It has been over 9 months since I posted my first Thoughts for the Day blog. This is my first for 2021. Who knows what this year will bring. I am counting on hope and civility.
Tuesday January 5 is just a continuation of the election 2020 that seems to never end. Within the next 48 hours we will find out which party will control the Senate as we find out the results of the run off elections for the two senate seats in Georgia. Georgia has been in the election spotlight since November 3. Tomorrow the spotlight will be on them and no one else.
Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffenspurger will probably be glad when this is over. He has been in President Trump’s crosshairs since November 3. It all culminated this weekend when President Trump asked him to find 11,000 votes. Someone recorded the conversation and leaked it to the press. The conversation is not surprising to me, but it is a significant concern when the POTUS tries to intervene in a state election after the election has been certified.
It is not surprising to me that the distribution of the vaccine is running into major problems. An effort of this magnitude requires significant planning and coordination at the federal. state, county and local healthcare provider level. Over burdened state, county and local healthcare providers are struggling to keep their heads above water. Putting the additional burden of distribution and vaccination on them is way to much to ask of them at this point in time. There will be lots of lessons learned when this is over.
The new strain of the coronavirus is concerning. It appears to be spreading at a much faster level than Covid-19. This does not bode well for the US based on our track record with Covid-19.
Yesterday was the final game of the season for the Detroit Lions. I happened to catch five plays throughout the game. The Lions went three and out on their first possesion of the game. I then saw two plays in the second half. An illegal procedure penalty on the tightend, followed by Stafford’s only interception of the game. Thank god I am smart enough to not waste my time ruining 16 Sundays every fall.
On the bright side I did watch Michigan’s men’s basketball game against Northwestern last night. It was the second game in a row U of M put on a clinic on both ends of the court, especially in the second half. They are one of only 4 Division 1 schools who remain unbeaten. They are now ranked in the top 10.
Speaking of men’s basketball. The NCAA announced today the entire 2021 March Madness Men’s Basketball tournament will be played in central Indiana, with the finals being played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Just another result of Covid-19. Congrats to the NCAA, the City of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, the University of Indiana, Purdue University and Marriott Hotel for making this happen.
In my post on December 31, I indicated I was disgusted by the behavior of the Mississippi State and Tulsa football teams for the ugly brawl that occurred at the end of the game. I was glad to see that so many others expressed their disgust with the players and coaches of both teams for allowing this to happen. Both schools said all the right things on Friday. It remains to be seen if any of the head coaches will be held accountable for their teams actions.
I am reminded of an incident that occurred in the 1972 Division 2 Men’s basketball finals when George Gervin of Eastern Michigan University punched an opposing player near the end of the game as EMU went down to defeat. EMU’s head coach Jim Dutcher resigned the next day, saying that if he could not control his players better than that, he had no business being a head coach. I cannot imagine that happening in today’s high priced college coaching world.
My quote of the day comes from Mike Leach, Head Coach of Mississippi State University football team following the above mentioned brawl.. “It’s dumb. The root of it’s dumb, no matter what the root of it is. The root of it’s dumb and the continuation of it’s dumb,” he said. “I would have that solidly in the category of dumb. Now where the dumb started, I’m not entirely sure.”