Author: Dick

Today is day one of a four-day weekend. So what I have I been doing? Sleeping until 10 a.m. was one activity, or inactivity if you will. I probably would have awakened a little earlier had I not stayed up until 2:30 this morning watching coverage of the commuter plane crash in suburban Buffalo, N.Y. Unlike the first reports heard after the crash, it has been confirmed a total of 50 people died in the crash including one person who was inside the house hit by the aircraft.

Except for taking an hour’s walk today I have been glued to CNN most of the time watching even more coverage of the crash in between reports on the progress of the stimulus bill. House Minority Leader John Boehner tried to ride his high horse, using the old “big bill throw-down” shtick in which a politician has a particularly thick piece of legislation and when he finishes pontificating he throws the bill down with a thud. Boehner said no one in Congress read every page of that bill although other reps pointed out that most of the pages have been around awhile and aren’t exactly hot off the press. Oh well. I enjoy watching Boehner about as much as I like watching CNN’s Rick Sanchez, who is on right now, so I better change the channel.

Well, the NTSB is about to have a press conference so I guess I will stay on CNN long enough to watch that. I really need to get away from the TV though. And the Internet. So I will start with the Internet. 49 bye-byes.

Latest stories about Buffalo Continental/Colgan Air commuter crash:

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/577959.html

http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/39540627.html

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=64153&catid=37

A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 such as the one that crashed Thursday night near Buffalo.
A Continental commuter flight from Newark to Buffalo crashed into a home tonight in Clarence Center, NY. It was a Colgan Air flight which is a Continental Connection partner. Apparently the weather conditions included sleet. Colgan is the only company we can fly out on in my city, from Beaumont-Port Arthur to Continental’s hub at Bush International in Houston. Authorities say 48 passengers and crew were on board. It doesn’t look good at all. My best wishes for all those involved and the families. The plane was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, a 74-seat turboprop. CNN reports that NY state police confirm all 48 on board were killed. One person on the ground has also been reportedly killed.

The blood is in the water and the sharks are attacking!

I am referring to the announcement made by Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire saying he was withdrawing his name for Commerce Secretary. This bit of news is, metaphorically, the blood of the Obama administration and the sharks are the punditry and anti-Obaministas.

Every time Obama’s heart beats it is examined in depth by the pundits to detect a murmur. I wish the same pundits and some of the media had been that dogged with Bush the Younger leading up to the Iraq war.

It will be interesting reading someday to know why Gregg REALLY dropped out, but right now I am not all that curious to hear rampant speculation.

I do admit the Census Bureau thing is odd. I don’t know enough about the proposal — which is to share the 2010 Census leadership with White House senior staff as well as the Commerce Secretary. Politically, it could be a political job machine, not to mention a lock on congressional redistricting were the Census Bureau to be put under the White House. I am not much in favor of creating more political jobs, being the good union man that I am. But the White House insists it isn’t taking control of the Census so who are going to believe? Me? Ha! You crack me up.

Favre: I am so re-tired of all of this crap.

Legendary quarterback and Mississippi boy Brett Favre announced his retirement today from the New York Jets. It was his second retirement from pro football within a year’s span having said au revoir or perhaps something more colorful earlier with the Green Bay Packers with whom he spent an eternity.

I have a problem with athletes who can’t give it up when they say they’re giving it up. It makes that person look like a flake. Likewise it gives that athlete a pathetic appearance, one that says: “I have a money jones.” Or, one that says: “I have a glory jones.”

Who cares about appearances in sports? Perhaps many greats will say they don’t. But look at people like Barry Bonds. He hit more home runs than The Babe and Hammering Hank and because of all the intrigue about his alleged steroid use not to mention that he comes off publicly as a prima donna, he doesn’t generate near the fan juice than say a Mark McGuire or a Sammy Sosa. I know I am talking about a football player (Favre) okay? So don’t get your knickers all in a wad. I just wanted to use some baseball dudes as an example.

While I say I have a problem with the unretiring retired jock that doesn’t mean I feel they are fatally flawed. I hope each time that the player will have a great season with their new team after becoming un-re-tired. But it doesn’t often happen that way. Sometimes the unretired finds out quite quickly that they should have stayed retired.

Though I am by no means an expert in pro football, or sports in general, I am a data collector and by looking at Favre’s one season with the Jets the stats don’t show all that terrible of a picture. Let’s do a little comparison shopping between Favre’s season and perhaps one of the tip top if not the best NFL quarterback in the 2008 season, Peyton Manning.

–Favre completed 65.7 percent of his passes. Manning connected 66.8 percent for the Hoosier-by-God Colts.
–No. 4 threw 22 TD passes. Manning threw 27.
–Manning had 4002 passing yards. Favre passed for 3472.
–Viva la difference! Manning was intercepted 12 times. Favre was picked off 22 times.
–And the big a la difference: The Manning-led Colts had a 12-4 season in 2008, losing the wild card playoff game in OT to San Diego. The Jets finished 9-7, which is a winning season but not a wildly winning season.

Well, as many of you know or suspect, the quarterback is but one player. With my limited knowledge of football, I would be willing to bet that not all of Favre’s interceptions were directly attributable to his bad passing and ditto with winning and losing games.

So Favre could have done worse which should be an object lesson to one of the best who has ever played football — not just quarterback but football. The next unretirement — let’s say Brett gets a wild hair to lead the Detroit Lions to the Promised Land — might not go as well as his stint with the Jets.

Therefore, Mr. Favre, I don’t want to see a good ol’ Mississippi boy, genu-wine legend and damn good athlete finish his career on the scrap heap. This time if you quit, then please good sir, quit damn it.