A Primary Victory on Sept. 9! On to Nov. 4!

A good day in Loudon/Canterbury !!!! ON TO NOVEMBER !!!

State House - Merrimack District 9 - GOP Primary
September 10, 2014 - 08:25AM ET
New Hampshire - 2 of 2 Precincts Reporting - 100%...

Moffett, Michael 464    43%
Kreis, Kenneth    441    41%
Shaikh, Lee         176    16%

Running for State Representative!

Yes, I am a candidate for N.H. State Representative, for Merrimack 09 (Canterbury/Loudon). There is a time to stand up and for me, 2014 is that time. Yes, citizens are upset with what has been happening in Washington and Concord, to include the profligate spending that threatens the future for our young people.Yes, most Americans now wish that Mitt was President. We can't change 2012, but we can chart a better course for the future, starting in 2014, and starting in N.H. My theme is "Accountability, Integrity, and Service" and I also want to encourage a better appreciation for our American heritage. Folks who know me know that I take all this very seriously, that I Iisten, and that I'm conscientious. I look forward to meeting and working with people from all over to make a difference for the better!

 

 

Redskins?

REDSKINS

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." – William Shakespeare.

 

So if the Washington Redskins change their name, will they still stink?

Pressure has been building for this NFL franchise to change its nickname to something more politically correct.

The team has been called the Redskins for 80 years and it was never an issue until recently. While activists have been successful in many schools and colleges in getting sports programs to drop Native American/Indian nicknames, big league teams seemed immune to politically correct pressures, and Redskins, Braves, Indians, and Warriors still competed with their long-time nicknames.

The nicknames, ironically, were meant to HONOR Native Americans, not disparage them. Inevitably, some malcontents were “offended” by some of the caricatures portrayed and adjustments were made. For example, Chief Noc-a-homa, the Atlanta Brave mascot, retired for good. Teams tried to compromise.

And most Native Americans were not offended. A Sports Illustrated survey found that almost 80% of American Indians supported the nickname associations. Indeed, the sign outside a high school on a Navajo reservation proclaimed “Welcome to the Home of the Redskins.”

What’s really troubling is that this is yet another example of a small minority of activists defining the issue on THEIR terms, i.e. “Redskin” being insensitive or worse. So they try to impose their perspective on everyone else.

This nonsense has been going on for far too long. It’s tough to counter it, because the activists are so quick to play the “racist” card, and who needs that?

Shockingly, the federal government has now taken sides, led by President Obama, who presumably has more pressing issues to deal with.

Michael Galo reported in “Athletic Business” that the United States Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six federal trademark registrations for the name of the Washington Redskins, ruling that the name is "disparaging to Native Americans." Due to its "disparaging" nature, the name cannot be trademarked under federal law which prohibits protection of offensive or disparaging language. The decision allows anyone to use the "Redskins" name on merchandise or other memorabilia, without needing permission.

So a team that honors Native Americans with a nickname that most Native Americans support is losing trademark property rights. It’s outrageous.

When are we going to stand up to these activist bullies? Appeasing them simply encourages them to continue their moral preening as they target their next victims. School boards and timid college administrators usually acquiesce to the unhappy braying of the politically correct, but kudos to Washington Redskin owner Dan Snyder for standing firm.

Property rights, freedom of speech, and tolerance of different perspectives are hallmarks of a great America. Too many activists in Washington—and Concord—have been successful at eroding these rights. If we let them get away with it, then we only have ourselves to blame.

CUPCAKES AND BEER

Along the same lines as above …

For generations youngsters celebrated each other’s birthdays at school with cupcakes. But no more. Due to the First Lady’s crusade for “healthier” eating, some schools told students that birthday cupcakes are now forbidden, due to nutritional concerns.

Where will it end?

And …the Orange County Register recently reported the firing of Jay Creps, who led Chatsworth School's softball team to the L.A. City Section Division 1 championship game. Principal Tim Guy canned him after a parent turned in a photo of him drinking beer out of a bottle during a team bonding party at his home that was attended by parents and players in either 2012 or 2013. So now you can get fired for having a legal libation in your own home? Granted, Creps may have been better advised to have had a soda. But SODA POP is now forbidden in many schools. Too much sugar, the First Lady will tell you.

Where will it end?

ON A HAPPIER NOTE …

… the Orange County Register also reported that more than 500 baseballs and softballs, 60 bats, 20 batting tees, umpire gear and other items were donated to the local Banning-Pass Little League by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The gear represents a $5,500 gift from the tribe to the league, according to a news release from the tribe.

