Saturday, December 28, 2013
New York Times in Desperate Ploy to Save Hilary's Presidential Chances
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 28, 2013 - If it wasn't so potentially important, you'd laugh at it. Over one year after the Benghazi, Libya massacre of four American Citizens, including the U. S. Ambassador to Libya, the New York Times is going to press with a shabby piece of jouranlism that tries to resurrect the anti-Muslim video connection to the attacks.
I admit, up front, that I have not read the Times article as I post this blog at 7:40 pm on Saturday, December 28, 2013, only a USA Today summary of it. The purpose of the piece is to provide cover for Hilary Clinton's upcoming presidential bid. Hilary was directly involved in all phases of the Benghazi cover-up, and the Times article is nothing short of a life-preserver for the as-yet-unannounced campaign. As direct evidence mounts proving that Hilary and obama directly conspired to blame the video for sparking the attacks, Hilary's campaign chances appeared to dim. Within days of the attacks, Hilary and obama stood at Andrews Air Force Base with spouses and parents of the four dead Americans - and with the four coffins standing next to both of them - and expressly blamed the video as the cause of the attacks. Hilary was quoted as telling the father of one of the dead Americans, "I promise you that we will find and prosecute the makers of the video."
In fact, she and obama had spoken by phone within hours of the news that the four Americans were dead, to concoct this explanation for the attacks, after their abject failure to ramp up security at the annex in spite of repeated and increasingly desperate requests for security upgrades from Americans on the ground in Benghazi. These requests were made during the months, weeks and days before the attack. Before, during and after the attacks, obama was campaigning for re-election, and basing his bid in pertinent part on his claim that his killing of Osama bin laden had gutted al Qada and rendered it all but impotent as a source of international Islamic Terrorism. Both Hilary and obama feared that an increase in security at Benghazi would fly in the face of obama's campaign boasts. Only when the four were dead did he finally concede that al Qada was still a force to be reckoned with. In fact, many security analysts have concluded that Osama bin laden had been phased out as a day-to-day leader of al Qada months or years before Navy Seals ambushed and killed the mastermind of the "9/11" massacre of thousands of Americans in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. The intense international manhunt for bin Laden by western nations had made it impossible for al Qada to rely on bin Laden for on-going leadership decisions.
The video was made by a California man and was virtually unknown outside of his inner circle. It had been posted on You Tube for months prior to the Benghazzi Massacre, but had only had several dozen hits.
As Congressional Committees have continued a relentless investigation of the Benghazi Massacre, advisors to Hilary have privately worried that revelations could short-circuit her campaign. This play by the far left-leaning New York Times to turn this investigation into a political battle is intended to throw Hilary a lifeline.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Burnley retakes Championship summit at Christmas
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 23, 2013 - The determined Claret of Burnley will spend Christmas atop the English Championship Table. Midfielder Scott Arfield scored only two minutes into the second half Saturday with a sizzling 40' rocket, and together with reliable Danny Ings 36' shot just seven minutes from the outset, presented Burnley with a 2-1 Yuletide victory over Blackpool. Combined with Leicester City's 1-0 win over the Queen's Park Rangers, the Claret triumph presents Burnley with a holiday atop the Championship table. The advantage is a mere point, but taken gratefully nonetheless. Sitting a point behind are QPR and Leicester. The holiday is also short, as the Claret collide with Middlesbrough the day after Christmas. In the Championship, the top two teams at season's end in May are automatically promoted to the Premier League, while the next four finishers enter a single elimination playoff, with only the winner getting a third coveted promotion.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
obamashame under the tree
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 22, 2013 - Three days before Christmas. Retail merchants who have survived, so far, the scourge of obama and obamashame (the name, here, for the ACA), count their blessings. Citizens, about to feel the real and most pernicious scourge of obamashame - the belittling, nauseating reality of non-advocates from obamaland invading their lives and telling them how and when they will get their medical care, ending freedom as this nation conceived it - nonetheless hit the retail scene to furnish Christmas for their families. In a country with millions unemployed, obama heads off for a multi-million dollar family getaway in Hawaii. "obamashame" no longer is the description of an inept manifestation of far left skulduggery, no indeed. Now, "obamashame" describes obama and his far far left, anti-American administration. Scrooge? Grinch? Nah. Those individuals wanted to ruin the day set aside to honor the birth of Christ. obama wants to ruin a good and decent nation.
Monday, December 16, 2013
In NCAA Soccer Championship: Terrible Officiating Lifts Irish over Terps
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 16, 2013 - The referee in the Division I National Championship College Soccer Game on Sunday put on a show of stunning incompetence that will be talked about for ages, and Notre Dame was the direct beneficiary. The official box score from the game will reflect that Notre Dame edged Maryland, 2-1, but it is perfectly safe and, also, totally correct to say that Notre Dame would not have won except for the sad display of officiating rarely seen at this level and especially in so important a game.
The referee, Hilario "Chico" Grajeda, missed three extremely obvious, even glaring, hand ball violations in the Notre Dame penalty box, two of which occurred within ten seconds of each other - and were 100% intentional. The first and most obvious missed call was recorded on national television, and on any other day would have resulted in a penalty kick for Maryland together with a red card for the Notre Dame defender who committed the violation. The Terps were molified at the time of the miss because less than ten seconds later Patrick Mullins controlled a loose ball in the box and rifled home the game's first goal. But by ignoring the grotesque rules violation that brought immediate and loud objections from every Maryland player on the field, Grajeda avoided having to issue the virtually mandatory red card for the violator, a Notre Dame sophmore midfielder. Such a red card would have forced the Irish to play a man down for the remainder of the match. The incident occurred early in the opening half.
The second missed hand ball violation - so discreet that national television completely missed it - was committed by Mullins in controlling the ball after it richocheted off of the Notre Dame player's outstretched arm. The manner in which it was discussed after the game speaks volumes about the incidents and those who committed them and missed seeing them.
"In the heat of the moment, I hit it down with my hand and, like any good forward, I hit it in the net," Mullins told the Associated Press and a Notre Dame student reporter. "That's not who I am and I'm very disappointed in how that play resulted. ... I will regret that one for the rest of my life."
Maryland Coach Sascho Cirovski, upon hearing of Mullins' admission, told the AP that the MLS team which drafts Mullins will get not only a great soccer player, but also a great individual.
"When I build my stadium, I'm going to bronze a statue with him out front," Cirovski said. "He's made from the best stuff on earth. It affected him. It affected him a lot. ... His conscience was hurting."
Playing at equal strength, Notre Dame tied the game just five minutes later. The Irish pushed ahead at about the thirty minute mark of the second half, again when they were at equal strength with Maryland. Then, with Maryland swarming the Irish box with about ten minutes to go, and in the immediate aftermath of a Maryland corner kick, a third obvious hand violation occurred, again followed immediately by obvious angry displays of protest by virtually the entire Maryland team. The television commentators on ESPNU continued to refer to the two Irish violations as game changers, which is at least true, and may well be an understatement. The first violation was clearly an intentional effort by the Irish Defender, identified in the Notre Dame publication "The Observer" as sophomore midfielder Patrick Hodan, to keep Maryland off the score board. Hodan, seeing the Keeper was nowhere near the shot, and also that the shot was going in, made the split-second decision to keep the game scoreless. Positioned on the goal line, Hodan stretched out his arm to a position parallel to the ground and directly into he ball's path. The struck ball hit his outstretched are near the elbow, then richocheted off and back into play. A second later, Mullins controlled and scored. But the violator avoided the deserved red card and Notre Dame was permitted to stay at full strength. Mullins, also, would have received a red card, but of course his violation would never have occurred if Grajeda had simply called the first. In defense of Hodan, he made no effort to hide or disguise his violation, and appeared ready to accept his penalty. The second Irish hand violation was only slightly less obvious. As the ball whisked by the Irish defender (whom this writer cannot now identify), and with the outcome of the game hanging in the balance, he lifted his arm to deflect the ball away from the Irish goal. The path of the ball in the instant before it was interfered with would have taken it across the mouth of the goal and close enough to Patrick Mullins - the nation's leading scorer - to allow him to one-touch a shot on goal. Again, all of the Maryland players in the box - about two-thirds of the eleven man side, raised their arms in anguished protest. Cirovski also screamed in disbelief as he stood just a foot away from an NCAA official stationed between the two teams' benches.
Grajeda is a highly regarded soccer official who has been assigned some of the most important and high profile soccer matches in the country in recent years, including at least one MLS title game. A check of Google does not immediately reveal any history of similar errors. But it is also true that such errors are often suppressed by game and league officials. There is an obvious and understandable fear that criticism of a game official may have future consequences. There is no indication that Grajeda has apologized to Maryland's team or to Cirovski, or if the NCAA intends to take any action against him. Nor is there any indication that Hodan apologized after the game. The Notre Dame publication that quoted Mullins as having apologized did not indicate whether it even asked Hodan for a statement.
Last winter, after game officials made a series of painfully obvious "bad" calls in a nationally televised basketball game at Iowa State University, between Iowa State and Kansas, which changed the outcome of the game, unnamed NCAA officials revealed to a midwest newspaper that the officials who made the calls would be disciplined. The spokesman would not reveal anything else about the NCAA's intentions, such as when the official discipline would occur, what it was, or even what it could be. In fact, there was no way of finding out whether the sanctions were ever actually imposed. Conversely, in a baseball game two seasons ago, a Major League umpire publicly apologized after blowing a call in the ninth inning that prevented a pitcher from accomplishing a perfect game, one of sport's most difficult accomplishments. A pitcher is credited with a "perfect game" when he retires each of the 27 batters he faces, without surrendering a hit or walk, and without hitting a batter with a pitch. The umpire was universally praised by players and fans, and the umpire and player actually became good friends in the wake of the incident.
Possibly in deference to Grajeda's reputation, and in spite of having victory ripped from them in a manner that should never have occurred, the Maryland athletic web site did not even refer to the incidents in their account of the game. The only hint of the two incidents on the Maryland web site is in the official box score, where the Notre Dame team - and not their keeper - is credited with "saving" a shot on goal. The game's two "assistant referees," or linesmen, were Paul Scott and Corey Rockwell. There was no way of determining what, if anything, they did to right the injustice, or even to address it.
Soccer referees often operate as a closed fraternity. In some locations - and Baltimore is one - there are competing organizations of officials. The competition involves the number and quality of officiating assignments each organization gains over the course of a season.
