Unwanted Commentary

SEB posted this video, and I felt compelled to re-post it here. I'm always a little leery of Olbermann, as I am with most people who promulgate fiery speech. That said, my gut instinct to his comments isn't one of dismissive banality, but a deep sadness that what he's saying is true.

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I wonder what the solution is, and I wonder what the repercussions of this period in history will be. I've heard it said many times that a solution to health care must be found now, that our current system does not work, and I've heard this from every corner. So what does it mean that so many are willing to do nothing then, do nothing but obstruct the ability to find? The rest of this god-for-saken world has found solutions to this problem, but the United States has not. What does that say about us? Is this all about money? Just money? Are the ultra-wealthy so unwilling to become less ultra-wealthy that the would willingly destroy and lay into bondage those that are poorer than themselves?

Posted by Jeff at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rude Pundit has a good article up.

We have lost the courage again to do really big things in this nation that don't involve blowing shit up and killing people, things that actually affect people on a day-to-day basis and make their lives easier. Our government only does things within a narrow sliver of possibility, pressed in by corporate money, lies, and fear.

What has totally demoralized me is the number of people out there, ordinary people, people who in fact don't have health insurance, who are so violently opposing legislation that would benefit them. Such is the power of the lobby, the persuasive rantings of madmen and the effectiveness of their propaganda that their very foot soldiers are destroying themselves to carry out their will. It will be the tea party participants, the makers of Obama as Hitler signs, and those waving the Don't Tread on Me flags that will in the end suffer the most, while those that moved them as pieces in play look down and warm their hands on fires made of money.

I hope that I'm wrong, that this apparent level of insanity is something I perceive only because I've been deluded by liberal influences. Something tells me that this is not the case though. I am not an astute observer of all things, and I am too lazy to research, but as it appears to me there is only one side offering a solution, while the other side only works to prevent that solution from happening. There appears to be no ideas offered from the Republicans, from the conservative fear-mongers and the frothy-mouthed fanatics. They seem only to want to defeat the implementation of universal health care, and at this they seem to be winning, indeed their victory seems nigh. Even as the Democrats stand astride the workings of government with complete control they seem defeated.

What happens next?

Posted by Jeff at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The trip to Corsicana in support of the Lorena Leopards was a great experience, though it was incredibly cold hovering in the low twenties. This was the State Quarter Finals for Division II, and it was an extreme blast to see the Leopards make it that far into such a highly competitive Texas High School Football playoffs season. Unfortunately the results of the game were not in our favor, and the boys couldn't quite keep up with the Carthage Bulldogs who pulled out ahead late and won the game 28-21. That said, Lorena played the #2 team in the state toe-to-toe, and any team without the talent of Carthage would not have been able to beat us on that frigid Friday night.

It was obvious that Carthage wanted to get out ahead of us early, and I couldn't blame them, in the four games that I saw Lorena play they always played a disciplined time control type of game. I knew they had to be aware of that too. Against Center and Coldspring it was this tenacious style of play that kept us in the game all night and allowed us to win both games. In both of those instances it took us a full four quarters of football to win, and while it was hell on the blood pressure, you couldn't argue with the results. Unfortunately for Carthage they didn't come out firing on all cylinders and they ended up making several costly mistakes in the first half, and at the end of all that we were tied 7-7.

The second half was an antithesis to the first with five touchdowns scored between the two clubs. And again, Lorena wasn't going to go away, though Carthage tried mightily to swat us down and put us away. I think their enthusiasm to get ahead was what lead them to be so confident in their play making ability, and it's what let the Leopards stay in the game. In the end Lorena drove from its own 35 to the Carthage 48, where a most unfortunate illegal procedure penalty pushed us back to a 4th and 12. That last play ended up with an interception, and our only turn over of the game. Carthage took a knee on the resulting series, and I appreciated their sportsmanship as they could have tried to score again. There again, maybe they had finally learned to respect us, and didn't want to take the chance of making a mistake. They had lived pretty close to the edge all night, but where we had found a way the last two weeks we couldn't quite do it that night. We went out swinging though!

