I see that apologies are in order for my inattention to detail this past week. I have been preoccupado, spending time with my family both here and in the Bay Area during the Holidays. I am now back home and ramping up for what promises to be a busy year for political commentary. For those of you keeping score, I know that I'm now behind a week in both Republicandy and recipes. I'll make it up to you. On Sunday, 12-28-03 I was fortunate enough to be in the company of several old friends, some of whom I had not seen in years. If you're reading this, thanks for a wonderful evening, I'm only sorry the evening couldn't have lasted longer. I venture to say that it was probably the largest gathering of Republicans in the State of California since Reagan's second election night victory in 1988.
Several pictures have already been posted by reader Dan Lynch, Martinez Ca. and I will try to post them here as well sometime this week. It was a grand evening, the opening decree of the day's Mad Cow index being read out by Mike "Pointman" Edwards only moments before we all indulged in turgid cuts of prime beef.
Now then, as so much of the coming year is going to be given to political commentary, I thought that I would take a few moments to address the dismal performance of my beloved 49ers this year. In a perfect world, I could fix the problems in 49er land with little trouble. First of all, get a kicker, NOW...and make sure it's a veteran, pay him extra if you have to. Consider that we missed the playoffs based solely on the outcome of 3-4 kicks this year and you see the need for a kicker. Next, get rid of Dennis Erickson. The man is a kook or perhaps he's bi-polar. In any event, the 49ers were inarguably an underachieveing team. As reader Jim Hank Duncan so succinctly put it, "the Niners are worse than the sum of their parts." Exactly, they did not play like a team....which leads me to blame a couple people. First off Erickson, he's the coach and ostensibly responsible for preparing the players and setting the tone in the clubhouse. He failed, not only in managing the personalities, but also in having competitive game plans and even worse, he failed in making halftime adjustments so necessary to winning games. Lastly, and I know this is going to cause some heartburn, but get rid of Terrell Owens. The man is a cancer in the clubhouse and hasn't made a big play in years. He shoots off his mouth and is far too self centered to advance the agenda of a team seeking to win. The operative word being team.
Now of course, much of the problem with Owens and others in the NFL is that they are products of the liberal attitudes which have swept through America. No longer are coaches at Pop Warner and Little League levels allowed to put the best team on the field. Instead, they are told that every kid must play whether they have earned the right or not. Whether the child has actually practiced or not is immaterial to the possible injury of the child's self esteem. Horse hockey. This has resulted over time in the diminishment of the sense of TEAM that is built. When a child knows they are going to play the same amount of time whether they practice or not it does nothing to promote a sense of achievement and contribution. If there is no sense of achievement, there is no sense of team building. Every child is an individual and in the real world, that is a correct position to take. However, on the sporting field, individualism has to be subordinated to the goals of the team. You can't have people like Owens setting up ostentatious little celebrations after every score and doing so to the detriment of the team. Having gotten all this out, here is my 4 step plan for saving the Niners:
Go out and sign a veteran kicker, salary cap be damned
Fire Dennis Erickson
Lose Terrell Owens
Give Defensive Coordinator Jim Mora a chance to coach
Next week, maybe we'll get around to a 4 point plan to defeating Howie Dean in 2004 but that should be easier than fixing the Niners. Goooooooo Texas...Hook'em Horns tonight at the Holiday Bowl where reader John Cryer better remember my merchandise order...
Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2004
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family
Several pictures have already been posted by reader Dan Lynch, Martinez Ca. and I will try to post them here as well sometime this week. It was a grand evening, the opening decree of the day's Mad Cow index being read out by Mike "Pointman" Edwards only moments before we all indulged in turgid cuts of prime beef.
Now then, as so much of the coming year is going to be given to political commentary, I thought that I would take a few moments to address the dismal performance of my beloved 49ers this year. In a perfect world, I could fix the problems in 49er land with little trouble. First of all, get a kicker, NOW...and make sure it's a veteran, pay him extra if you have to. Consider that we missed the playoffs based solely on the outcome of 3-4 kicks this year and you see the need for a kicker. Next, get rid of Dennis Erickson. The man is a kook or perhaps he's bi-polar. In any event, the 49ers were inarguably an underachieveing team. As reader Jim Hank Duncan so succinctly put it, "the Niners are worse than the sum of their parts." Exactly, they did not play like a team....which leads me to blame a couple people. First off Erickson, he's the coach and ostensibly responsible for preparing the players and setting the tone in the clubhouse. He failed, not only in managing the personalities, but also in having competitive game plans and even worse, he failed in making halftime adjustments so necessary to winning games. Lastly, and I know this is going to cause some heartburn, but get rid of Terrell Owens. The man is a cancer in the clubhouse and hasn't made a big play in years. He shoots off his mouth and is far too self centered to advance the agenda of a team seeking to win. The operative word being team.
Now of course, much of the problem with Owens and others in the NFL is that they are products of the liberal attitudes which have swept through America. No longer are coaches at Pop Warner and Little League levels allowed to put the best team on the field. Instead, they are told that every kid must play whether they have earned the right or not. Whether the child has actually practiced or not is immaterial to the possible injury of the child's self esteem. Horse hockey. This has resulted over time in the diminishment of the sense of TEAM that is built. When a child knows they are going to play the same amount of time whether they practice or not it does nothing to promote a sense of achievement and contribution. If there is no sense of achievement, there is no sense of team building. Every child is an individual and in the real world, that is a correct position to take. However, on the sporting field, individualism has to be subordinated to the goals of the team. You can't have people like Owens setting up ostentatious little celebrations after every score and doing so to the detriment of the team. Having gotten all this out, here is my 4 step plan for saving the Niners:
Go out and sign a veteran kicker, salary cap be damned
Fire Dennis Erickson
Lose Terrell Owens
Give Defensive Coordinator Jim Mora a chance to coach
Next week, maybe we'll get around to a 4 point plan to defeating Howie Dean in 2004 but that should be easier than fixing the Niners. Goooooooo Texas...Hook'em Horns tonight at the Holiday Bowl where reader John Cryer better remember my merchandise order...
Smilin' Paul Villa U.S. Senate 2004
cyber-Congressman, R-Reno
Proud Member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and 2 SUV Family
posted by Smilin' Paul Villa | 3:57 PM
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