The referee, Hilario "Chico" Grajeda, missed three extremely obvious, even glaring, hand ball violations in the Notre Dame penalty box, two of which occurred within ten seconds of each other - and were 100% intentional. The first and most obvious missed call was recorded on national television, and on any other day would have resulted in a penalty kick for Maryland together with a red card for the Notre Dame defender who committed the violation. The Terps were molified at the time of the miss because less than ten seconds later Patrick Mullins controlled a loose ball in the box and rifled home the game's first goal. But by ignoring the grotesque rules violation that brought immediate and loud objections from every Maryland player on the field, Grajeda avoided having to issue the virtually mandatory red card for the violator, a Notre Dame sophmore midfielder. Such a red card would have forced the Irish to play a man down for the remainder of the match. The incident occurred early in the opening half.
The second missed hand ball violation - so discreet that national television completely missed it - was committed by Mullins in controlling the ball after it richocheted off of the Notre Dame player's outstretched arm. The manner in which it was discussed after the game speaks volumes about the incidents and those who committed them and missed seeing them.
"In the heat of the moment, I hit it down with my hand and, like any good forward, I hit it in the net," Mullins told the Associated Press and a Notre Dame student reporter. "That's not who I am and I'm very disappointed in how that play resulted. ... I will regret that one for the rest of my life."
Maryland Coach Sascho Cirovski, upon hearing of Mullins' admission, told the AP that the MLS team which drafts Mullins will get not only a great soccer player, but also a great individual.
"When I build my stadium, I'm going to bronze a statue with him out front," Cirovski said. "He's made from the best stuff on earth. It affected him. It affected him a lot. ... His conscience was hurting."
Playing at equal strength, Notre Dame tied the game just five minutes later. The Irish pushed ahead at about the thirty minute mark of the second half, again when they were at equal strength with Maryland. Then, with Maryland swarming the Irish box with about ten minutes to go, and in the immediate aftermath of a Maryland corner kick, a third obvious hand violation occurred, again followed immediately by obvious angry displays of protest by virtually the entire Maryland team. The television commentators on ESPNU continued to refer to the two Irish violations as game changers, which is at least true, and may well be an understatement. The first violation was clearly an intentional effort by the Irish Defender, identified in the Notre Dame publication "The Observer" as sophomore midfielder Patrick Hodan, to keep Maryland off the score board. Hodan, seeing the Keeper was nowhere near the shot, and also that the shot was going in, made the split-second decision to keep the game scoreless. Positioned on the goal line, Hodan stretched out his arm to a position parallel to the ground and directly into he ball's path. The struck ball hit his outstretched are near the elbow, then richocheted off and back into play. A second later, Mullins controlled and scored. But the violator avoided the deserved red card and Notre Dame was permitted to stay at full strength. Mullins, also, would have received a red card, but of course his violation would never have occurred if Grajeda had simply called the first. In defense of Hodan, he made no effort to hide or disguise his violation, and appeared ready to accept his penalty. The second Irish hand violation was only slightly less obvious. As the ball whisked by the Irish defender (whom this writer cannot now identify), and with the outcome of the game hanging in the balance, he lifted his arm to deflect the ball away from the Irish goal. The path of the ball in the instant before it was interfered with would have taken it across the mouth of the goal and close enough to Patrick Mullins - the nation's leading scorer - to allow him to one-touch a shot on goal. Again, all of the Maryland players in the box - about two-thirds of the eleven man side, raised their arms in anguished protest. Cirovski also screamed in disbelief as he stood just a foot away from an NCAA official stationed between the two teams' benches.
Grajeda is a highly regarded soccer official who has been assigned some of the most important and high profile soccer matches in the country in recent years, including at least one MLS title game. A check of Google does not immediately reveal any history of similar errors. But it is also true that such errors are often suppressed by game and league officials. There is an obvious and understandable fear that criticism of a game official may have future consequences. There is no indication that Grajeda has apologized to Maryland's team or to Cirovski, or if the NCAA intends to take any action against him. Nor is there any indication that Hodan apologized after the game. The Notre Dame publication that quoted Mullins as having apologized did not indicate whether it even asked Hodan for a statement.
Last winter, after game officials made a series of painfully obvious "bad" calls in a nationally televised basketball game at Iowa State University, between Iowa State and Kansas, which changed the outcome of the game, unnamed NCAA officials revealed to a midwest newspaper that the officials who made the calls would be disciplined. The spokesman would not reveal anything else about the NCAA's intentions, such as when the official discipline would occur, what it was, or even what it could be. In fact, there was no way of finding out whether the sanctions were ever actually imposed. Conversely, in a baseball game two seasons ago, a Major League umpire publicly apologized after blowing a call in the ninth inning that prevented a pitcher from accomplishing a perfect game, one of sport's most difficult accomplishments. A pitcher is credited with a "perfect game" when he retires each of the 27 batters he faces, without surrendering a hit or walk, and without hitting a batter with a pitch. The umpire was universally praised by players and fans, and the umpire and player actually became good friends in the wake of the incident.
Possibly in deference to Grajeda's reputation, and in spite of having victory ripped from them in a manner that should never have occurred, the Maryland athletic web site did not even refer to the incidents in their account of the game. The only hint of the two incidents on the Maryland web site is in the official box score, where the Notre Dame team - and not their keeper - is credited with "saving" a shot on goal. The game's two "assistant referees," or linesmen, were Paul Scott and Corey Rockwell. There was no way of determining what, if anything, they did to right the injustice, or even to address it.
Soccer referees often operate as a closed fraternity. In some locations - and Baltimore is one - there are competing organizations of officials. The competition involves the number and quality of officiating assignments each organization gains over the course of a season.
The Christmas Story
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - More than two millennia after the incident occurred, the entire world is again reliving its annual celebratory observance of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The first Christmas occurred in the penultimate example of humbleness. God himself had impregnated a poor but righteous woman who was betrothed, but not yet married, to a similarly humble but righteous man. God's messengers, the Holy Angels, had visited both so that they would understand the meaning of the event. When the time for the birth arrived, the two were not at home surrounded by family, but instead had traveled by foot (Mary, the Holy Mother, may have made the trip on the back of a donkey or other domestic animal) over 100 miles, in adherence to a government decree, to a small nondescript town. When they arrived in the town, called Bethlehem, the town's inn was packed by others also traveling to keep with the government's orders, and the only shelter available was a stable. So there, in an apparently cramped place used to house domestic animals, the Son of God was born. In the Holy Bible, the emphasis on humility is realized perfectly by the manner in which Christ's birth is presented. There are but two such recitations: one in the first chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew and one in the first and second chapters of the Gospel of St. Luke. In his Chapter 1, Saint Matthew begins by benignly reciting the names of those persons in each generation who kept alive the direct lineage from St. David to St. Joseph, the husband of Christ's Mother. Then, without warning or any kind of build up, the account of the Holy Birth is presented:
The Gospel of St. Matthew:
Chapter 1:
Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19. and her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21. she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means God with us). 24. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25. but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
Chapter 2:
Verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying 2. "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4. and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6. 'For you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who shall govern my people Israel.' " 7. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8. and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9. When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10. When they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The only other place in the Bible that the Birth of Christ is related is the Gospel of St. Luke. St. Luke goes back in time, before the birth, to relate the story of the birth of John the Baptist as well as the simultaneous pregnancies of Mary, the Mother of Christ, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. In Chapter 1 of his Gospel, St. Luke preliminarily explains why he is writing his Gospel, and he does so as if the Gospel were a long letter to the fellow Christian preacher, Theophilus. When he has concluded this preface, he begins his account of the Birth of Christ:
The Gospel of St. Luke:
Chapter 1:
Verse 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abiah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9. according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense. 11. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; 15. for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, 17. and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18. And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19. And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21. And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25. "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."
26. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David, 33. and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34. And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" 35. And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing will be impossible." 38. And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
39. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40. and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42. and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43. And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44. For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 46. And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47. and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48. for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49. for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52. he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53. he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." 56. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. 57. Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered. and she gave birth to a son. 58. And her neighbors and kinfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60. but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." 61. And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." 62. And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. 64. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66. and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him. 67. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69. And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70. as he spoke from the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71. that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72. to perform the mercies promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73. the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74. to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75. in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77. to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78. through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79. to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 80. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Chapter 2.
Verse 1. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.. 2. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5. to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11. for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" 15. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16. And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18. and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And that is the extent of the Biblical Account, as it is printed in the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, Toronto, New York and Edinburgh. The printing contains this note on the title page: "Translated from the original tongues being the version set forth A.D. 1611, revised A.D. 1881-1883 and A.D. 1901, compared with the most ancient authorities and revised, A.D. 1952. I received this Bible as a Christmas Gift from my parents in 1962. If you contemplate the affect of the birth, with its absolute simplicity and modesty, and then recall that this simple account has captivated mankind for over two thousand years, it becomes breathtaking. Once, when I was either a pre-teen or young teenager, one of the major news organizations - I believe it was NBC - prepared a body of work for broadcast by member stations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was an account of Christ's birth as reported by NBC on-air reporters, had the event occurred when such reports were possible. Can you imagine today's secular reporters trying to get their arms around the appearance by an angel to a group of shepherds? How about if the reporter happened, for whatever reason, to be with the shepherds when first the angel, and then the "multitude of the heavenly host" appeared to relate the story of the birth and God's reaction to it?
I cannot explain why this stunning, yet extremely humble account has a such vice grip on me. I know in some objective and rational way that such an account should provoke skepticism. But it never has, despite the secular attacks on folk such as I who believe. I believe that only God could create such a conundrum, and allow it to exist over the course of all of the generations since it occurred.
The Gospel of St. Matthew:
Chapter 1:
Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19. and her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21. she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. 22. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23. "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means God with us). 24. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25. but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
Chapter 2:
Verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying 2. "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4. and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6. 'For you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who shall govern my people Israel.' " 7. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8. and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9. When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10. When they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11. and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The only other place in the Bible that the Birth of Christ is related is the Gospel of St. Luke. St. Luke goes back in time, before the birth, to relate the story of the birth of John the Baptist as well as the simultaneous pregnancies of Mary, the Mother of Christ, and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. In Chapter 1 of his Gospel, St. Luke preliminarily explains why he is writing his Gospel, and he does so as if the Gospel were a long letter to the fellow Christian preacher, Theophilus. When he has concluded this preface, he begins his account of the Birth of Christ:
The Gospel of St. Luke:
Chapter 1:
Verse 5. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abiah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9. according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense. 11. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; 15. for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, 17. and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18. And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19. And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. 20. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21. And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. 23. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, 25. "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."
26. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David, 33. and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34. And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" 35. And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37. For with God nothing will be impossible." 38. And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
39. In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40. and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42. and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43. And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44. For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 46. And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47. and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48. for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49. for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52. he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53. he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55. as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." 56. And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. 57. Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered. and she gave birth to a son. 58. And her neighbors and kinfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60. but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." 61. And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." 62. And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. 64. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66. and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him. 67. And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69. And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70. as he spoke from the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71. that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72. to perform the mercies promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73. the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74. to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75. in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77. to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78. through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79. to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 80. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Chapter 2.
