No administration or party has retained the White House when the election year begins with an economic recession.....never.
The (Democratic) fight is not over yet. The war has just begun, and that was proven with Super Tuesday. Batten down the hatches and get ready. Let's just hope the two candidates, Hillary and Obama, play nice and don't rip the party apart in the process.
The Democratic race, however, was confusing to me. Hillary won 8 states, Obama won 13. Hillary picked up states with larger delegate counts and got 471 delegates to 437 for Obama. The popular vote was a virtual tie. Hillary was aided by her appeal to women, Latinos and older white males. Obama won over the youth vote (18-29 yr-old), Black vote and made a good showing in the overall white vote. The results really settled nothing and this thing may go down to the wire at the Convention. The GOP race will be settled long before that.
There was some interesting political analysis on ABC during the coverage last night, one in particular. Although Hillary and Obama are locked tight in this duel, it was pointed out that Hillary is campaigning on the 'change' issue as a change from the Bush (and GOP) administration, while Obama is campaigning on the broader issue of change from politics itself and the way politics are conducted in modern day society. Interesting. Could that fundamental difference be the deciding factor as this race moves forward?
No matter. Either one will definitely be a change from the current administration and it looks like that will happen. In my opinion, the GOP does not stand a chance come November if history repeats itself. No administration or party has retained the White House when the election year begins with an economic recession.....never.
The (Democratic) fight is not over yet. The war has just begun, and that was proven with Super Tuesday. Batten down the hatches and get ready. Let's just hope the two candidates, Hillary and Obama, play nice and don't rip the party apart in the process.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Fight is On
Tomorrow will be interesting. It's time for the Nevada Caucus, and it looks like it will be a close fight for both the Democrats and Republicans. Hillary wins, then Barak wins. Mitt wins, then McCain wins. What will Nevada bring? Everyone seems to be touting the same issues. I just hope the winner(s) can deliver.
That's an interesting thought. Can any candidate deliver on promises? Remember, the President can do very little other than veto a measure once it passes the Senate and the House. He or she cannot enact the measures themselves and must rely on the Congress to get their bidding done. No matter what, we will still have the same old politics in place and we will still be paying $500 for hammers and $300 for toilet seats. With this cold weather, I hope the seats are warmed!
Congrats are in order for Hillary for her comeback win in Michigan. She 'found her voice' and refused to roll over. She doesn't do that for Bill either....roll over, that is.......;-).
By the way, it is well know that John McCain, as a prisoner of war, spent 5 1/2 years in prison, then went into politics. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around! Politics first, then prison........?? Hm-m-m-m-m-m-mmm.
Don't forget to get out and vote. If you don't, then you have nothing to complain about if your candidate doesn't make it.
That's an interesting thought. Can any candidate deliver on promises? Remember, the President can do very little other than veto a measure once it passes the Senate and the House. He or she cannot enact the measures themselves and must rely on the Congress to get their bidding done. No matter what, we will still have the same old politics in place and we will still be paying $500 for hammers and $300 for toilet seats. With this cold weather, I hope the seats are warmed!
Congrats are in order for Hillary for her comeback win in Michigan. She 'found her voice' and refused to roll over. She doesn't do that for Bill either....roll over, that is.......;-).
By the way, it is well know that John McCain, as a prisoner of war, spent 5 1/2 years in prison, then went into politics. I thought it was supposed to be the other way around! Politics first, then prison........?? Hm-m-m-m-m-m-mmm.
Don't forget to get out and vote. If you don't, then you have nothing to complain about if your candidate doesn't make it.
Monday, January 7, 2008
What a Scam.....
Last night, I was watching TV and one of those info-mercials came on advertising $5 gold pieces. Perhaps you have seen it also. It sounded so good, but when you put a pencil to it, this thing looks like a scam! The particulars:
The ad is by the 'National Mint' and is advertising newly minted $5 gold coins (supposedly legal tender) for a discounted price of only $109 each. The kicker of it is that you have to buy a minimum of 5 coins ($545 total) to get that 'unbelievable' price. What's so unbelievable is that anyone would think this is a great deal! Follow along with me now, and I will show you why this is not such a good deal.
First, the gold content of each coin is 1/10 ounce. At the gold futures price on the market today, gold was trading in the range of $860 per ounce, making each coin worth a raw value of $86.....not the 'unbelievable' value of $109 they claim. If you bought a coin today and had to sell it tomorrow, you would lose $23 per coin if you could get the full value of the gold market. Coin dealers are not prone to give you full value, even for gold. They have to make a profit, too, you know!
Even if you could get full value for the gold, prices for gold would have to increase a full 20% for you to just break even on your investment. In other words, gold prices would have to climb to over $1030 per ounce just to get you money back.
What about added value for the coins being categorized as rare coins? I would tend to think not. They are newly minted. Seldom, if ever, do newly minted coins gain the prestige of being classified as rare coins right from the beginning. Now, if these were $10 gold pieces from the early 1900's, that would be another story, because you would be placing value on rarity along with the ultimate value of gold.