I, and I suppose most of Lorena, can't be more proud of what the Leopards accomplished this season. When mom had told me they had made it into the playoffs I was excited, but didn't hold out much in the way of expectation. After watching them handily beat Brownsboro I still wasn't sure we would make it very far, because while we handled them pretty easily we had made a lot of mistakes. When we played Center I began to believe a little more, and then against Coldspring I felt that we could play against just about anyone if we played the kind of ball we played in those two games. I don't think I've ever seen a team play such four solid quarters of disciplined, smash-mouth football as the Leopards did in those two games. They protected the ball, they had minimal penalties, and they rammed the ball up the gullet of two very good teams, never giving up, hanging around and winning in the end. They elevated their game to new levels each week, and that a strong testament to the character of the team and coaching staff. That same style of play earned the respect of the Carthage Bulldogs, who had walked over us last year 48-14, and we truly did come within a score of winning that game.

The only downside to all of this post-season excitement is that it makes you want more next season, and I can't wait to see what little ol' Lorena will do next year.

Go Leopards!

Posted by Jeff at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's bloody cold out there, but in a few hours we'll be down in Corsicana, TX a-hootin' and a-hollerin' for the Lorena Leopards as they take on the #2 Carthage Bulldogs in the 3A Div II. State Quarterfinals. At least I think that's the correct way to put it. This is the fourth round anyway, and we're up against a doozy of a team in Carthage. I've found only one brave soul, from the Waco Trib of all places, that predicts will win. All others show Carthage handling us pretty easily, but that's why we play the game, and...well...this is nothing new, Lorena has always been the underdog, so we should be used to it. When we won state in 1987 we were predicted to loose at every turn, and even the home town paper found it unbelievable that little ol' Lorena did what they did. We've been predicted to loose every round in this playoff season, but we're still playing.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but in the back of my heart I know the odds are really against us. Carthage is #2 for a reason, they were 2008 State Champs and they're on a 26 game win streak. But I've seen Lorena play with a lot of guts and a lot of heart, and Evan Ward (RB) is as tough a runner as I've ever seen, and if we can get lucky, and we play as clean a game as we did last week, then I think we have a chance.

Either way I can't wait for 5:00 to roll around so we can get on the road and head down, I'm super pumped. Just getting to this level is a major accomplishment.

Posted by Jeff at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My high school alma mater has for the last three weeks been engaged in the 3A Texas High School playoffs, and it's kind of a big deal. I didn't pay attention to the regular season, or district play, while it was going on, but I did receive inconsistent updates from my mother who works in the school district. It seemed like we were doing well, we won games, we beat La Vega and Mexia, and this was a big deal I am now led to believe. Lorena has never been known as a High School football powerhouse, so my expectations of the varsity team are always reserved, and any success has been celebrated with enthusiasm. That said, when mother informed me that the Lorena Leopards would play for B-District (the first round of playoffs) I felt I had to attend.

We made it to the second found of playoffs last year, but we had entered the playoffs under what some (read Robinson HS) would term dubious circumstances. Evidently the La Vega Pirates had let us win, which eliminated Robinson from the playoffs, but let us in. The game didn't mean anything to La Vega, they were already district champs I believe, but this allowed in a lesser opponent, so it made sense for them. Still, the boys won the first game, but succumbed to the Carthage Bulldogs in Area play, who would go on to win the State Championship last year. This year was different, the Lorena Leopards made the playoffs of their own volition with a 4-1 district record.

Our first round game, bi-district, would be played in Corsicana, TX against the Brownsboro Bears and despite a lot of mental mistakes we managed to best them 37-14. The Bears made a valiant rally in the second half where they scored their two touch downs, but they never really challenged us. I was pleased, we had won the first round, and as I didn't know the caliber of our team I was excited by the safe victory, but figured I was safe in harboring my excitement. If we won or lost the next week was a moot point, I was extremely happy we had made it past this first game.

Second round was played in Huntsville at the Sam Houston stadium against the Center Bulldogs, who hail from East Texas I believe, near the Louisiana border. This was a defensive game from the get go, but at the half we were down 10-7. Early on I feared that this could turn ugly, but our defense stiffened, and Center made mistakes that kept them from getting more points. The Bulldogs were fast, but I think we out sized them and we wore them down, plus they had to have dropped the ball about a dozen times, and while they got most of those back we managed to get a few turnovers. The last one led to our second touchdown from their 35 or so. When the dust settled the Lorena Leopards had pulled it out 13-10, and we lived to play another round.