Verse 1. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.. 2. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5. to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10. And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11. for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" 15. When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16. And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18. and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And that is the extent of the Biblical Account, as it is printed in the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, Toronto, New York and Edinburgh. The printing contains this note on the title page: "Translated from the original tongues being the version set forth A.D. 1611, revised A.D. 1881-1883 and A.D. 1901, compared with the most ancient authorities and revised, A.D. 1952. I received this Bible as a Christmas Gift from my parents in 1962. If you contemplate the affect of the birth, with its absolute simplicity and modesty, and then recall that this simple account has captivated mankind for over two thousand years, it becomes breathtaking. Once, when I was either a pre-teen or young teenager, one of the major news organizations - I believe it was NBC - prepared a body of work for broadcast by member stations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was an account of Christ's birth as reported by NBC on-air reporters, had the event occurred when such reports were possible. Can you imagine today's secular reporters trying to get their arms around the appearance by an angel to a group of shepherds? How about if the reporter happened, for whatever reason, to be with the shepherds when first the angel, and then the "multitude of the heavenly host" appeared to relate the story of the birth and God's reaction to it?
I cannot explain why this stunning, yet extremely humble account has a such vice grip on me. I know in some objective and rational way that such an account should provoke skepticism. But it never has, despite the secular attacks on folk such as I who believe. I believe that only God could create such a conundrum, and allow it to exist over the course of all of the generations since it occurred.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Mullins, Steffan send Terps to National Final; Basketball Terps ride Wells' 31 to win in ACC Opener
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - An inexcusable error by Virginia Keeper Callie Brown left a wide open net for All American Patrick Mullins to shoot at with just over eleven minutes gone n the first half, and there was no way Mullins would miss a gift like that. Brown wondered far off the goal line, apparently thinking he could beat Mullins to a wonderful pass from Maryland's Miklas Eticha. He never came close, and was left watching from the top of the penalty area as Maryland took a lead it would never relinquish. Maryland won its eleventh straight game as it downed the Cavaliers, 2-1, for the second time in the postseason, and in doing so advanced to the NCAA Title Game Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. There they will face Notre Dame, another ACC team, which also advanced to the title game on Friday by defeating New Mexico, 2-0.
Eticha took possession of the ball in the midfield and ran a few steps forward before deftly lobbing the pass to a streaking Mullins, who had found space between two baffled Virginia defenders. Maryland took the resulting 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half the Cavaliers increased the pressure on Maryland's young defense, anchored by freshmen at both center defense positions and at Keeper. But about thirty minutes into the second frame Tsubassa Endoh again fed Mullins as he broke between two retreating Cavalier defenders. Mullins easily controlled the excellent pass and launched a missle to the right side of the goal, easily beating a sprawling Brown.
Virginia, to its credit, did not quit. A mistake by the Terp's All-ACC midfielder Dan Metzger gave the Cavaliers a penalty kick just one minute after Mullins' second score, and Todd Wharton banged it home to pull the Cavaliers back to within a single goal. And still Virginia pressed the attack. With just over one minute left Virginia's Brian James ran onto a ball in the center of the box about twenty feet from the goal, and launched a shot just inside the right post. Steffan, positioned at the middle of the goal, dove hard to his right and got a hand on the low rocket, managing to deflect it wide of the goal. It was a scintillating save, and it saved the Maryland lead. Although the Cavaliers pressed again and gained a corner kick with ten seconds left, they did not again threaten the Terps. Notre Dame and Maryland finished tied atop the ACC at the end of the regular season, and the Irish advanced to the ACC Tournament Semifinal against Virginia last month in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In that game the Irish took a commanding second half lead, but let it slip away to a swarming Cavalier team. The match went into overtime but neither team broke through. A shootout ensued, which Virginia won. The NCAA does not count a Shootout loss as a loss on the team's record. Thus, Notre Dame enters the National Title Game on Sunday with a record of 16-1-6. The Terps are 17-3-5. During a brutal week in October Maryland played both Notre Dame and Virginia on the road with a space of three days, and earned a draw in each. In the game in South Bend, Indiana, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first half, although the Irish seemed to control the ball more. After the half Maryland pressed the attack, but Vince Cicciarelli scored in the 59th minute to put the homestanding Irish ahead. The Terps would not give in and Mullins - who else? - tied the game for Maryland in the 71st minute. Both teams had chances to score a winning goal, but neither did, and the match ended a 1-1 draw. Three days later Maryland was in Charlottesville, where they played a wild 3-3 draw with the Cavaliers. Mullins made two penalty shots to allow Maryland to finish the trip without a loss. Incidentally, Notre Dame's only "real" loss was to Virginia, which beat the Irish in South Bend, 2-0.
On Thursday night, Maryland's Basketball team broke a disheartening two game losing streak when Dez Wells exploded for 31 points, including 18 in the second half, to propel the Terps to an 88-80 victory over Boston College. The Terps, 6-4, 1-0, had let a double digit lead slip away and actually fell behind the Eagles, 3-7, 0-1, by as many as four points in the second half. But Wells put the Terps on his back and carried them to the win, driving time and again to the basket for key baskets as time ran down. Freshman Roddy Peters was a huge help, scoring a career high 14 points. Jake Layman added 13 and Nick Faust had 11. All of Wells' second half points came in the final seven minutes. The Terps now return home for five consecutive wins, beginning Saturday when they tangle with Florida Atlantic at 2 pm.
Eticha took possession of the ball in the midfield and ran a few steps forward before deftly lobbing the pass to a streaking Mullins, who had found space between two baffled Virginia defenders. Maryland took the resulting 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half the Cavaliers increased the pressure on Maryland's young defense, anchored by freshmen at both center defense positions and at Keeper. But about thirty minutes into the second frame Tsubassa Endoh again fed Mullins as he broke between two retreating Cavalier defenders. Mullins easily controlled the excellent pass and launched a missle to the right side of the goal, easily beating a sprawling Brown.
Virginia, to its credit, did not quit. A mistake by the Terp's All-ACC midfielder Dan Metzger gave the Cavaliers a penalty kick just one minute after Mullins' second score, and Todd Wharton banged it home to pull the Cavaliers back to within a single goal. And still Virginia pressed the attack. With just over one minute left Virginia's Brian James ran onto a ball in the center of the box about twenty feet from the goal, and launched a shot just inside the right post. Steffan, positioned at the middle of the goal, dove hard to his right and got a hand on the low rocket, managing to deflect it wide of the goal. It was a scintillating save, and it saved the Maryland lead. Although the Cavaliers pressed again and gained a corner kick with ten seconds left, they did not again threaten the Terps. Notre Dame and Maryland finished tied atop the ACC at the end of the regular season, and the Irish advanced to the ACC Tournament Semifinal against Virginia last month in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In that game the Irish took a commanding second half lead, but let it slip away to a swarming Cavalier team. The match went into overtime but neither team broke through. A shootout ensued, which Virginia won. The NCAA does not count a Shootout loss as a loss on the team's record. Thus, Notre Dame enters the National Title Game on Sunday with a record of 16-1-6. The Terps are 17-3-5. During a brutal week in October Maryland played both Notre Dame and Virginia on the road with a space of three days, and earned a draw in each. In the game in South Bend, Indiana, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first half, although the Irish seemed to control the ball more. After the half Maryland pressed the attack, but Vince Cicciarelli scored in the 59th minute to put the homestanding Irish ahead. The Terps would not give in and Mullins - who else? - tied the game for Maryland in the 71st minute. Both teams had chances to score a winning goal, but neither did, and the match ended a 1-1 draw. Three days later Maryland was in Charlottesville, where they played a wild 3-3 draw with the Cavaliers. Mullins made two penalty shots to allow Maryland to finish the trip without a loss. Incidentally, Notre Dame's only "real" loss was to Virginia, which beat the Irish in South Bend, 2-0.
On Thursday night, Maryland's Basketball team broke a disheartening two game losing streak when Dez Wells exploded for 31 points, including 18 in the second half, to propel the Terps to an 88-80 victory over Boston College. The Terps, 6-4, 1-0, had let a double digit lead slip away and actually fell behind the Eagles, 3-7, 0-1, by as many as four points in the second half. But Wells put the Terps on his back and carried them to the win, driving time and again to the basket for key baskets as time ran down. Freshman Roddy Peters was a huge help, scoring a career high 14 points. Jake Layman added 13 and Nick Faust had 11. All of Wells' second half points came in the final seven minutes. The Terps now return home for five consecutive wins, beginning Saturday when they tangle with Florida Atlantic at 2 pm.
Man Working With Islamic Terrorists Arrested While Attempting to Bomb Wichita Airport
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - Authorities in Wichita, Kansas today arrested an employee of Mid-Continent Airport on charges that he plotted with foreign Islamic Terrorists to detonate a car bomb at a time and place that would also have killed as many people as possible in the airport. At a press conference beginning just after 2 pm Eastern Standard Time authorities revealed that the man, said to be 58-years old and "white," was committed to becoming a martyr in a jihad against the United States. He had been under surveillance for about six months, and authorities had tricked him into purchasing benign material disguised as high-powered explosives. Today, he attempted to drive a car filled with the fake explosives onto the tarmac at the airport, located in Wichita. As he did, he was arrested. He apparently intended to detonate the explosives close enough to the airport to killed scores of people inside and, possibly, on airliners in the vicinity. Kansas state police, Wichita police and federal authorities cooperated on the case.
