Get rid of professional all-star games

Tonight, the NBA will hold their annual all-star game which is actually more of a glorified street ball game than an actual contest. I am not even sure defense is allowed to be played or else a player will be given a technical foul! And the same holds true of other all-star games. The NFL all-star game was a complete joke! I have seen more effort at a local park with a bunch of fat guys playing touch football. About the only one that really resembles a contest is the major league baseball game.

I have often wondered why pro sports even have all-star games. I’m sure it is a great honor for a player to be picked for the game but the level of effort at these games is really sad to see. For example, the NBA is playing a condensed schedule this year with many games in a short period of time. Do you think a player will go all out in one of these meaningless all-star games? I certainly would not. I would save my legs for the more important games coming up and not risk getting hurt. That was very apparent during the NFL game last month. The intensity level of that game was alarming. I would have rather watched a bowling match!

There is probably no real solution other than to simply cut these games out. If a want to watch a bunch of NBA all-stars play together, I will watch the Olympics.  The thought of watching a bunch of athletes play half heartedly  in a game that does not mean anything is not appealing to me. It is time for the major sports to scrap their all-star games or dramatically do something to make them more meaningful and interesting.

 

 

 

What would you give up for Lent?

Every year at this time, people talk about what they are going to give up for Lent.  Perhaps, it is a certain food item or maybe a particular luxury like watching television or heavens forbid, logging onto Facebook. I know that would be very difficult for many folks including myself. But the whole idea behind Lent is to give up a certain thing or part of your life for those 6 weeks between Ash Wednesday and the day before good Friday. So what would you give up for Lent?

I have never particularly given up anything for Lent despite the fact that I consider myself a Christian.  But I admire those people who feel the need to make those sacrifices because that is what Jesus did just before he was crucified.  He spent 40 days fasting and his example is something more people should look at.

For instance, getting back to Facebook. I know millions of people are addicted to that silly little website. Suppose you stopped using it for 6 weeks. Would you be able to survive and go on with your life? At first you may say no way!! I love my Facebook and could not survive those 40 days without it. Oh really?!! I know it is a really fun site for many people but look at all the time a person may spend on that site. Maybe there is a better use of your time like helping a family member out or an elderly neighbor across the street.

Or maybe you have a liking for drinking alcoholic beverages. I hear so many people say they are giving up drinking for Lent. By not drinking, you may actually be helping your own health. Maybe after the 6 week period is up, you will find it a lot easier to quit drinking. I personally know people who have done that.

Suppose someone  sat down and really looked at those things they may consider giving up for Lent. Are they really needed in your life? If I had to give up anything for Lent it might be ice cream. I love ice cream but could easily do without it. I could become healthier by not eating it and my grocery bill would be a little smaller each month. Maybe I could use the money I save to send to some charity and help some kid in need.

For those practicing the Christian religion, the period of Lent is all about making sacrifices in your own life so that you can grow and become a more disciplined person. And at the same time,  focusing your attention on what the Christian faith is all about.

 

The voter ID debate

In just about every election these days, the dirty f word, fraud, is bound to come up.  For instance, how could names and addresses of registered voters not even exist when an investigation takes place? I know it has happened in this state. And there are always those cases when a bunch of ballots suddenly show up and many of them are in favor of a certain candidate. You would have to be very naive to believe that voter fraud does not happen.

In an effort to help curb this problem, many states are requiring people to show a picture id before they go in and vote.  While this is not the full proofed way of preventing all fraud from happening, it can go a long way for eliminating a good portion of it. Yet, there are several people who claim this method will discriminate against lower-income people, older people and college students.

I think that argument is a bunch of crap! First of all, this is the 21st century. How hard is it to get a picture id? You are required to produce a picture id for so many things. Something as important as voting should require an id. It’s a no-brainer!! When I go in and get my license renewed, the bureau place takes a photo of me. Why can’t we issue special id cards for those folks who do not have a photo id? I’m  sure there has to be some way of producing a photo id of everyone who wants to vote. Maybe it is not as simple as I make it out to be but getting a card with a picture on it should not be that difficult for crying out loud!!