One of the teams in the Banning-Pass Little League is known as the Indians. Presumably they won’t need to change their name!

World Cup!

 

WORLD CUP MANIA!

   The quadrennial World Cup Soccer Tournament inevitably reminds me of my Groveton High School language teacher, Gerard Gaetjens. One October afternoon in 1972, Monsieur Gaetjens ventured to the GHS soccer field to watch our Purple Eagles lose a hard-fought 2-1 contest to a White Mountain Regional team that would end the season as undefeated state champions. (There was only one N.H. boys’ tournament in those days.) A fellow named Dave Pinkham scored both goals for WMRHS. Apres le match—after the game—Monsieur Gaetjens spoke rather dismissively of the quality of soccer he'd witnessed, which I found annoying.

 

   "What does he know?" I thought. "Isn't he from Haiti? Do they even have sports in Haiti?"

   But I knew that soccer (or futbol) WAS the world's most popular sport—played in virtually every nation.

   I remained a soccer guy after high school and made the sub-varsity team at UNH as a freshman. I played several seasons in the NH summer soccer conference. I was delighted to see both my daughters serve as soccer team captains at Concord High School. So being a soccer guy, I naturally get World Cup fever every four years. Men's AND women's. Watching the U.S. women's team beat China for the 1999 Women's World Cup remains one of my top sports memories.

   And as a sports historian of sorts, I knew that the USA didn't have much of a World Cup tradition before the 1990s. Except for 1950. I later read about how that year, a hastily thrown-together U.S. Men's National Team traveled to Brazil for the World Cup tournament. The squad included semi-pro players who otherwise taught high school, drove hearses, or delivered mail. A 500-1 shot, the Americans found themselves scheduled to play a powerhouse England team that had defeated a strong Portugal team 10-0 in Lisbon two weeks earlier. But in a true sports miracle—apologies to 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team—the US pulled off a 1-0 win, in what some still feel is the greatest World Cup upset of all time.

   The lone goal was scored on a first half header by a Haitian dishwasher then living in New York City. His name was Joe Gaetjens—brother of Gerard, my high school French teacher.

   I guess they did have sports in Haiti after all!

Sochi Olympic Mania!

WINTER OLYMPICS!

The 22^nd Winter Olympic Games get underway on Feb. 7 and the eyes of the sports world will turn to Sochi, Russia, for over a fortnight. As usual, attention will focus on skiing, figure skating, and hockey. But there are many other winter sports as well—including curling!

Curling always begs the question as to whether or not this activity is really a sport. It’s kind of like billiards on ice, only with fewer and bigger balls. Actually they’re polished stones which curlers slide towards the center of concentric circles, while also seeking to knock out opponents’ stones. It’s weird, but it has a cult following. I can’t help but watch.

Among the other sports that some may consider weird is the biathlon, which involves skiing and shooting. Cool. The biathlon always brings back memories of training in Norway with A-Company of the reserve 25^th Marine Regiment in 1993. We were in the Arctic that March as part of a NATO exercise and our reservists from Maine and New Hampshire really shined. A reserve outfit doesn’t always compare well to an active duty unit featuring full-time servicemen. But our company was full of northern New England woodsmen, hunters, and skiers who knew how to deal with frozen conditions. Many of the active duty Marines—who hailed disproportionately from places like Texas, Louisiana, and Florida—were absolutely miserable. But the northern New Englanders were always ahead of schedule as we whipped around the training areas on our cross country skis.

One day we received a surprise visitor—retired General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who appeared at our camp with a CBS-TV film crew. Most of us had served under Schwarzkopf two years earlier during Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. Being forward deployed, we never saw the general in the desert. But the “Most Admired Man in America” somehow found his way to our Arctic bivouac. His mission was to get video footage of Marines in the snow for a feature that CBS would run the following year when it covered Norway’s 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. He’d apparently heard that our guys were adept at skiing and shooting and his crew got lots of footage. I was thrilled to see some of my men in the feature which aired during those Lillehammer Games (yes, the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan Olympics).

The military actually deserves much credit for the development of winter sports in America, beyond the biathlon. The 10^th Mountain Division specifically trained for winter warfare and thousands of its men became proficient skiers who after the war pushed for the development of new ski areas all over the country, including several in N.H.

