So liberal sportswriter Sally Jenkins of the liberal Washington Post thinks NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown is a victim. Brown (formerly of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, and Pittsburgh Steelers) ripped off his uniform and walked out on his latest team (Bucs) during Tampa Bay’s game with the Jets on Jan. 2.
Michael Moffett
Manny, Freedom and Civics
MANNY RAMIREZ was one of my favorite Red Sox players, perhaps in part because we share the same May 30 birthday. He wasn’t the greatest left fielder ever, but that guy could hit.
Gillette Stadium and Our Football Patriots
My first excursion to a New England Patriots NFL game was way back in 1979. Then teaching at Groveton High School, I made the long journey to Foxborough with the GHS soccer coach to watch the Patriots crush the Colts 50-21.
Gruden and Northam—a Tale of Two Scandals
Former Las Vegas Raider coach Jon Gruden is suing the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell. Gruden resigned under pressure in October when tasteless emails he’d authored years ago were released as part of a probe into the supposedly problematic Washington Redskin culture.
China, Celtics, and Freedom
High profiles athletes often make “public service announcements” (PSAs) for this or that. Don’t use drugs. Get vaccinated. Stay in school. Then there is Boston Celtic center Enes Kanter, who perhaps issued the “Mother of all PSAs” when he warned that the Chinese Communist regime’s leader, Xi Jinping, was a “brutal dictator.”
Indians, Indignation, and Intolerance
Where can I get me a Cleveland Guardians tee-shirt? The Guardians, née Indians, are the new symbols of the Cleveland Baseball Team. But at least the Cleveland Baseball Team has a nickname, which makes that franchise better off than the Washington Football Team, née Redskins.
Horseplay, Heroes, and Hope
Who amongst us has never been on a horse? While no equestrian, I did once recklessly mount a big old horse roaming my grandfather’s apple orchard on his remote backcountry farm in Lunenburg, Vermont—way back when I was 11 or so.
Can Public Education Regain the Lost Confidence of Parents and Taxpayers?
Democrat Governor Kate Brown recently signed Oregon’s Senate Bill 744, ending graduation proficiency requirements. Sad but true. The Beaver State will allow students to graduate from high school that can’t read, write, or do the math – in line with national “dumbing down” movements.
Hockey, Hoop, Nascar, And Flags
I tuned into to NBC’s Sports Channel to watch NASCAR’s Foxwoods 301 which ran on July 18 in beautiful Loudon, N.H., but the race was temporarily rain-delayed. So I expertly deployed my remote control device and two clicks later found a Montreal Canadien hockey player checking a Tampa Bay Lightning player into the boards.
New Hampshire’s FITN Primary, Joe Biden, and Radicalism
A recent letter in the Concord Monitor (6-26-21) predicted that due to the “radical Republican legislative agenda” there “will be no sanctioned Democratic 2024 presidential primary election in NH.” Really?
Moses and Basketball’s “Promised Land”
A social media devotee, I recently saw a Facebook post from Kigali, Rwanda, authored by former Plymouth State basketball star Moses Jean-Pierre. He was there doing work for the NBA-Africa hoop league—of all things and of all places.
Excellence and Exceptionalism Should Be Embraced
During a recent golf outing with my friend Tom from Manchester, the conversation turned to the demise of youth sports in the Queen City. My buddy grew up there and once played on a Class L state championship basketball team as a Manchester kid.
Florida Golf, Deep Sea Fishing, And Politics
I occasionally socialize and play golf with some fellow Granite State legislators, also known as the “Beer Caucus.” (Motto: “We have fun, and we get things done!”)
“Civil” Sports Disobedience
In 1991 I returned to New Hampshire after being activated by the Marines for Operation Desert Storm, aka Persian Gulf War I. The happy homecoming will always be a fond memory. Some things had changed in my absence, of course, but time marches on.
Bye, Bye, Boston Baseball!
On October 4, 2003, I was one of 35,460 baseball fans at Fenway Park watching the Red Sox face elimination in the ALDS against the Oakland A’s pinch-hit for Gabe Kapler. Standing with many other fans on the right-field roof box terrace during the bottom of the 12th inning, I watched Trot Nixon proceeded to knock a Rich Harden offering out of the park for a two-run homer and a BoSox win.
Neville Chamberlain, Media Bias, and Candles
Former Congressman Lamar S. Smith echoed the sentiments of many when he stated that “The greatest threat to America is liberal media bias.”
BOSOX IDIOTS
“We’ll always have Paris.” So said Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) to Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) when they had to acknowledge the end of their doomed love affair in the classic movie Casablanca.
Education Politics, Proselytization, and Preordination
The poor man, whom the law does not allow to take an ear of corn when starving, nor a pair of shoes when freezing, is allowed to put his hand into the pockets of others and say, “You shall educate me.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Cam, Covid, and Cancellations
So after New England Patriot quarterback, Cam Newton tested positive for the coronavirus the Pats game at Kansas City was first canceled, then postponed, and then they ended up playing the next day.
FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND SPORTS BETTING
It’s nice to observe the fruits of one’s labors—which brings to mind two state representative friends: Howard Pearl (Loudon) and Tim Lang (Sanbornton). They’re also fellow members of the Beer Caucus—current and former legislators who believe socializing leads to better communication and understanding amongst all parties.