Pretty paper and snazzy bows and ribbons cannot disguise the ugly muck this man bequeathed us
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 13, 2013 - There is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to obamashame (i.e., the Affordable Care Act). As each day brings new and more terrible revelations about the pernicious, almost evil legislation that has turned the country upside down, one person who has avoided a public bashing but doesn't deserve to is Supreme Court Chief Justice John "Benny" Roberts. The narcistic, pompous fool of a man cast the decisive vote to uphold obamashame when nearly every constitutional expert had opined that it was dead in the water. Roberts had a record as a profound and completely committed conservative when President George W. Bush appointed him to the Court. But even as far left Democrats everywhere were screaming blue murder, some conservatives quietly worried that the publicity-seeking Roberts would reach for quick Washington glory at the expense of his supposedly deep held views. How right these few concerned persons were. In an almost unintelligible, completely goofy opinion, joined happily by the four committed leftists on the Court, Roberts found the law as it read to be unconstitutional but then gave it a reading rejected by its drafters to turn around and find it constitutional. In doing so he became a traitor to President Bush and the dozens of legislators who voted for his accession to the Court. Hence, his valid comparison to the quintessential American traitor, Benedict Arnold, of Revolutionary War Fame. Like Roberts, Arnold hid his loyalty to the British Crown and betrayed the men serving under his generalship during the War of Independence. The damage he did to the American cause was tremendous. Similarly, obamashame is gutting American unity, the American health care system, and the health of nearly every American. It should never have gotten off the ground. A large group of State attorney generals appealed the validity and constitutionality of the law and it quickly wound its way to the nation's high court. As currently constituted, there are four totally committed leftists on the Court, three committed conservatives, one moderate and Roberts. Before obamashame came to the court's attention, Roberts was thought to be a fourth committed conservative. His record on federal appeals courts certainly indicated that. Most observers thought that justice Anthony Kennedy, the moderate, would be the pivotal vote, but Kennedy despised the law, especially its compulsory citizen spending on something that until now had always been a decision made by individual citizens. As deliberations began and Kennedy's views apparently leaked out, obama and his functionaries began a very public pressure campaign, at one point actually 'telling' the Court that it must approve the law. Roberts saw his chance for glory and praise among the far left, who dominate the Washington, D.C. social scene. His move has eternally shamed him. He never realized that the far left will never accept him unless he totally sells his soul and becomes a leftist himself. Instead they quietly laugh at his naivety. And he totally deserves all of it. John Roberts: a complete idiot.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Major League Baseball Capitulates to PC Police
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 12, 2013 - Major League Baseball has announced its intention to make collisions at homeplate between catchers and baserunners strictly illegal. Such a rule change must be approved by a majority of owners and the players association.
It is a terrible mistake. While it is true that there have been injuries in such collisions - the All Star Game Collision between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse is the poster boy for the genre, along with the injury to Buster Pose of the Giants - such incidents have been part of the game since it was invented in the middle of the nineteenth century. The rules allow a player who is awaiting a throw to block the base or home plate that a runner is trying to get to.
Like many Americans, I played the game. In fact, for many seasons growing up, I was a catcher. I began playing the position when I was 13. That "Pony" League team had a regular catcher but no back-up. I volunteered. Not long after, the regular catcher was told by doctors that his Osgood–Schlatter Syndrome condition in his knees made it imperative that he sit out a year. Suddenly I was the team's full-time catcher. In one of the first games one of the biggest lads in the league was at third base when a ground ball was hit to an infielder. He threw to me at the plate, where I had taken a position blocking the plate. I took the throw and prepared to get creamed. And did I ever. But I did tag the kid out. The collision sent me flying to the backstop. I opened my eyes to see my father, standing behind the backstop, shouting "way to go, John." He was rarely so vociferous. It was a very proud moment. In another incident the next season, I took a throw when another large lad was baring down on me. I had the throw so early that I had time to plot a second of strategy. I waited until the last second, when the runner couldn't change his intention - which was to hit me hard enough to jar the ball loose - and took a half step out of the baseline while firmly tagging the runner. The umpire saw what I had done, which was take the easy way, and called the runner safe. It was a lesson I never forgot. If you were going to catch, you were going to block the plate, because it was part of the game.
Major League Baseball, on their website, admits that part of the reason for the rule is the emphasis on concussions in all of professional sports. I don't buy it. Despite the obvious chance of injury in such plays, the fact is that such injuries are very very rare. Most of the time runners try to avoid the catcher and tag the plate so that the run can count. Hence, you see hook slides, even "slides" that intentionally miss the plate, with the runner than diving back at the plate before the catcher can collect himself and tag the runner out. The incidents when the runner merely plows into a catcher usually are reserved for situations when (a), the catcher has the throw so early that jarring the ball loose is the only choice; and (b) when the throw and the runner arrive simultaneously and the runner can force the catcher to miss the throw. Runners rarely take the collision listed in (a) unless the run they represent is the tying or winning run. Even in situations like the one represented by choice (b) the runner will often dive past the catcher to get to the plate, with maybe a nudge going by to disrupt the process of catching the throw.
The wording of the rule has not been circulated, only the intention. It will be interesting to see the wording because catchers aren't the only ones blocking bases. Some first basemen block first base when a runner takes a lead off the base and the pitcher throws over trying to pick him off. The block in these situations isn't so obvious, but instead consists of an effort to keep the runners foot from getting to the base. It is perfectly legal under existing rules. Will these measures by made illegal? And some second basemen and shortstops take similar tacts when a runner trys to steal second base and or stretch a single into a double. The fielder trys to keep either the runner's foot or hand - if his is diving head-first - from getting to the base while the tag is being applied.
It seems like MLB people want the public to think the rule change will be a done deal. On the MLB websiite, the change wasn't made a big deal, probably on purpose because they don't want traditionalists to start barking long and loud. Don't think for a minute that money isn't involved. Posey is one of the game's highest paid and most visible players. His loss to the Giants for almost an entire season was a deep financial hit to the team. The Giants not only had to continue paying Posey, but they also had to pay for all of his medical care.
But how often do such injuries occur? Name other "collisions" that cost a team a player for more than a few games. You can't because such collisions are very rare. A homeplate play of tremendous consequence occurred in the 1982 season during a classic pennant race. The Orioles were chasing the Brewers of Harvey's Wallbangers Fame. On a Sunday afternoon the two teams were concluding a series in Milwaukee and the series finale would have a tremendous impact on the race. It was late September. With one out in the bottom of the ninth the Brewers moved a runner to third base, and the batter sent a fly ball to medium deep center field. John Shelby, an outstanding fielder, moved under the ball, then, in classic fielding form, stepped back a few steps so that he could catch the ball moving toward home plate. In one smooth motion Shelby caught the ball and fired a strike to home plate. The courageous Rick Dempsey was in perfect catcher's position, astride the base line a few feet from the plate. The runner merely slid hard into Dempsey, who caught the ball and tagged the Brewer out to preserve the Oriole one-run victory. The Brewer runner never reached the plate. Dempsey made the umpire's job easy. The umpire didn't need to deal with the issue of whether the tag by Dempsey was in time, because his foot never made it to the plate. When he slid under Dempsey, Dempsey held his position and completely blocked the plate. It was text book baseball.
If the rule is necessary, show us statistics that indicate a rash of injuries. Show us concussions. You will not see this, you see, because such injuries are extremely rare. They are confined to end-of-game plays when a single runs means the difference between victory and defeat in a very important game. Baseball is changing the rules to prevent something that virtually never occurs. If the baseball fathers are going to do that, they will next turn to injuries that occur when a pitcher hits a batter. The game is almost perfect. Even the best players are never close to perfect. The best hitters aim to hit .400 over the course of a season, but no one has done it since 1941 when the incomparable Ted Williams accomplished the feat. Williams is thought to be one of the greatest hitters ever. Yet even in his greatest season he made outs nearly 60% of the times he came to bat.
In the history of baseball there are only three player deaths in which in-game injuries are implicated. The most famous occurred in 1920 when All Star Shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head with a pitch and died 12 hours later. Baseball made several common sense changes in reaction to the incident, but none of them affected the way the game was played on the field. The first change was to the kinds of things players could permissably do to baseballs in play. These alterations included, almost always, scuffing the ball with dirt, while other "things" included spitting on the ball, cutting the ball with fingernails and spikes, and using hair gel or grease on the ball. The intent was to make the ball more difficult to see, and to affect the balls movements after being released by the pitcher. Witnesses said that Chapman never moved when he was hit by a "submarine" pitch by veteran Yankee hurler Carl Mays. The incident occurred at twilight at the old Polo Grounds in New York, and many speculated that Chapman never actually saw the pitch. A "submarine" pitch - Current Oriole Pitcher Darren O'Day throws them almost exclusively - is a pitch thrown with the throwing arm loosely aimed at the ground. Whereas a typical pitcher throws "overhanded," with his throwing elbow either level with his throwing shoulder, or slightly above it, and his hand and forearm following through above his head, a submarine pitcher's elbow never elevates to shoulder height and the throwing hand stays at belt level or lower. Submarine pitchers are far more effective against batters who hit on the same side of home plate as the pitcher.
Baseball also, eventually, required hitters, and later base runners and base coaches, to wear helmets. One of the other two deaths occurred when minor league first base coach Mike Coolbaugh was hit in the neck by a batted ball, severing a major artery. The third death happened in 1909 when Michael Riley "Doc" Powers, a catcher, was injured when he crashed into a wall chasing a foul pop up during the first game ever at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. He sustained internal injuries. Powers was a doctor. In the days after the incident he underwent three surgeries. But his death 12 days later was not attributed to his injuries, but instead to Peritonitis, an infection condition he contracted either during or after the surgeries while still in the hospital. Of the injuries known to have occurred in home plate collisions, only the one to Fosse in July, 1970 was of long-term consequence. Fosse did recover enough to resume his major league career (he even played 42 games during the second half of the 1970 season), but the fact that a separated shoulder he sustained in the incident wasn't diagnosed until the following season, caused Fosse long-term discomfort. Physicians said the failure to correctly discover the injury when it occurred caused his shoulder to heal improperly. He sustained a series of other injuries (including a serious injury in June, 1974 when he crushed a neck disc while trying to break up a clubhouse fight between two Oakland Athletic teammates) during the remainder of his long career (he retired at the end of spring training in 1980), and it is hard to say which was more consequential. It is true that his statistics in the first half of 1970 were never again equaled, but even then he was being platooned by the Indians.
It is quite apparent that the major leagues are reacting to the the large tort awards being earned by certain ex-football players who have sued the league for not taking decisive action when they sustained head injuries during their careers. And so, once again, goofy lawsuits are at the root of the problem. These football players say they were unaware they would be injured while playing professional football, but the owners did know and did not take action to prevent it. Great.
It is a terrible mistake. While it is true that there have been injuries in such collisions - the All Star Game Collision between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse is the poster boy for the genre, along with the injury to Buster Pose of the Giants - such incidents have been part of the game since it was invented in the middle of the nineteenth century. The rules allow a player who is awaiting a throw to block the base or home plate that a runner is trying to get to.
Like many Americans, I played the game. In fact, for many seasons growing up, I was a catcher. I began playing the position when I was 13. That "Pony" League team had a regular catcher but no back-up. I volunteered. Not long after, the regular catcher was told by doctors that his Osgood–Schlatter Syndrome condition in his knees made it imperative that he sit out a year. Suddenly I was the team's full-time catcher. In one of the first games one of the biggest lads in the league was at third base when a ground ball was hit to an infielder. He threw to me at the plate, where I had taken a position blocking the plate. I took the throw and prepared to get creamed. And did I ever. But I did tag the kid out. The collision sent me flying to the backstop. I opened my eyes to see my father, standing behind the backstop, shouting "way to go, John." He was rarely so vociferous. It was a very proud moment. In another incident the next season, I took a throw when another large lad was baring down on me. I had the throw so early that I had time to plot a second of strategy. I waited until the last second, when the runner couldn't change his intention - which was to hit me hard enough to jar the ball loose - and took a half step out of the baseline while firmly tagging the runner. The umpire saw what I had done, which was take the easy way, and called the runner safe. It was a lesson I never forgot. If you were going to catch, you were going to block the plate, because it was part of the game.