The 10^th Mountain Division’s very first volunteer was Private Charles McLane, Captain of the Dartmouth College ski team, who enlisted a day after the Pearl Harbor attacks, Dec. 8, 1941. His ski coach, Walter Prager, later enlisted as well.

A recent VFW Magazine article also mentioned Lebanon’s Bob Townsend, who overcame a war wound to ski in the 1948 Winter Olympics. Keene’s John Morton, a Vietnam veteran, qualified for the 1972 Olympic Team while another former soldier, Peter Dascoulias of Franklin, skied in the 1976 Olympics.

The proficiency of New Hampshire’s military men in the snow is nothing new. The legendary colonial scouts known as Rogers Rangers were adept at winter warfare, using snowshoes to ambush and defeat a French force south of Lake Champlain in 1757. (In 1940, Finnish ski troops successfully held off a huge Soviet army by using swiftness and mobility to ambush and decimate road-bound Soviet forces.)

So while ice hockey and skiing will get big TV ratings from Russia over the next two weeks, you can be sure that some of us will be watching the biathlon with special interest and appreciation.

And yes, for some reason, I’m sure I’ll be watching the “fierce” curling competition as well.

USA! USA! USA!

 

RAIDER RUFFIANS?

RAIDER RUFFIANS AND FOOTBALL FANATICS

Aaron Hernandez’s name came up during a recent Sports Law class. The former New England Patriots tight end was incarcerated earlier this year and charged with murder. It will take a while for his case to go to trial, as the wheels of justice move slowly in America. But eventually he’ll be convicted and sentenced.

 

Or will he?

What if Hernandez is found “not guilty?” Stranger things have happened. (Can you say “OJ?”)

Would he return to the Patriots? Highly unlikely. So I asked my students, if not the Patriots, then what team would be most apt to sign Hernandez?

“The Raiders!” they responded in unison. 

 

I laughed. An earlier discussion had centered on what will happen to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, now that he has been supplanted by Nick Foles. Vick is a convicted felon who did serious prison time for his involvement with dog fighting. If the Eagles release Vick, what team would be most likely to take a chance on him?

 

“The Raiders!” my students responded in unison. 

 

What is it about the Raiders?

Every team has its own culture, and Raider culture is renegade culture. Oakland has long been known to give second chances to purported bad hombres—which is nice, if you’re a bad hombre.

Having spent considerable time in San Diego, I picked up on the cultural differences between Charger fans (chilled) and Raider fans (swilled). San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium always sold out for the annual Raiders game, with many thousands of Raider fans donning their black and silver garb, putting on their eye-patches, grabbing their chains, and heading for the stadium.

 

This is not to say that all Raider fans are outlaws. It’s just that bad 90% that give the good 10% a bad name. Consider the recent Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas, where the Cowboys hosted the Raiders. Dallas’ Channel 11 reported how after the Dallas victory, Cowboy fan Carlos Olivares was leaving the stadium yelling “Go Cowboys!” His next memory was waking up in a hospital bed, unable to open his eyes.

“I woke up in shock,” Olivares said. “I got up real fast ‘cause I didn’t know where I was. Nurses held me down.”

 

Witnesses told police that several men wearing Raiders attire attacked Olivares . Friends found him lying on the ground, unconscious. His cell phone was gone, as was the cash from his wallet. Despite the beating and memory loss, doctors told him he was lucky.

“I’m just glad I was left alive,” Olivares said.

Laid-back San Diegans are familiar with such behavior. So with pro football being a business, the Charger management decided to screw the Raider fans. San Diego was struggling and was not selling out Qualcomm—except for the Raider game, when black-shirted fans bought every available ticket. So the Chargers decreed that anyone who wanted a single ticket to the Raider game had to buy a three-game package. Raider fans only wanted to see the one game, but were incensed at having to pay for three. This did not improve their moods as they tailgated in Qualcomm’s giant parking lot, drinking hard stuff and looking for trouble.

Other Sports Cultures

 

Referring to Raider fans as hooligans overstates the renegade aspect of Raider culture. Hooligans are British soccer followers who are actually criminals who use sport as an excuse for mayhem. But sports fans in certain American cities do take on tribal characteristics.

 

The aforementioned San Diego fans are famously laid-back, whereas Boston Red Sox fans were famously fatalistic—at least until 2004. New York fans are famously obnoxious. Philadelphia fans are famously cruel—known to boo everyone from Santa Claus to Miss Pennsylvania. Cleveland fans are famously morose.