Wow! What a deal! I get to invest $109 to get a coin worth $86 and only lose $23 in the process. If some of you out there think this is such a good deal, let me know. I have some 'beach front' property here in the desert of Nevada. We all know that California will some day slip into the ocean, and Hey!, some day you will have the ocean right at your doorstep. Think how valuable that would be. Of course, you may have to wait a little while..............
The ad is by the 'National Mint' and is advertising newly minted $5 gold coins (supposedly legal tender) for a discounted price of only $109 each. The kicker of it is that you have to buy a minimum of 5 coins ($545 total) to get that 'unbelievable' price. What's so unbelievable is that anyone would think this is a great deal! Follow along with me now, and I will show you why this is not such a good deal.
First, the gold content of each coin is 1/10 ounce. At the gold futures price on the market today, gold was trading in the range of $860 per ounce, making each coin worth a raw value of $86.....not the 'unbelievable' value of $109 they claim. If you bought a coin today and had to sell it tomorrow, you would lose $23 per coin if you could get the full value of the gold market. Coin dealers are not prone to give you full value, even for gold. They have to make a profit, too, you know!
Even if you could get full value for the gold, prices for gold would have to increase a full 20% for you to just break even on your investment. In other words, gold prices would have to climb to over $1030 per ounce just to get you money back.
What about added value for the coins being categorized as rare coins? I would tend to think not. They are newly minted. Seldom, if ever, do newly minted coins gain the prestige of being classified as rare coins right from the beginning. Now, if these were $10 gold pieces from the early 1900's, that would be another story, because you would be placing value on rarity along with the ultimate value of gold.
Wow! What a deal! I get to invest $109 to get a coin worth $86 and only lose $23 in the process. If some of you out there think this is such a good deal, let me know. I have some 'beach front' property here in the desert of Nevada. We all know that California will some day slip into the ocean, and Hey!, some day you will have the ocean right at your doorstep. Think how valuable that would be. Of course, you may have to wait a little while..............
Friday, January 4, 2008
In The Beginning.....
In the beginning of the New Year, that is.....Well, the new year is indeed upon us. The holiday season seemed to come and go so fast this year. It hardly left any time to do much. The middle of December did bring new joy to our family, though. We welcomed another granddaughter on Dec. 13th and our first great grandchild....a boy...on Dec. 16th! Both are doing well, I am glad to say!! That will make the holidays in the years ahead even more special. Let's hope you all had the same type of excitement and joy in your life this season!
The one thing that this time of year brings....football!! And for those of you who love basketball, the season is just starting out and teams are beginning to show what is in store for later in the year when they have their playoffs. As for football, we are brought the end of both college and football seasons with bowl game after bowl game and the NFL playoffs. By the way, congratulations to the New England Patriots who finished their regular season undefeated, going 16-0 for the first time a team has done that in history. But who will remember how important and difficult it was if they do not complete their year undefeated and win the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, we sports fans tend to forget losers, and if the Pats do not win out for the rest of the season, their accomplishments will go down as just a foot note. Don't believe me? The last team to go undefeated in regular and post season play was the Miami Dolphins in 1972.......36 years ago. They posted an impressive 17-0 season and won the Super Bowl. The question is who did they beat in the Super Bowl?! Most of us don't remember or don't care because they lost.
Bowl Games. Are there too many? I think so. It used to be that you got up on New Year's day (if you could get up!) and watched a bit of the Rose Parade from Pasadena, then satisfied your need to watch a lot of football in one day by taking on the real important bowls: the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Then you had a bit of reprieve before the big one came on that was traditionally the last major bowl and what was supposed to crown the national champion for the year, the Orange Bowl.
Now, they have bowl games lasting for over a week, and everyone and his brother/sister is sponsoring a bowl game. GMAC Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, Independence Bowl, etc, etc. Some stretch it out for far to get teams to fill the game that teams with a .500 record are eligible. I saw a game the other day where two teams with 7-6 and 6-5 records were playing. It was so bad......I think it was the Toilet Bowl. We need to get back to just the major bowls and make it mean something to have played well enough during the year to be invited to a bowl game.
Alas, for the football fan it will soon end. Today, Friday Jan. 4th, is the first day in the last week that there will be no bowl game played. After next week, college football fans will be without and they will go into withdrawal. I have heard it is even tougher to quit than smoking!
Special Note: Past blogs have centered mainly around sports. However, my New Year's resolution is to expand the scope of this blog into other areas and beginning next week I will be posting articles on different subjects, some of which will be posted to article directories as well. We will try to keep the subjects informative and entertaining and not quite so focused on sports. That is our aim, our resolution. But, then again, how many of you have kept your resolutions so far this year? How about last year? At least we are going to try.....
The one thing that this time of year brings....football!! And for those of you who love basketball, the season is just starting out and teams are beginning to show what is in store for later in the year when they have their playoffs. As for football, we are brought the end of both college and football seasons with bowl game after bowl game and the NFL playoffs. By the way, congratulations to the New England Patriots who finished their regular season undefeated, going 16-0 for the first time a team has done that in history. But who will remember how important and difficult it was if they do not complete their year undefeated and win the Super Bowl? Unfortunately, we sports fans tend to forget losers, and if the Pats do not win out for the rest of the season, their accomplishments will go down as just a foot note. Don't believe me? The last team to go undefeated in regular and post season play was the Miami Dolphins in 1972.......36 years ago. They posted an impressive 17-0 season and won the Super Bowl. The question is who did they beat in the Super Bowl?! Most of us don't remember or don't care because they lost.