Major League Baseball, on their website, admits that part of the reason for the rule is the emphasis on concussions in all of professional sports. I don't buy it. Despite the obvious chance of injury in such plays, the fact is that such injuries are very very rare. Most of the time runners try to avoid the catcher and tag the plate so that the run can count. Hence, you see hook slides, even "slides" that intentionally miss the plate, with the runner than diving back at the plate before the catcher can collect himself and tag the runner out. The incidents when the runner merely plows into a catcher usually are reserved for situations when (a), the catcher has the throw so early that jarring the ball loose is the only choice; and (b) when the throw and the runner arrive simultaneously and the runner can force the catcher to miss the throw. Runners rarely take the collision listed in (a) unless the run they represent is the tying or winning run. Even in situations like the one represented by choice (b) the runner will often dive past the catcher to get to the plate, with maybe a nudge going by to disrupt the process of catching the throw.
The wording of the rule has not been circulated, only the intention. It will be interesting to see the wording because catchers aren't the only ones blocking bases. Some first basemen block first base when a runner takes a lead off the base and the pitcher throws over trying to pick him off. The block in these situations isn't so obvious, but instead consists of an effort to keep the runners foot from getting to the base. It is perfectly legal under existing rules. Will these measures by made illegal? And some second basemen and shortstops take similar tacts when a runner trys to steal second base and or stretch a single into a double. The fielder trys to keep either the runner's foot or hand - if his is diving head-first - from getting to the base while the tag is being applied.
It seems like MLB people want the public to think the rule change will be a done deal. On the MLB websiite, the change wasn't made a big deal, probably on purpose because they don't want traditionalists to start barking long and loud. Don't think for a minute that money isn't involved. Posey is one of the game's highest paid and most visible players. His loss to the Giants for almost an entire season was a deep financial hit to the team. The Giants not only had to continue paying Posey, but they also had to pay for all of his medical care.
But how often do such injuries occur? Name other "collisions" that cost a team a player for more than a few games. You can't because such collisions are very rare. A homeplate play of tremendous consequence occurred in the 1982 season during a classic pennant race. The Orioles were chasing the Brewers of Harvey's Wallbangers Fame. On a Sunday afternoon the two teams were concluding a series in Milwaukee and the series finale would have a tremendous impact on the race. It was late September. With one out in the bottom of the ninth the Brewers moved a runner to third base, and the batter sent a fly ball to medium deep center field. John Shelby, an outstanding fielder, moved under the ball, then, in classic fielding form, stepped back a few steps so that he could catch the ball moving toward home plate. In one smooth motion Shelby caught the ball and fired a strike to home plate. The courageous Rick Dempsey was in perfect catcher's position, astride the base line a few feet from the plate. The runner merely slid hard into Dempsey, who caught the ball and tagged the Brewer out to preserve the Oriole one-run victory. The Brewer runner never reached the plate. Dempsey made the umpire's job easy. The umpire didn't need to deal with the issue of whether the tag by Dempsey was in time, because his foot never made it to the plate. When he slid under Dempsey, Dempsey held his position and completely blocked the plate. It was text book baseball.
If the rule is necessary, show us statistics that indicate a rash of injuries. Show us concussions. You will not see this, you see, because such injuries are extremely rare. They are confined to end-of-game plays when a single runs means the difference between victory and defeat in a very important game. Baseball is changing the rules to prevent something that virtually never occurs. If the baseball fathers are going to do that, they will next turn to injuries that occur when a pitcher hits a batter. The game is almost perfect. Even the best players are never close to perfect. The best hitters aim to hit .400 over the course of a season, but no one has done it since 1941 when the incomparable Ted Williams accomplished the feat. Williams is thought to be one of the greatest hitters ever. Yet even in his greatest season he made outs nearly 60% of the times he came to bat.
In the history of baseball there are only three player deaths in which in-game injuries are implicated. The most famous occurred in 1920 when All Star Shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head with a pitch and died 12 hours later. Baseball made several common sense changes in reaction to the incident, but none of them affected the way the game was played on the field. The first change was to the kinds of things players could permissably do to baseballs in play. These alterations included, almost always, scuffing the ball with dirt, while other "things" included spitting on the ball, cutting the ball with fingernails and spikes, and using hair gel or grease on the ball. The intent was to make the ball more difficult to see, and to affect the balls movements after being released by the pitcher. Witnesses said that Chapman never moved when he was hit by a "submarine" pitch by veteran Yankee hurler Carl Mays. The incident occurred at twilight at the old Polo Grounds in New York, and many speculated that Chapman never actually saw the pitch. A "submarine" pitch - Current Oriole Pitcher Darren O'Day throws them almost exclusively - is a pitch thrown with the throwing arm loosely aimed at the ground. Whereas a typical pitcher throws "overhanded," with his throwing elbow either level with his throwing shoulder, or slightly above it, and his hand and forearm following through above his head, a submarine pitcher's elbow never elevates to shoulder height and the throwing hand stays at belt level or lower. Submarine pitchers are far more effective against batters who hit on the same side of home plate as the pitcher.
Baseball also, eventually, required hitters, and later base runners and base coaches, to wear helmets. One of the other two deaths occurred when minor league first base coach Mike Coolbaugh was hit in the neck by a batted ball, severing a major artery. The third death happened in 1909 when Michael Riley "Doc" Powers, a catcher, was injured when he crashed into a wall chasing a foul pop up during the first game ever at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. He sustained internal injuries. Powers was a doctor. In the days after the incident he underwent three surgeries. But his death 12 days later was not attributed to his injuries, but instead to Peritonitis, an infection condition he contracted either during or after the surgeries while still in the hospital. Of the injuries known to have occurred in home plate collisions, only the one to Fosse in July, 1970 was of long-term consequence. Fosse did recover enough to resume his major league career (he even played 42 games during the second half of the 1970 season), but the fact that a separated shoulder he sustained in the incident wasn't diagnosed until the following season, caused Fosse long-term discomfort. Physicians said the failure to correctly discover the injury when it occurred caused his shoulder to heal improperly. He sustained a series of other injuries (including a serious injury in June, 1974 when he crushed a neck disc while trying to break up a clubhouse fight between two Oakland Athletic teammates) during the remainder of his long career (he retired at the end of spring training in 1980), and it is hard to say which was more consequential. It is true that his statistics in the first half of 1970 were never again equaled, but even then he was being platooned by the Indians.
It is quite apparent that the major leagues are reacting to the the large tort awards being earned by certain ex-football players who have sued the league for not taking decisive action when they sustained head injuries during their careers. And so, once again, goofy lawsuits are at the root of the problem. These football players say they were unaware they would be injured while playing professional football, but the owners did know and did not take action to prevent it. Great.
ESPN Shows Anti-Christian Side
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 12, 2013 - I hate even writing this. A cable station I watch almost incessantly has announced a decision that smells so awful it makes me wonder who is running the show up there in Connecticut. It seems that a Roman Catholic Hospital that serves many very sick children wanted to purchase ad time to give details of a Christmas Season fundraiser. The ad made the "mistake" of noting that Christmas is the time of the season when folk celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. ESPN said the ad was "problematic" and refused to run it. We see ads on ESPN for all manner of stuff, not all of it of the kind that makes us proud. But ads containing details of the Christmas message of peace on earth aren't good enough. Makes you wonder about the values of the moron who made that decision. Another sad thing about the situation was the refusal of the Hospital to provide a spokesperson for Fox News when they wanted to do a story on the debacle.
The Budget Deal: A weak-kneed deal or a catalyst to keep pressure on obama
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 12, 2013 - Negotiating with powerful forces which do not have the general public's best interests at heart; i.e., negotiating with obama and his far left operatives, is always a tough and dirty business. History is replete with people who tried to succeed at such a game and failed utterly. Neville Chamberlain is the poster child. I'm not comparing obama to Hitler. obama is a bad president, possibly the worst ever. obama is not a good person. he is narcistic, addicted to far left, anti-American ideology, and totally contemptuous of traditional American values. He says in public that he aims to help poor folk but in fact every one of his initiatives is a step toward destroying the free market, destroying American business and destroying those who oppose him. No matter how dedicated one is to helping the poor and downtrodden, the idea of adding trillions to a national debt that must be repayed and is being purchased by openly anti-American interests, such as Communist China, is an admission that those in favor of such outrageous measures do not have American interests at heart. obama doesn't. he never did. he has demonstrated time and again that his heart is with the far far left, the same ones who have opposed America at every turn. As Iran and North Korea ramp up their nuclear programs and openly state their intention to obliterate their enemies, obama proposes unilateral disarmament. as the American Public scream at the top of their voices of their contempt for obamashame (Affordable Care Act), obama smugly says it will never be repealed. Recall the muck he dragged the country through to get it enacted (open bribery of Senators balking at voting in favor of obamashame, changing Congressional Rules to get the awful mess passed when it was clear that even members of his own party wanted no part of it). Recall the outrageous tact undertaken by pelosi when she walked through those in Washington to protest the act, taking with her members of the Congressional Black Caucas, and then claiming the protesters used the N word. One conservative offered to pay $100,000 to anyone who could produce a video of someone using the N word that day, and nobody stepped forward with the evidence. That is because there was none.
Anyway, Congressional Republican Leaders such as Paul Ryan and John Boehner have worked out a deal with obama to avoid another government shut-down. Both men claim that the Dems are actually hopeful of such a shutdown because it traditionally hurts the party perceived as causing it. Earlier in the year the GOP did cause one and polls indicated, at least at the outset, that the public didn't like them for it. Even though later polls showed the public moderating its views, no one in the party wants another one. Naturally, the Dems do if they can claim the GOP caused it again. Against that backdrop negotiators for the GOP have tried to work out an interim funding bill that isn't a complete capitulation to obama. The one they have arrived at isn't much, but is it worthy of passing at a time when the GOP wants to keep the full public focus on obamashame. Senator Lee and Senator Cruz oppose the deal. Others favor it. obama and his functionaries have driven a merciless bargain because they know a shutdown helps them. obama will not budge on entitlements because he doesn't have to. Any change to entitlements must wait for election gains by the GOP, both to up their numbers and to remove far left legislators from the ranks of dem leaders.