Of course a lot of  this deals with partisan politics. Naturally, Democrats are opposed and Republicans are in favor. The thought is this will lower the turnout among poor people and help the Republicans.  I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, this is even an issue. If there is a will to vote, there should be a way.  Of course, it really boils down to people taking the incentive to actually get a picture id. The real issue is why more folks do not have one and what is their excuse.

 

Religious liberty and government mandates

The recent news of the controversy involving the Catholic church and the Obama administration regarding contraceptives brings up some very interesting points about how far the government should go in forcing mandates on people and institutions.

I personally feel it was a horrible blunder and very insensitive on the part of the administration to force this mandate on Catholic institutions. Every religion has certain guidelines and principles that they follow and teach. Apparently, the Obama administration figured they were above these things by forcing a mandate on those institutions.  You have to wonder if he would have done the same thing to a Muslim institution. Seriously!!  Thankfully and to his credit, he did kind of changed his stance but is it right to force insurance companies to cover contraceptives and force the premiums to go up?

Maybe while he is at it, Obama can force insurance companies to cover other areas such as pedicures, manicures, nose jobs, eye brow waxing, you name it! I thought health insurance was to cover major health issues like heart diseases and cancer. I can see in the very near future when full term abortion will be a required to be covered and imagine the controversy that would bring. That would be totally wrong!

These mandates are just the start of what could happen in this country in the very near future.  Forcing mandates on religious places is not the American way and not very constitutional.  A great thing about this country is the fact that we can have great religious freedom without  government intervention. Hopefully this can continue in the future.  The latest mandate will be remembered by this voter in November.

Finding my valentine on the net

These days, more and more people are using the internet in hopes of finding that special someone.  Contrary to popular opinion, you can meet wonderful singles on the internet. Sure there are many losers and people who lie about themselves, but there are many good ones out there too.  I want to share my story about how I met my girlfriend Audrey online.

We met of all places, a social network site which really isn’t know for hooking up people.  It was just before Christmas 2009, when I received a friends request from a young lady in Michigan. She was a very attractive woman with the nicest blue eyes.  At first, I was a little suspicious because there are so many fake pages on social sites that go after singles.  But I checked her page and profile and she was definitely legit.  I was very excited to be meeting an attractive younger woman. She is some 20+ years younger than I am.

At first, we exchanged emails nearly every day. I was very impressed with the speed that she got back to me after I sent her an email.  We got to know some general stuff about each other. She seemed to be very smart and articulate.  Eventually we started to talk on the phone as well as exchange text messages. We really wanted to meet each other in person so I agreed to travel over to Michigan for a weekend. It was Memorial Day weekend of 2010.

I was somewhat nervous and very excited to finally meet her.  She was very excited as well. I left early on a Thursday morning for that long 630 mile journey to her town in north central Michigan. I actually drove the whole distance in one day and arrived in the early evening.  I texted her when I got there and we finally met after I unwinded following the long trip.  When I saw her, I was very impressed. She gave me a nice big hug and I felt so at ease. It was like  we had know each other for years.  We spent a lot of the weekend together and I even got to meet her parents for the first time. It was a very special weekend for both of us. I didn’t want to leave but I was extremely happy traveling back to Minnesota after a weekend like that.

About a month after that weekend, I went through a very difficult experience in my life and she fly in to see me.  She showed me how caring and wonderful she is by doing that.  She was there for me when my chips were extremely down. I doubt many women would of done what she did after just meeting a guy.

We are approaching nearly 2 years of seeing each other and our future looks very bright together. She is planning on eventually moving to Minnesota to be with me.  Without the internet, this probably would of never happened. It is like some kind of fate that we met. But so many couples can say that too. It is funny how cupid comes out of nowhere and sets up people to be happy together.

 

Linsanity hits the sporting world

First there was Tebowmania, now the sports scene around the country has another upstart athlete to pay attention to. His name is Jeremy Lin and he could very well be the next big superstar in the NBA, but unlike many of the big stars, this kid has basically come out of nowhere.