Bowl Games. Are there too many? I think so. It used to be that you got up on New Year's day (if you could get up!) and watched a bit of the Rose Parade from Pasadena, then satisfied your need to watch a lot of football in one day by taking on the real important bowls: the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Then you had a bit of reprieve before the big one came on that was traditionally the last major bowl and what was supposed to crown the national champion for the year, the Orange Bowl.
Now, they have bowl games lasting for over a week, and everyone and his brother/sister is sponsoring a bowl game. GMAC Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, Independence Bowl, etc, etc. Some stretch it out for far to get teams to fill the game that teams with a .500 record are eligible. I saw a game the other day where two teams with 7-6 and 6-5 records were playing. It was so bad......I think it was the Toilet Bowl. We need to get back to just the major bowls and make it mean something to have played well enough during the year to be invited to a bowl game.
Alas, for the football fan it will soon end. Today, Friday Jan. 4th, is the first day in the last week that there will be no bowl game played. After next week, college football fans will be without and they will go into withdrawal. I have heard it is even tougher to quit than smoking!
Special Note: Past blogs have centered mainly around sports. However, my New Year's resolution is to expand the scope of this blog into other areas and beginning next week I will be posting articles on different subjects, some of which will be posted to article directories as well. We will try to keep the subjects informative and entertaining and not quite so focused on sports. That is our aim, our resolution. But, then again, how many of you have kept your resolutions so far this year? How about last year? At least we are going to try.....
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
The World on Steroids
With the holiday season(s) upon us, it has been some time since posting last. It all seems so hectic these days to have the time...or is it that the older we get, the faster time gets away from us?!
No doubt most of you have heard of or read excerpts from the Mitchell Report. The report exposes certain of our baseball heroes, past and present, to the use of steroids and HGH (human growth hormones) in order to gain an athletic advantage. Some of the players named have admitted the use of these banned substances, some have emphatically denied it. To those who deny their use, I say show patience and allow the rest of the process to unfold. All should be deemed innocent until proven guilty....that is the American way.
However.....and a big however it is.....since this is the Christmas season, what about Santa Claus and his reindeer?! Have you ever seen a real reindeer? They are shaggy looking beasts and not near as cute as all the media hype at this time of year happens to show.
So-o-o......how can these un-cute creatures pull Santa's sled and make it fly? Steroids, I say! How else can they get that high for that long, and cover the entire earth in a single night? Not being the speediest of animals, these reindeer of Santa's would have to be traveling several thousand miles per hour to get the job done. If one of our revered athletes were to show this kind of performance enhancement, they would be surely crucified by the media and be the headline topic in the next Mitchell Report!
And what about this Rudolph reindeer with his nose so bright? When was the last time you saw a nose so red, when your partner had too much to drink after the Christmas party? So is Rudolph not only on steroids, but has a drinking problem, too? That may explain why I didn't get what I wanted last year.
But as I said, we have to be tolerant and give the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty. It may be time to form our own Mitchell report, set up a committee and begin mandatory testing for these super athletes called reindeer. Let them 'do their thing into the urine cup.' Then we would know for sure.
Flying around, indeed! Steroids, I say!
Happy Holidays!!
No doubt most of you have heard of or read excerpts from the Mitchell Report. The report exposes certain of our baseball heroes, past and present, to the use of steroids and HGH (human growth hormones) in order to gain an athletic advantage. Some of the players named have admitted the use of these banned substances, some have emphatically denied it. To those who deny their use, I say show patience and allow the rest of the process to unfold. All should be deemed innocent until proven guilty....that is the American way.
However.....and a big however it is.....since this is the Christmas season, what about Santa Claus and his reindeer?! Have you ever seen a real reindeer? They are shaggy looking beasts and not near as cute as all the media hype at this time of year happens to show.
So-o-o......how can these un-cute creatures pull Santa's sled and make it fly? Steroids, I say! How else can they get that high for that long, and cover the entire earth in a single night? Not being the speediest of animals, these reindeer of Santa's would have to be traveling several thousand miles per hour to get the job done. If one of our revered athletes were to show this kind of performance enhancement, they would be surely crucified by the media and be the headline topic in the next Mitchell Report!
And what about this Rudolph reindeer with his nose so bright? When was the last time you saw a nose so red, when your partner had too much to drink after the Christmas party? So is Rudolph not only on steroids, but has a drinking problem, too? That may explain why I didn't get what I wanted last year.
But as I said, we have to be tolerant and give the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty. It may be time to form our own Mitchell report, set up a committee and begin mandatory testing for these super athletes called reindeer. Let them 'do their thing into the urine cup.' Then we would know for sure.
Flying around, indeed! Steroids, I say!
Happy Holidays!!
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