Anyway, Congressional Republican Leaders such as Paul Ryan and John Boehner have worked out a deal with obama to avoid another government shut-down. Both men claim that the Dems are actually hopeful of such a shutdown because it traditionally hurts the party perceived as causing it. Earlier in the year the GOP did cause one and polls indicated, at least at the outset, that the public didn't like them for it. Even though later polls showed the public moderating its views, no one in the party wants another one. Naturally, the Dems do if they can claim the GOP caused it again. Against that backdrop negotiators for the GOP have tried to work out an interim funding bill that isn't a complete capitulation to obama. The one they have arrived at isn't much, but is it worthy of passing at a time when the GOP wants to keep the full public focus on obamashame. Senator Lee and Senator Cruz oppose the deal. Others favor it. obama and his functionaries have driven a merciless bargain because they know a shutdown helps them. obama will not budge on entitlements because he doesn't have to. Any change to entitlements must wait for election gains by the GOP, both to up their numbers and to remove far left legislators from the ranks of dem leaders.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Heroic Mandela: A Hero for All of Time; NFL Playoff Chase: Snow can't stop Raven surge; Maryland Reaches Soccer's Final Four
BALTIMORE, Maryland December 9, 2013 - Mandela died on December 5: Just the shortest retelling of Nelson Mandela's story is all that is necessary to realize how heroic and noble this South African is. Sadly, he died last week at his home after a prolonged illness. Born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918 in the town of Mvezo in what is now the Cape Province of South Africa. According to Wikipedia, the town is on the banks of the Mbashe River, not far from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The funeral for Mr. Mandela will be held there on December 15, 2013.
Born into the royal family of the Thebu People, a tribe of South African people, Mr. Mandela studied at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand, both in South Africa. He studied law and worked as a lawyer for a time after graduating. Moving to Johannesburg, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became involved in anti-colonial politics. He was soon in charge of the ANC's Youth League and also took a leading role in a movement called the Defiance Campaign which opposed the South African National Party which ruled South Africa beginning in 1952. Originally dedicated to non-violent tactics, he eventually became involved in a militant organization known as Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961. This movement carried out a campaign of sabotage against the apartheid government. Arrested in 1962, he was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government and sentenced to jail. He served an incredible 27 years in various hellish prisons before being released in 1990. His long imprisonment became the focal point of an international campaign against the apartheid government. Civil unrest was mounting and Mandela's release was a conciliation by the white government of F. W. de Clerk. Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Clerk entered into negotiations that led to the abolition of apartheid and national elections open to citizens of all races. In that campaign, Mr. Mandela became the nation's first black President, and his government became one of conciliation and peace. In other contries, the end of colonial rule had sparked violence and reprisals of all kinds. Thanks in no small part of Mr. Mandela, that did not happen in South Africa. Both Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Clerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
No one would have blamed Mr. Mandela if he had emerged from his long confinement as a bitter man determined to take his revenge on his tormentors. Instead he accomplished the impossible with peace and non-violence. He has set an example for all people and is a role model for many.
The Snow Fell in Waves but Could Not Stop Ravens Charge: In the end, it may well be that the Ravens began their playoff push too late in this 2013 season to succeed. Although they currently occupy the sixth and final playoff position in the American Football Conference, their hold is tenuous and provides no room whatsoever for another loss. This scenario played a prominent position on Sunday as the Ravens battled the tenancious Vikings in Baltimore. Although their season's record was abysmal, Minnesota came in to Baltimore with a 2-1-1 record in its last four games and have shown signs of turning things around under interim head coach Leslie Frazier. What neither the Ravens or Vikings were fully prepared for was the extremely heavy snow storm that rolled into Baltimore at mid-morning Sunday, and was going strong when the two teams kicked off at 1:00 pm. The first half was a virtual white-out as quarterbacks struggled to grip and control the football and players struggled to keep their footing. Yardlines and end zones were kept partially visible only because grounds crew folk used snow shovels at almost every break in the action. The snow was so heavy in the first half that Joe Flacco said he had trouble seeing the white-clad Vikings down the field. By the fourth quarter the snow had changed to freezing rain, making more of the field at least visible after frantic half-time snow clearing. The footing never improved. The Ravens bravely held a narrow 7-6 lead after three quarters, thanks to a swarming and undaunted defense, Ed Dickson's touchdown catch after a Viking Turnover (and for Viking fans, there is no question this was a bad call to begin with, made all the more terrible because it was upheld on review. The Viking ball carrier was gang tackled, and with both knees on the ground the ball was ripped from his grip. But with the knees down the play was over and the fumble and turnover should never have stood), and Minnesota's virtually complete inability to convert third down opportunities. The Vikings punted nine times during the game.
In the fourth quarter the Vikings finally scored a touchdown to take the lead, and as the clock ticked down to within seconds of the two-minute warning, that lead, 12-7, still stood. That's when the bedlam started. The Ravens finally mounted a sustained drive, culminated by Dennis Pitta's catch of Joe Flacco's second TD pass of the game. It was Pitta's first game action since the Superbowl. He sustained a terrible hip injury early in training camp and needed serious surgery. There were fears, initially, that the injury was career threatening. But any fears about a lasting impact to Pitta's ability went thrown out the window in the third quarter when Pitta dove straight out and made a reception using only his hands, sending his body pounding into the frozen ground. He immediately popped up and trotted back to the huddle. After the TD, the Ravens went for a two point conversion and converted, giving them a 15-12 lead. The crowd assumed the game was over. Sadly, so did the Ravens. It took the Vikings all of two plays to drive for another go ahead touchdown. The score came on a 41 yard run by a back-up running back after All-Pro Adrian Peterson went down with an injury in the second quarter. Peterson then laid into the Raven faithful after some threw snowballs at the Viking bench. Shameful, more or less. I remember a playoff game at dear old Memorial Stadium. It had snowed the day before and the stadium seats were not cleared by any kind of ground crew. The fans took care of that, at least the ones in the closed end of the stadium. After an official's call the fans didn't approve of resulted in an Oakland touchdown, the fans opened up with a barage of snowballs at the poor officials who were condemned to stand there in the endzone for the extra point. I was still a teenager and it didn't seem all that shameful. Times change. Anyway, the Vikings then kicked off and Jacoby Jones got a running start as he caught the short kick. Seconds later he had run by the Viking defenders to put the Ravens back in front. It didn't last. This time a short pass turned into a 79-yard touchdown and the Vikings were back in front, 26-22. The clock showed 45 seconds and the Ravens had two time-outs. Joe Flacco went right to work, finding Pitta, Marlon Brown and, as i recall, Torey Smith, or was it Jacoby Jones. Anyway, the Ravens had a first down at the Viking 9-yard line with 10 seconds left. Flacco calmly lofted a soft high pass to the back of the endzone where Brown had found open space. At 6'5", Brown had the height and he also had the athleticism to sky into the air to catch the pass. He then landed with both feet barely in bounds. Game, set and match.
The win kept the Ravens in the final playoff position. They have no room for losses. Their lead is so narrow that they are actually in a tie with the Dolphins at 7-6, but have a technical hold on the playoff spot because the first tiebraker is head-to-head competition. The Ravens, recall, beat the Dolphins down in Miami. It is their only road win. Michael Preston of the Sunpapers wrote on Monday that the wild win indicates the Ravens have their "mojo" back. I hope so. They have two road games and one home game left to play. This weekend, they play the Monday Night game at Detroit, the NFC North's Division Leader. I actually think the Ravens will win a wild affair, by a score of something like 38-24. Unlike the game on Sunday, this one will be played under Pontiac's Dome. Flacco will have a field day.
Terps set for College Cup in Philadelphia; Will Face Virginia for Third Time: It was the kind of win that proves just how great a coach Sascho Cirovski is. The Maryland Coach dug in his cleats and started freshmen at the two central defensive positions and at Keeper c vvĩat the start of this season. The result was an unusual slow start by the always powerful Terrapins. Maryland's first game was at Stanford, a good but not great Pac-12 team. Maryland needed to rally to tie the game, and the tie held through overtime. The second game was at California, a very strong Pac-12 team, with the emphasis on "strong Pac-12". Again, Maryland fell behind, rallied to tie, and sent the game into overtime. This time California scored a golden goal and the Terps lost. They returned home and beat Duke decisively on a Friday night, but lost again to Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday night. Thus, they opened the season 1-2-1. In the coach's poll, a record like that would knock almost any other team out. But his fellow coach's only cut Maryland down to no. 12. In the most recent poll the Terps are no. 4, and one suspects they will be higher in a final poll after the College Cup. Maryland improved because the three freshmen improved. Well, they didn't improve individually, they didn't need to. What improved was their ability to play well with each other. Anyone who has ever been involved in soccer knows that team defense almost always improves as a season moves on, especially if the same players are on the pitch. Cirovski didn't back off his decision to start the three freshmen. He has been rewarded with an incredible, but not unusual Terrapin run. Under Cirovski, Maryland making the College Cup is not the exception, it is the norm. On Saturday, in Berkley, California, Alex Shinsky put the Terps on top after just over one-half hour of play. Shinsky is an outstanding player. He was the most highly recruited player in the land as a high school senior in York County, Pennsylvania. He has had to work hard to get playing time at Maryland, but now that it is coming regularly, he is making it count. The Bears tied the score in the opening minutes of the second half and the score remained that way until Michael Sauers blasted home the game winner with less than four minutes remaining.
All season long the national polls and the NCAA RPI rankings tried to tell everyone that the Pac-12 had arrived en force. UCLA and Washington were 1 snf 2 in the final poll after California held the number one spot for much of the season. In the national tournament, the NCAA selection committee seeded UCLA, Washington and California 1, 2 and 4 respectively. Many people suspected that the folks at the top were getting carried away and turns out that they were. Come the final four, all the Pac-12 lads are gone. And since they were seeded so high, you know that they all fell at home.
Friday, in Philadelphia, Notre Dame will play New Mexico at 5 pm. Then, for the third time this season, Maryland play's Virginia at 7:30 pm. You might have noticed that three of the final four are ACC teams. During the regular season, Maryland and Virginia played to a 3-3 tie in Charlottesville. Then, in the ACC Tournament Championship, Maryland edged Virginia, 1-0. In the regular season game, Patrick Mullins made two second half penalty kicks as the two teams battled to a 3-3 draw. In the ACC Title Game, the match was scoreless until the final minutes when Mullins managed to turn the corner on a Cavalier Defender and head toward the goal. But he was right at the end line and had no direct shot. What'd the country's greatest collegiate player do? He sent a hard shot along the end line. Directly in front of the goal a retreating defender tried desperately to arrange his legs and feet to somehow deflect the shot harmlessly away. But he couldn't. The shot hit the defender and went directly into the goal. Do ya think Mullins might get a bit of attention from the Cavaliers on Friday?