I was pretty sure we were going to start running up against some of the big boys now, and I wasn't wrong. The third round Regional playoff was played in College Station against the Coldspring-Oakhurst Trojans at the A&M Consolidated field. Thankfully not at Kyle field, where we lost the '89 State game to Groveton 20-13, a game we very nearly won. I didn't know what to expect from the Trojans, but the predictions were half-and-half. It was obvious from first view that Coldspring was big, and it became obvious as the game started that they were fast. And we had no answer for their offense, and the scored on every possession in the first half, but suprises never cease and we were able to move the ball against them. We didn't score every time we touched the ball, but enough to keep hanging around. By the middle of the third quarter we were down 29-13, and to be honest I thought we were done, the Trojans had just made it look so easy to score against us. Then it started, after an awesome double reverse pass play that set up a touchdown, and brought us within 10 points, 29-19, we finally got what we needed. A stop on defense. Now, Coldspring helped us by getting some bad penalties, but we forced them to punt and got another score to put us at 29-26. I think we were all going crazy at this point, we couldn't believe it, and here we were within striking distance, but the big question was could we stop them again.

As the Trojans took possession of the ball, man it didn't look good. They marched down the field, quickly!, getting into our territory way to easily, but then by god we stacked'em up at the 37, and before I could believe it they were on fourth down. Now, it seemed unimaginable that we would stop them, they only needed a yard, and we'd had trouble keeping them from getting yards all night. Even their shortest runs had gotten 4-5 yards most of the time, but then it happened, their quarterback got tied up at the line of scrimmage, then he made his mistake. Another thing to keep in mind is that we penetrated the back field most of the game, but we just couldn't bring these guys down, especially the quarterback #10 and when he dropped back to pass, if he couldn't find anyone open, he'd just run it from 5-10 yards in the backfield for first downs. So when he fell back a few yards after getting held up, I just knew he was going to make the play. He had all night. But not this time, we got him in the backfield and they ball was turned over on downs.

Could we do it? We had five minutes and change to work with, and I was starting to wonder. Could we take the ball down the field, eat up the clock and come out of this with a win? Just maybe we could. So we took the ball and went to work. We moved the ball onto their side of the field, but after a few blown plays we faced a 4th and 8, and I figured this was it, I think we all did. They went for it, of course, and the QB dropped back to pass, and while we can pass the ball pretty well, it isn't our speciality, but he lobbed that ball up and one of our receivers caught it at the Trojan 35 for a 13 yard gain, and a first down. Evan Ward, our HB, took it from there and we scored to take our first lead of the night 33-29, but we'd done it too quickly. Coldspring still had two minutes and change, and knowing how they'd played the whole game that was more than enough.

After a great run back to almost mid-field the Trojans got to work, and as they got closer to the end zone I started feeling that we wouldn't be able to stop them this third and last time. They were on our 35 when our stalwart defensive team, who didn't give up the whole night, finally held them again, and there they were with a fourth down, needing a touch down. Only handful of ticks left. Their QB takes the snap and rolled out to his left and chucked the ball up, and they had a guy in the end zone. Only problem is we had three guys on him, and one of them picked off the ball, and it was all over. We had managed to win 33-29, and I think we were all in shock as to what had just happened.

I'm not an expert on Texas High School football by any means, but the Lorena Leopards played their hearts out that night, they never gave up, and they pulled out an amazing win. I want to say that Coldspring was probably more talented, and should have won that game, but our guys earned it, and the earned it all night. While our defense bent so much they were close to snapping, they never did, and they never gave up any really big plays for scores. They made the Trojans work for everything they did, and I think in the end that's what wore them down. On top of that the Leopards played four solid quarters of football, and were going just as hard as when the game started. And we didn't make mistakes, no turn overs and minimal penalties. Coldspring didn't make many mistakes either, but their penalties hurt them in the end, and truth be told they got away with a lot of holding. Coldspring was a great team, maybe a better team on most nights, but not that night. There's no other way of saying it, on Friday, 27 2009 Lorena was the better team, they deserved that win, and the earned that win, and I don't think you can argue with that.

Now we face what is I believe the #2 3A team in the state, the Carthage Bulldogs, in Corsicana at 7:30 this Friday. This will be the quarter finals of the Texas High School playoffs, and a Lorena team hasn't been here since 1989, but the two times we've made it this far we've gone to state. I want to say we have more than our share of work cut out for us against Carthage, and that's true, but we've had our work cut out for us the whole way, so I think our boys are used to that. If we play like we did against Coldspring, then I think we could stand a chance against them, but we'll have to wait and see.

Go Lorena Leopards! Go Big Red!

Posted by Jeff at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)