The irony (and fun) of Rodgers winning the MVP award

 

I enjoyed a good laugh when I read the other morning Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year.

I have nothing against Rodgers, and considering he posted 37 touchdowns against only one interception last season, he seems to be as worthy of the award as anyone else. In fact, Rodgers received 39 votes for MVP while Tampa Bay's Tom Brady earned 10 votes, according to an ESPN report.

Clearly those who vote on the award believed Rodgers earned it. And the irony of Rodgers winning the award, after all the intense criticism he received in 2021, made me laugh.

Information (I can't call it news) flows so rapidly these days that we hardly have time to fully process yesterday's controversy before the headlines serve up something new to make us fighting mad.

Why, only a few months ago sports writers and commentators were telling us Rodgers was a rotten egg because he ducked the Packers organization during much of the previous off-season. And they told us he was a lying scoundrel that ought to be driven from the league for violating the NFL's Covid-19 guidelines.

More than a few reporters were nearly rabid in their words about Rodgers. One writer suggested his actions put every NFL player at risk of death by C-19.

I don't follow the NFL closely so the intense views puzzled me, and seemed over the top. Rodgers certainly had some reporters, commentators and fans worked up, but most people seemed unmoved, willing to judge him based on his on-field performance rather than what he did off the field.

I think that's how it should be with professional sports, minus some obvious exceptions.

And it appears many others agree. All the fuss about Rodgers that aired in recent months seemed in the end to be more smoke than fire. And that's often how it goes these days.

-- Thanks for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome. Post them here, or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.

Wading through the headlines

 

An interesting announcement

Jesse Sullivan, a Republican running for governor in Illinois, recently announced Kathleen Murphy, a Republican strategist, would be his running mate.

Sullivan, a venture capitalist from Petersburg Illinois, promotes himself as an outsider and a down-stater. He says his campaign is about fighting high taxes, crime, and corrupt politicians. He has not previously held elected office.

Neither has Murphy, a mom and political operative from DuPage County. I don't know either one of them. I have never met or spoken with either Sullivan or Murphy. They seem like nice people, from the little I know of them, and they might do well in Springfield, if elected.

The pair are in a crowded field. There's something like five or six other candidates seeking the Republican nomination and the chance to face Governor JB Pritzker in the general election. The biggest challenge I see for the Sullivan-Murphy team at present is name recognition among Illinois voters. Perhaps they can overcome that challenge. The Illinois 2022 primary election is in June.

Speaking of politics

If you want to see something strange, check out Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's video announcing her campaign for reelection. Her friends and supporters might like it, but I found it creepy and unsettling. Let's just say sincerity is not Pelosi's strongest characteristic

Pelosi to U.S. Olympians: Be cool

I thought it odd when Pelosi warned American Olympic athletes last week not to anger the Chinese government with comments about things like China's forced labor camps, political prisoners and human rights violations. The instructions seemed bizarre to me. I don't understand why she didn't simply wish them well, tell them to do their best and offer prayers for a safe journey. Career politicians do weird things. 

Stirring the pot

I came across this nasty report from Catherine Herridge at CBS. Herridge tells us that some of President Trump's advisers talked about seizing voting machines in the days after the 2020 election. It's only deeper in the report that those involved in the "discussion" dropped the idea when they learned they lacked legal authority to do that sort of thing. 

In fact, it appears those involved were brainstorming ideas, came up with a weird one, but did nothing with it, because someone said they couldn't do it. Of course, that isn't much of a story, is it? 

Better to make it sound like Trump's top men plotted to seize voting machines with the possible intent of either destroying them or at least significantly tampering with them.  Still, that's not the way it was. 

I found it all disappointing, particularly coming from Herridge, who once did some highly competent reporting while covering the Pentagon.

It flows across the Southern border

A recent news report told about two Connecticut high school students who overdosed on weed laced with fentanyl. They were among thousands of Americans who overdose on the drug every month, according to authorities. These are the same authorities who tell us fentanyl flows across the Southern border, which exists in name only since President Biden took office.