Born into the royal family of the Thebu People, a tribe of South African people, Mr. Mandela studied at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand, both in South Africa. He studied law and worked as a lawyer for a time after graduating. Moving to Johannesburg, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became involved in anti-colonial politics. He was soon in charge of the ANC's Youth League and also took a leading role in a movement called the Defiance Campaign which opposed the South African National Party which ruled South Africa beginning in 1952. Originally dedicated to non-violent tactics, he eventually became involved in a militant organization known as Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961. This movement carried out a campaign of sabotage against the apartheid government. Arrested in 1962, he was convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government and sentenced to jail. He served an incredible 27 years in various hellish prisons before being released in 1990. His long imprisonment became the focal point of an international campaign against the apartheid government. Civil unrest was mounting and Mandela's release was a conciliation by the white government of F. W. de Clerk. Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Clerk entered into negotiations that led to the abolition of apartheid and national elections open to citizens of all races. In that campaign, Mr. Mandela became the nation's first black President, and his government became one of conciliation and peace. In other contries, the end of colonial rule had sparked violence and reprisals of all kinds. Thanks in no small part of Mr. Mandela, that did not happen in South Africa. Both Mr. Mandela and Mr. de Clerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
No one would have blamed Mr. Mandela if he had emerged from his long confinement as a bitter man determined to take his revenge on his tormentors. Instead he accomplished the impossible with peace and non-violence. He has set an example for all people and is a role model for many.
The Snow Fell in Waves but Could Not Stop Ravens Charge: In the end, it may well be that the Ravens began their playoff push too late in this 2013 season to succeed. Although they currently occupy the sixth and final playoff position in the American Football Conference, their hold is tenuous and provides no room whatsoever for another loss. This scenario played a prominent position on Sunday as the Ravens battled the tenancious Vikings in Baltimore. Although their season's record was abysmal, Minnesota came in to Baltimore with a 2-1-1 record in its last four games and have shown signs of turning things around under interim head coach Leslie Frazier. What neither the Ravens or Vikings were fully prepared for was the extremely heavy snow storm that rolled into Baltimore at mid-morning Sunday, and was going strong when the two teams kicked off at 1:00 pm. The first half was a virtual white-out as quarterbacks struggled to grip and control the football and players struggled to keep their footing. Yardlines and end zones were kept partially visible only because grounds crew folk used snow shovels at almost every break in the action. The snow was so heavy in the first half that Joe Flacco said he had trouble seeing the white-clad Vikings down the field. By the fourth quarter the snow had changed to freezing rain, making more of the field at least visible after frantic half-time snow clearing. The footing never improved. The Ravens bravely held a narrow 7-6 lead after three quarters, thanks to a swarming and undaunted defense, Ed Dickson's touchdown catch after a Viking Turnover (and for Viking fans, there is no question this was a bad call to begin with, made all the more terrible because it was upheld on review. The Viking ball carrier was gang tackled, and with both knees on the ground the ball was ripped from his grip. But with the knees down the play was over and the fumble and turnover should never have stood), and Minnesota's virtually complete inability to convert third down opportunities. The Vikings punted nine times during the game.
In the fourth quarter the Vikings finally scored a touchdown to take the lead, and as the clock ticked down to within seconds of the two-minute warning, that lead, 12-7, still stood. That's when the bedlam started. The Ravens finally mounted a sustained drive, culminated by Dennis Pitta's catch of Joe Flacco's second TD pass of the game. It was Pitta's first game action since the Superbowl. He sustained a terrible hip injury early in training camp and needed serious surgery. There were fears, initially, that the injury was career threatening. But any fears about a lasting impact to Pitta's ability went thrown out the window in the third quarter when Pitta dove straight out and made a reception using only his hands, sending his body pounding into the frozen ground. He immediately popped up and trotted back to the huddle. After the TD, the Ravens went for a two point conversion and converted, giving them a 15-12 lead. The crowd assumed the game was over. Sadly, so did the Ravens. It took the Vikings all of two plays to drive for another go ahead touchdown. The score came on a 41 yard run by a back-up running back after All-Pro Adrian Peterson went down with an injury in the second quarter. Peterson then laid into the Raven faithful after some threw snowballs at the Viking bench. Shameful, more or less. I remember a playoff game at dear old Memorial Stadium. It had snowed the day before and the stadium seats were not cleared by any kind of ground crew. The fans took care of that, at least the ones in the closed end of the stadium. After an official's call the fans didn't approve of resulted in an Oakland touchdown, the fans opened up with a barage of snowballs at the poor officials who were condemned to stand there in the endzone for the extra point. I was still a teenager and it didn't seem all that shameful. Times change. Anyway, the Vikings then kicked off and Jacoby Jones got a running start as he caught the short kick. Seconds later he had run by the Viking defenders to put the Ravens back in front. It didn't last. This time a short pass turned into a 79-yard touchdown and the Vikings were back in front, 26-22. The clock showed 45 seconds and the Ravens had two time-outs. Joe Flacco went right to work, finding Pitta, Marlon Brown and, as i recall, Torey Smith, or was it Jacoby Jones. Anyway, the Ravens had a first down at the Viking 9-yard line with 10 seconds left. Flacco calmly lofted a soft high pass to the back of the endzone where Brown had found open space. At 6'5", Brown had the height and he also had the athleticism to sky into the air to catch the pass. He then landed with both feet barely in bounds. Game, set and match.
The win kept the Ravens in the final playoff position. They have no room for losses. Their lead is so narrow that they are actually in a tie with the Dolphins at 7-6, but have a technical hold on the playoff spot because the first tiebraker is head-to-head competition. The Ravens, recall, beat the Dolphins down in Miami. It is their only road win. Michael Preston of the Sunpapers wrote on Monday that the wild win indicates the Ravens have their "mojo" back. I hope so. They have two road games and one home game left to play. This weekend, they play the Monday Night game at Detroit, the NFC North's Division Leader. I actually think the Ravens will win a wild affair, by a score of something like 38-24. Unlike the game on Sunday, this one will be played under Pontiac's Dome. Flacco will have a field day.
Terps set for College Cup in Philadelphia; Will Face Virginia for Third Time: It was the kind of win that proves just how great a coach Sascho Cirovski is. The Maryland Coach dug in his cleats and started freshmen at the two central defensive positions and at Keeper c vvĩat the start of this season. The result was an unusual slow start by the always powerful Terrapins. Maryland's first game was at Stanford, a good but not great Pac-12 team. Maryland needed to rally to tie the game, and the tie held through overtime. The second game was at California, a very strong Pac-12 team, with the emphasis on "strong Pac-12". Again, Maryland fell behind, rallied to tie, and sent the game into overtime. This time California scored a golden goal and the Terps lost. They returned home and beat Duke decisively on a Friday night, but lost again to Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday night. Thus, they opened the season 1-2-1. In the coach's poll, a record like that would knock almost any other team out. But his fellow coach's only cut Maryland down to no. 12. In the most recent poll the Terps are no. 4, and one suspects they will be higher in a final poll after the College Cup. Maryland improved because the three freshmen improved. Well, they didn't improve individually, they didn't need to. What improved was their ability to play well with each other. Anyone who has ever been involved in soccer knows that team defense almost always improves as a season moves on, especially if the same players are on the pitch. Cirovski didn't back off his decision to start the three freshmen. He has been rewarded with an incredible, but not unusual Terrapin run. Under Cirovski, Maryland making the College Cup is not the exception, it is the norm. On Saturday, in Berkley, California, Alex Shinsky put the Terps on top after just over one-half hour of play. Shinsky is an outstanding player. He was the most highly recruited player in the land as a high school senior in York County, Pennsylvania. He has had to work hard to get playing time at Maryland, but now that it is coming regularly, he is making it count. The Bears tied the score in the opening minutes of the second half and the score remained that way until Michael Sauers blasted home the game winner with less than four minutes remaining.
All season long the national polls and the NCAA RPI rankings tried to tell everyone that the Pac-12 had arrived en force. UCLA and Washington were 1 snf 2 in the final poll after California held the number one spot for much of the season. In the national tournament, the NCAA selection committee seeded UCLA, Washington and California 1, 2 and 4 respectively. Many people suspected that the folks at the top were getting carried away and turns out that they were. Come the final four, all the Pac-12 lads are gone. And since they were seeded so high, you know that they all fell at home.
Friday, in Philadelphia, Notre Dame will play New Mexico at 5 pm. Then, for the third time this season, Maryland play's Virginia at 7:30 pm. You might have noticed that three of the final four are ACC teams. During the regular season, Maryland and Virginia played to a 3-3 tie in Charlottesville. Then, in the ACC Tournament Championship, Maryland edged Virginia, 1-0. In the regular season game, Patrick Mullins made two second half penalty kicks as the two teams battled to a 3-3 draw. In the ACC Title Game, the match was scoreless until the final minutes when Mullins managed to turn the corner on a Cavalier Defender and head toward the goal. But he was right at the end line and had no direct shot. What'd the country's greatest collegiate player do? He sent a hard shot along the end line. Directly in front of the goal a retreating defender tried desperately to arrange his legs and feet to somehow deflect the shot harmlessly away. But he couldn't. The shot hit the defender and went directly into the goal. Do ya think Mullins might get a bit of attention from the Cavaliers on Friday?
Monday, December 2, 2013
Worrying About the Ravens and still missing Bouldin
BALTIMORE, Maryland November 28, 2013 - Winning in the NFL is never an assumption. Every week some woebegotten team rises up and whacks some high and mighty team which decided to rest on its laurels. Fans of the Baltimore Ravens know that their team is the poster child for that truism, at least this season. After 13 weeks and 12 games the Ravens stand at 6-6. That, amazingly enough, is good enough to have the Ravens in a playoff position. If the season ended today the lads in purple would be the sixth playoff team in the American Conference. They would play at the divisional winner with the best record not qualifying for a bye. To earn at least one home playoff game the Ravens will have to finish strong, meaning they will have to win all of their remaining four games. Those games include a home game this coming weekend with the Vikings, a road game at the NFC North leading Detroit Lions, a home game against the AFC East leading Patriots and a road game at the AFC North leading Bengals, the team immediately in front of them in their division. It is anything but an easy schedule, especially the final three weeks. For the Ravens to make the playoffs they must assume they need to win all four games. For them to have any chance of winning the AFC North they must win all four games, especially the last game against the Bengals.