This country loves underdogs in sports and there is no greater example than Lin.  Up until about a week ago, I had never heard of this guy at all.  He was just another college player, never drafted and cut by a few teams. Somehow, he ended up with Knicks.  I recall watching Sports Center and seeing some unknown point guard for the Knicks pour in 23 in a game last weekend and not really thinking much about it. After all, the Knicks have terrible point guards so maybe this was just a one time occurrence. But Lin backed up it with a few more great games and suddenly he was creating a buzz in the sports world. Suddenly, this guy who was sleeping on his brother’s couch in New York since joining the Knicks, is the talk of the NBA.

Last Friday night, I decided to check out the Lakers vs Knicks game to see first and foremost who this kid is. And believe me, I was very impressed! Seeing him tear up Kobe and the Lakers was very special to see. You just had to be cheering for this guy!! I got goosebumps just watching and seeing the excitement he generated in the Garden and from the nation.

I have no idea if this will continue for Lin but this guy can play. He is a big inspiration to many border line players around the league and other sports too. He could of given up after being cut by two teams but he believed in himself and never gave up. Eventually his time came and he is making the best of it.  He is one of the better sports stories to come about in a long time and a big inspiration to many athletes. I just hope he can continue this play and become an all star.

Remembering Whitney Houston

Like many people, I was stunned to hear of the death of Whitney Houston last night.  It is sad when someone that young, beautiful and talented finds their life cut short at such an early age.

Houston pretty much came of age in the mid 80′s.  I was in college during that time and her countless hits bring back some many fond and not so fond memories of those days in my life.  It was impossible not to turn on any pop music station and listen for more than an hour without hearing a song from her. She was about as big an icon during the 80′s and 90′s as any artist was. I was not a huge fan of her’s but admired that awesome singing voice. Maybe one of the best of all time.

Unfortunately in recent years, many negative stories have been linked to her name.  Stories of drug abuse have somewhat tarnished her image and who can forget the very rough marriage she had with Bobby Brown.  The tabloids had a field day with that relationship. Despite having all that success, she appeared to be a woman who had many problems and battles in her life.  Perhaps those issues eventually lead to her death.

Whitney Houston may be gone but her music lives forever. It is really sad that a woman who sang so passionately about love dies just before Valentine’s Day. She will easily go down as one of the greatest singers of all time.

Thoughts on the Republican nominee battle

Tomorrow is the day when the great people of this state, Minnesota,  hold their caucus to pick the Republican nominee. It has been quite a war so far with what, about 546 debates so far, endless accusations and mud-slinging. But now it appears to be pretty much a two-man race, which may change with Rick Santorum appearing to be picking up steam.  He many even win our state’s nomination.

Actually,  I believe all the candidates left are very solid and have some great ideas that I support.  I love Mitt Romney’s background in the private sector and his ability to balance the budget of his state without raising taxes. Newt Gingrich has many years of experience in Washington and his toughness and good conservative values are impressive as well. Santorum and Ron Paul have a good platform as well although I believe Paul’s foreign policy might be a little extreme. But essentially, Romney appears to be in the driver’s seat to get the nomination although anything can change in the next few months.

The whole idea is to pick a candidate that has the best chance to be Obama and it appears Romney may be that guy in my opinion.  In any election 1/3 of people will vote Democrat, 1/3 Republican no matter who the candidate is. The key is to pursuade the remaining 1/3 and Romney appears to be that guy.  He has a strong record as a governor and plenty of money for campaigning.  If you think his attack ads against Gingrich are bad, imagine what they will be like against Obama. And he will have plenty of them, believe me!!

On the negative side, Obama no doubt will run a class warfare campaign and  the revelation that Romney paid only 15 percent of his total income on taxes will be an issue, albeit all legal and within the system. But the average middle Joe or Jane out there doesn’t understand that and he may get the image as just some rich tax dodging millionaire. I can just see the Democrats coming out with bumper stickers saying,  ” I paid more taxes than Mitt Romney”.  His universal health care plan for his state is very much like Obama’s plan and that will be another issue as well.  His argument that it only fit his state is something he will have to hammer home with the voters.