I found it interesting that on the same day the two high school overdoses were reported CBS News told us the demonstrations by Canadian truckers threaten U.S. trade with that country. It seems our priorities are a bit mixed up, but that's just one guy's opinion.

Lori Lighfoot plays the blame game - again

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot routinely plays the blame game, pointing the finger of responsibility for everything wrong with Chicago at nearly anything but herself and her policies. This week she blamed the city's ongoing surge in carjackings on the remote-learning efforts the Chicago Public Schools employed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Previously she attributed Chicago's street violence to Indiana, Trump, the court, and Cook County's State's Attorney. Lightfoot frequently cites guns as the reason for the bodies that pile up in the city's streets, even though Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. 

I'm one of those who believes Chicago's crime epidemic runs much deeper than any one weakness, but I also believe much of what Chicago experiences today is directly linked to Lightfoot's accommodation of crime and lawlessness during the summer of 2020. She doesn't even think that far back. It's much easier, you see, to blame teachers, the federal government and a long list of others.

 

Suddenly Illinois Democrats are concerned about crime

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, two Democrats, made headlines this week talking about new efforts to fight crime in Chicago and other parts of the state. Both accommodated the lawlessness seen across the state during the summer of 2020, but now strike a 'get-tough" stance. Could it be both have finally seen the light, so to speak, or is there an election approaching? 

Tired old Hollywood

I had a good chuckle while reading a report about Hollywood's plan to remake 1990's "Presumed Innocent," a mediocre film adaptation of Scott Turow's bestselling novel of the same name. Hollywood is looking to produce an eight-part TV series. The original film starred Harrison Ford, and I remember it as slow and disappointing.

Maybe the new series will strike a chord with audiences, but I think the effort is further evidence that today's Hollywood is incapable of making original and outstanding movies that engage audiences and ultimately are timeless in their appeal. Prove me wrong.

  

-- Thank you for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome. 

A couple of thoughts on a winter day

 

I made a good batch of chili the other day, just in time for an early February snowstorm in my area. 

I'm one of those people who believe there's no such thing as a bad bowl of chili. I say the same thing about pizza. Friends tell me they only enjoy chili at certain times of year - early autumn and during the winter months.

I enjoy chili year round. During warmer months I might make a batch featuring chicken or ground turkey. I've made batches that included ground sirloin and ground pork. I've made batches without beans (the way my relatives in Texas tell me chili must be made), and I've made a batch or two that includes two or three different types of beans (the way my Italian friends tell me chili must be made). 

I'm partial to a recipe that calls for ground beef, chili beans, onions, and red and green peppers. It's a recipe I grew up and still enjoy, even when my Texas relatives call it a chili of "Northern aggression." 

Confirming what we suspected:

Researchers at John Hopkins University released a study that concluded the lock-downs ordered during the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020 had little impact in the fight against the virus, a matter many already believed to be true. 

Like most I complied with the orders because I had little choice the matter, and I put faith in the medical and science experts who were leading the fight against a virus we knew little about. And I think that was the right thing to do at the time. 

However, if additional research supports the findings of the John Hopkins' study, I hope that truth is widely shared and recognized. 

Interesting but not exactly meaningful

USA Today offered a report that named some of the "winners and losers" of this year's national signing day for college football. The report had a few good observations, I thought, but missed the mark on others. 

I'm not sure signing day remains as important as it once was, particularly when we factor in the college football transfer portal, which allows the big stars of last year's signing day to transfer to another school this year.

I enjoy reading these reports and even the early power rankings, but I keep in mind that it's all speculation. It's good material for the sports writers and bloggers, and it's interesting to college football fans like myself. As my Uncle Ernie was always fond of saying about such things, "Nothing really matters until the whistle blows at the start of the first real game of the season." 

-- Thank you for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome. Leave a message here or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.