Sport sociologists studied these tribal traits and identified the three most volatile fan segments.  Foxsports.com described an Emory University study that confirmed what many have long purported: Football fans—especially those rooting for New England, Pittsburgh, or Oakland—can be unstable.

 

Pats fans unstable? Say it isn’t so!

 

Marketing professors Michael Lewis and Manish Tripathi devised an algorithm and analyzed data to figure out how various fan bases deal with losses—and they found that fans of the Raiders, Steelers and Patriots do not cope well.

Patriot fans ranked high in terms of instability because they are the saddest fans after a loss, as measured by angry Twitter Tweets. It probably has a lot to do with expectations. Pats fans expect to win.

According to Lewis and Tripathi, the most stable fans are Cowboy fans. Over the last 15 years Cowboy fans have been conditioned to expect disappointment, so when Tony Romo fails them they are not surprised.

So what does all this mean? It means that the Raider Ruffians should be careful about showing up in black and silver the next time Oakland plays at New England. Gillette Stadium is not Qualcomm. Regardless of the outcome, if they’re looking for trouble, they’ll find it—and will likely end up paraphrasing Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

“We’re not in California anymore!”

Alabama- Auburn

FOOTBALL RIVALRIES AND ALABAMA–AUBURN

The last Saturday in November was college football’s Rivalry Saturday, when historic foes met for annual grudge matches. It’s a unique day on the annual sports calendar, as rivalry games are replete with special energy and emotion.

I was in California’s Orange County and made my way to a Buffalo Wild Wings Restaurant to take in the gridiron action. BWW has become a preeminent sports bar chain, with multiple large screens showing grid contests from across the nation. It was a perfect venue for Rivalry Saturday.

One of the rivalry games was UCLA-USC, and I shared a table with two blue-shirted UCLA Bruin fans. To our front was a table of red-shirted USC Trojan fans. After the game started, other Bruins fans sent drinks to our table. I was wearing a white shirt, but having accepted the free libations, I felt obliged to become a Bruins fan.

Other games were on BWW’s multiple screens, and I noted that Ohio State improved its record to 12-0 with a 42-41 win over arch-rival Michigan in Ann Arbor—where wondrous things have occurred in the past.

A Bruin alum at our table had a sister going to UCal-Berkeley. Cal had earlier lost its rivalry game at Stanford, 63-13. It was a tough loss for the Bears, but I pointed out that the greatest college football play of all time occurred at Cal when the Bears beat Stanford and John Elway in 1982. A last second kick-off was returned for a touchdown, a return that included five laterals. The Stanford band was coming out on the field when Kevin Moen scored the winning TD, bowling over Cardinal trombone player Gary Tyrrell.

 

“Check it out on You-Tube,” I advised. “Truly the greatest football play of all time.”

 

And then—suddenly—there was a NEW “greatest football play of all time!”

 

It was loud and raucous and most BWW patrons were focused on UCLA-USC, but on an alternate screen I saw a replay of a kick-return for a touchdown and fans swarming out on the field. Upon closer examination, I learned that the undefeated, defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide had lost to arch-rival Auburn, 34-28.

Last year Alabama trounced Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl by a score of 49-0. But this year, Auburn came into the rivalry game at 10-1, fresh off an improbable 43-38 win over Georgia. Auburn won that game with a last minute touchdown pass on fourth and long.

 

The 2013 Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl had apparently ended in a 28-28 tie, making it an instant classic already. But officials found one second left on the clock, and Bama Coach Nick Saban opted for a 57-yard field goal attempt. The attempt was short and Chris Davis caught it nine yards deep in the end zone. Around 15 seconds later, after he’d returned the ball 109 yards for a touchdown, Davis became an immortal.

As long as he lives, Davis will be remembered for those 15 seconds. His run got him on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and the ball he carried into the Promised Land was soon valued at $100,000. He’ll never have to worry about finding a job. He’s now set for life, assuming he can handle the adulation.

Was Davis’ return the greatest play in college football history? I think so, given the circumstances. The 1982 rivalry game between Stanford and Cal featured two .500 teams. The Alabama-Auburn game had national championship implications. And there is so much more. Subplots like “Saban is a jerk.” The frenzied passion of SEC football. On and on.

After the game, I found the play on You-Tube. It had already been viewed 7000 times. By the next morning the viewing total had surpassed a half million. Check it out. The greatest play ever!

(Oh yeah. UCLA beat USC 35-14. Go Bruins!)