I really like Newt Gingrich but the former Speaker of the House has some serious baggage issues, not necessarily with his past marriages, but with his time served as the Speaker. His ethic violations and criticism about his leaderships style, even coming from Bob Dole, is a concern . But I like his experience and seeing him debate  Obama would be a treat.

Late in the summer, a candidate will be picked. Then the real battle will begin in what promises to be one of the toughest presidential races of all time. Will the Republicans pick the right guy or are we in for another four more years of Obama? It should be very interesting to say the least!!

5 ways to improve Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday has always been one of my favorite sports days of the year.  Not only is it the championship game of the most popular sport in the land, it also has many so many little side events that keep everyone entertained.  Non-football viewers can be greatly entertained as well. Heck, even my girlfriend who hasn’t watched a football game all year will tune in.  So how can this day get even better? Well for starters, having my Minnesota Vikings actually play in this game and umm, win would be the greatest sports day of my life. But in all seriousness, here are 5 things that could improve Super Bowl Sunday.

1. Make the day a national holiday.   When I become president in 2020, my first order will be to make Super Bowl Sunday a national holiday.  This game gets more people and families together than many holidays. It is a special day for the United States and should be honored for being so.

2. Eliminate the lengthy pre-game show.   I’m one of these people who think a half hour pre-game  show is plenty. The network who is covering the game will normally start with their coverage around 5-6 hours ahead of the game. I don’t need multiple people breaking the game down. Instead, cut the show down to about an hour max.

3.  Have the game always at a warm weather site neutral site.  I think the Super Bowl should always be played at the Rose Bowl. I’m sure the cold weather cities do a great job of being hosts but suppose a major snow storm hits the area during the day. Imagine the nightmare that the league would go through? I understand in a few years that the game will be held outside in New York.  I would really chuckle if a blizzard hit! A very silly move by the NFL for choosing a cold weather city for an outdoor game.

4. Better half time shows.  I don’t mind Madonna but she is old school!! Same with The Who, last years performers. Time to consider getting some of the newer current artists a shot.  Also having a contest during halftime where some average Joe or Jane gets a chance to win a million dollars would be great. People really enjoy watching that.

5. Interactive commercial rating poll. Much like the game is a contest, those commercials can be rated by the millions of people around world who are watching. So in case the game is a blowout, people will stay tuned to see who the winner of the best commercial announced at the end of the game.

Those are just some of my ideas. And by the way, I like the Giants to win 27-17.

Remembering Joe Pa

A few months ago, I wrote a few blogs on the Penn St. scandal and how it was a shame that one of the greatest football coaches of all time would eventually lose his job and sure enough, he did.  Shortly after, Joe Paterno was diagnosed with lung cancer, further adding to his misery.  Just this morning,  coach Paterno  lost his bout with that awful disease.

In some ways, it was like God took Paterno out of his misery by taking him from us.  I cannot imagine Paterno was a very happy man after being fired in November.  Coaching at Penn St. was his life, his passion. He didn’t really have any other interests. Golf, hunting, fishing were not things Joe Pa did like many coaches.  His whole life was about football and coaching young men to become better players and better people. Suddenly that passion of his life was taken from him. Whether it was fair or not can be debated.  But you have to admit that it was a very sad way for a great career to end.

As a sports fan, two words come to mind when I think of Paterno, old school. He was about as old schooled as any coach in the land. Those jerseys of his teams have been the same for the last 60 years!! Nothing fancy or flashy about his program.  Those jerseys pretty much symbolized who Paterno was.  Someone who probably went to the Dairy Queen and always bought a vanilla ice cream cone. But that plain nature did produce results with Joe Pa having the most wins of any coach in major college football. He knew how to win and for the most part ran a very good program.

This fall, a new coach will take the field for Penn St. and a new era will begin. But it will just not be the same without that skinny old guy on the sidelines with the funny glasses and ankle high flood pants. He will be missed by all of college football. Sure there will be a black mark on his legacy but he has done so many positive things for college football and Penn State.  I believe over time,  those positive things will far overshadow the scandal and his legacy will be one of a program that produced good results and fine young men.