Can the Ravens do it? They are the defending Champs, so the answer to that question is yes. Will they do it? I worry about every Ravens' game this season. How could I not worry when they've lost to Buffalo and Cleveland, a not-very-good Green Bay team, a not-very-good Pittsburgh team (although they have avenged that loss), and been blown out by a Denver team they defeated, in Denver, in January? They've also lost that mess-of-a-game to the Bears. How could I not worry when the running game continues to be absolutely awful, save for the game in Chicago. How could I not worry when even Joe Flacco is unhappy with parts of the offense (the wildcat, which always seems to work). Have you noticed, incidentally, that when Flacco splits wide out in the wild cat he doesn't even move when the ball is snapped? Terrific. I remember a similar formation when Flacco was a rookie and he actually caught a touchdown pass when it was used
.
How could I not worry when the defense, while generally playing pretty well, seems to tire in the fourth quarter, allowing a team they've shut down for most of the first three quarters to suddenly start gaining first downs and scoring touchdowns galore in the fourth quarter? How often has that occurred? The loss in Cleveland was one, the home game against Green Bay was another, the Chicago game was another, the loss in Pittsburgh and the nailbiter win on Thanksgiving night here in Baltimore were two others, the Buffalo loss was another, and, well, in the Denver loss the defense seemed to stop playing effectively after the game officials gave the Broncos an undeserved first down at the start of the third quarter (i'm sick of hearing that that was Harbaugh's fault. It was the 100% fault of the knuckleheads who were officiating because one, they blew the same call earlier in the game, and two, quarterbacks always throw low to receivers in short yardage situations to prevent interceptions. That was an easy and obvious call and it was blown).
There are things to be optimistic about. The Ravens have won two straight, something they've only done once previously this season. They apparently will get Dennis Pita back for the Viking game. They got Marlon Brown back for the Steeler game and it paid instant dividends. If Pita contributes in a manner approaching what he's done in the past, and Brown keeps contributing, then the passing game should pick-up. Torey Smith and Jacoby Jones have been getting deep of late even without Pita.
The season is wrapping up, and it is too much to ask for the defensive line to improve more than a little bit from here on out. I know we're supposed to buy in to the improving physical condition of Haloti Ngata and the return of Pernell McPhee. But after these long long seasons, the big men are tired. The young linemen like Brandon Williams have never played this many games before, and the older linemen are tired because they aren't spring chickens anymore. The Ravens might be able to sneak by the faltering Steelers, the downbound Jets and the woebegotten Vikings. But they will have to ramp up the offense and defense to be able to win the remaining three games at the end of the schedule. Those games will be the true test of whether the defending champs have the ability to send fear down the spines of the AFC's elite, both in December and in January. They did, last year. Anquan Boldin was injured at the end of the regular season but returned for the playoffs. The same was true for Ray Lewis. Ray Rice was kept fresh last season thanks to Bernard Pearce. This year they both seem exhausted.
Yet it isn't an impossible task. They'll got into the Lion game on a three-game winning streak (assuming they beat Minnesota). Inside the dome in Pontiac Joe Flacco and the offense will have a very good game, and if the defense gets to Matthew Stafford enough the Ravens will win. The Ravens seem to have the Patriots' number of late and that streak could continue. Then the Ravens go into Cincinnatti. If the game has the Division title riding on it anything could happen. If, as seems a bit more likely, the Bengals have clinched but the Ravens need the win to get in, the Ravens will prevail.
One more thing: Anquan Boldin is 24th in the NFL in receiving with 61 receptions. He has a total of 822 yards. He has caught a pass in every game, and in only two games has he caught only one or two passes. He caught 13 passes in San Francisco's opening day win over Green Bay. He had nine receptions yesterday when the 49ers beat the Rams. By comparison, he had 65 receptions all of last season with the Ravens. He gained 921 yards. Torey Smith leads the Ravens this season with 54 catches, although he has far more yardage than Bouldin (952 ro 822), as you'd expect since Smith still goes deep several times each game. Bouldin is a physical, over-the-middle type of receiver. Because Bouldin is gone, Smith has been forced to adopt that role as well. More and more experts attribute the Ravens' offensive woes to losing Boldin to San Francisco. I had a very bad feeling about it the minute I heard it, and it had nothing to do with Torey Smith, who in the end may be one of the game's all-time great. Losing all of the players on defense didn't bother me near as much as losing Boldin. First, he's a winner. Second, he's like a coach on the field and a winner in the clubhouse. He spoke up for Flacco time and again. He made so many impossible catches I lost count. He was the unsung hero of the Ravens' Superbowl run. I thought he was the Super Bowl MVP in spite of Jacoby Jones' heroics and Flacco's great game. When the Ravens were behind, he was one of the guys who made me sure they could come back. Even when he was covered he was open because he would out jump, out-physical and out-win anybody in the game. He gave more to the community than almost any other Raven. Flacco had only learned to throw to him last season. For quarterbacks concerned about interception numbers, it takes nerve to throw to a receiver blanketed by the defense. Flacco finally started doing it last season, and by the playoffs he had all but perfected the trick. And not only did Bouldin catch every pass anywhere near him, he took all sorts of pressure off of Flacco and Torey Smith. With him and Smith in the game, covering Jacoby Jones was a total nightmare. Just ask the Broncos and the 49ers. I am sure if our great GM, Ozzie Newsome, had it to do over again, he'd find some way to keep Bouldin. Even if it meant making a slightly lower offer to Flacco, right?
Can the Ravens do it? They are the defending Champs, so the answer to that question is yes. Will they do it? I worry about every Ravens' game this season. How could I not worry when they've lost to Buffalo and Cleveland, a not-very-good Green Bay team, a not-very-good Pittsburgh team (although they have avenged that loss), and been blown out by a Denver team they defeated, in Denver, in January? They've also lost that mess-of-a-game to the Bears. How could I not worry when the running game continues to be absolutely awful, save for the game in Chicago. How could I not worry when even Joe Flacco is unhappy with parts of the offense (the wildcat, which always seems to work). Have you noticed, incidentally, that when Flacco splits wide out in the wild cat he doesn't even move when the ball is snapped? Terrific. I remember a similar formation when Flacco was a rookie and he actually caught a touchdown pass when it was used
.
How could I not worry when the defense, while generally playing pretty well, seems to tire in the fourth quarter, allowing a team they've shut down for most of the first three quarters to suddenly start gaining first downs and scoring touchdowns galore in the fourth quarter? How often has that occurred? The loss in Cleveland was one, the home game against Green Bay was another, the Chicago game was another, the loss in Pittsburgh and the nailbiter win on Thanksgiving night here in Baltimore were two others, the Buffalo loss was another, and, well, in the Denver loss the defense seemed to stop playing effectively after the game officials gave the Broncos an undeserved first down at the start of the third quarter (i'm sick of hearing that that was Harbaugh's fault. It was the 100% fault of the knuckleheads who were officiating because one, they blew the same call earlier in the game, and two, quarterbacks always throw low to receivers in short yardage situations to prevent interceptions. That was an easy and obvious call and it was blown).
There are things to be optimistic about. The Ravens have won two straight, something they've only done once previously this season. They apparently will get Dennis Pita back for the Viking game. They got Marlon Brown back for the Steeler game and it paid instant dividends. If Pita contributes in a manner approaching what he's done in the past, and Brown keeps contributing, then the passing game should pick-up. Torey Smith and Jacoby Jones have been getting deep of late even without Pita.
The season is wrapping up, and it is too much to ask for the defensive line to improve more than a little bit from here on out. I know we're supposed to buy in to the improving physical condition of Haloti Ngata and the return of Pernell McPhee. But after these long long seasons, the big men are tired. The young linemen like Brandon Williams have never played this many games before, and the older linemen are tired because they aren't spring chickens anymore. The Ravens might be able to sneak by the faltering Steelers, the downbound Jets and the woebegotten Vikings. But they will have to ramp up the offense and defense to be able to win the remaining three games at the end of the schedule. Those games will be the true test of whether the defending champs have the ability to send fear down the spines of the AFC's elite, both in December and in January. They did, last year. Anquan Boldin was injured at the end of the regular season but returned for the playoffs. The same was true for Ray Lewis. Ray Rice was kept fresh last season thanks to Bernard Pearce. This year they both seem exhausted.
Yet it isn't an impossible task. They'll got into the Lion game on a three-game winning streak (assuming they beat Minnesota). Inside the dome in Pontiac Joe Flacco and the offense will have a very good game, and if the defense gets to Matthew Stafford enough the Ravens will win. The Ravens seem to have the Patriots' number of late and that streak could continue. Then the Ravens go into Cincinnatti. If the game has the Division title riding on it anything could happen. If, as seems a bit more likely, the Bengals have clinched but the Ravens need the win to get in, the Ravens will prevail.
One more thing: Anquan Boldin is 24th in the NFL in receiving with 61 receptions. He has a total of 822 yards. He has caught a pass in every game, and in only two games has he caught only one or two passes. He caught 13 passes in San Francisco's opening day win over Green Bay. He had nine receptions yesterday when the 49ers beat the Rams. By comparison, he had 65 receptions all of last season with the Ravens. He gained 921 yards. Torey Smith leads the Ravens this season with 54 catches, although he has far more yardage than Bouldin (952 ro 822), as you'd expect since Smith still goes deep several times each game. Bouldin is a physical, over-the-middle type of receiver. Because Bouldin is gone, Smith has been forced to adopt that role as well. More and more experts attribute the Ravens' offensive woes to losing Boldin to San Francisco. I had a very bad feeling about it the minute I heard it, and it had nothing to do with Torey Smith, who in the end may be one of the game's all-time great. Losing all of the players on defense didn't bother me near as much as losing Boldin. First, he's a winner. Second, he's like a coach on the field and a winner in the clubhouse. He spoke up for Flacco time and again. He made so many impossible catches I lost count. He was the unsung hero of the Ravens' Superbowl run. I thought he was the Super Bowl MVP in spite of Jacoby Jones' heroics and Flacco's great game. When the Ravens were behind, he was one of the guys who made me sure they could come back. Even when he was covered he was open because he would out jump, out-physical and out-win anybody in the game. He gave more to the community than almost any other Raven. Flacco had only learned to throw to him last season. For quarterbacks concerned about interception numbers, it takes nerve to throw to a receiver blanketed by the defense. Flacco finally started doing it last season, and by the playoffs he had all but perfected the trick. And not only did Bouldin catch every pass anywhere near him, he took all sorts of pressure off of Flacco and Torey Smith. With him and Smith in the game, covering Jacoby Jones was a total nightmare. Just ask the Broncos and the 49ers. I am sure if our great GM, Ozzie Newsome, had it to do over again, he'd find some way to keep Bouldin. Even if it meant making a slightly lower offer to Flacco, right?
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