Why I Love the NFL Draft

Rounds 4-7 Final Thoughts

The NFL decided to make the final rounds a bit of a gimmicky farce with lots of goofy staged groups announcing the picks. (As if the past year’s end zone celebrations weren’t stupid enough.) Anyway, I don’t really love or even like the later rounds. I rarely watch and usually just follow the picks online. This year was no exception. Here are a few of my final thoughts now that the draft is over.

The most inspirational story was Shaquem Griffin, chosen by the Seahawks at 141. I really hope he succeeds! My Texans picked WR, LB, TE, LB, and CB. Never heard of any of these guys. Oh well. At 233, the Eagles picked Jordan Mailata, a huge rugby player who has never played American football. They plan on trying to make him into an offensive tackle. Should be interesting. And at pick number 256, WR Trey Quinn is this year’s Mr. Irrelevant. Good luck to all those picked and to the undrafted free agents who will try to find a team in the coming weeks!

Round 2-3 Update

Ok, to be honest, I really only love the first round of the NFL Draft. I like rounds 2 and 3. This year, after the first dozen or so picks, I quickly lost interest. Beyond the QBs, and other skill positions, we’re down to the players most of us would not recognize in a lineup. Not to say that there aren’t many good players still available, but the names just aren’t as familiar as the guys from round 1.

Anyway, my thoughts on day 2 of the draft are as follows. My Texans finally got to make a few picks, although none too sexy (S, OL, and TE). I had not heard any of their names before, just saying. The Steelers picked a QB! Maybe Big Ben’s future replacement? The Browns picked the wrong player named Chubb, although this one is actually pretty good. And the Eagles made my night by moving up to steal the TE that the Cowboys wanted, and by mentioning how many years have passed since the Cowboys have actually made it to the Super Bowl. Ouch! #DCHN

Round 1 Update

Well, I have to say I was disappointed in the coverage last night. I even tried all three telecasts. There were only a few of the human interest stories I was so looking forward to and not much in the way of prediction. I had to watch videos online this morning to see all the background info on the players drafted yesterday. And the commentators spent most of their time talking about the previous picks and very little on the ones ahead.

There were some surprises, starting with the first pick. I guess the Browns will always be the Browns. They picked the QB most analysts said was the fourth best one, and then they passed on the defensive lineman everyone expected them to pick. The Saints may have made the biggest reach, trading up to pick a non-QB (and possibly a guy they could have gotten much later.) The Chargers may have pulled off the steal of the draft, picking a top-five DB at number 17.

Biggest winners? Eli Manning ,Case Keenum, and Ryan Tannehill? Big losers? Tyrod Taylor, AJ McCarron, and Sam Bradford?

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I don’t watch a lot of professional sports these days, but when I do, I prefer football. Last season, I pretty much quit watching the NFL altogether until the playoffs started. I wouldn’t call it a boycott, but I was really offended by all the protests and other crap going on, and I went from skipping all the pregame hoopla to just skipping the whole thing. Besides, I am a Texans fan and when we lost multiple starters to injuries, including our new quarterback, it was painful to watch.

Even though I may not consistently turn on the TV this fall to watch a game, I am still obsessed with the NFL Draft. There’s just something about the drama of the live event. I am amazed each year as the event grows and the spectacle gains more and more attention. So tonight, I’ll be glued to the set watching all these college stars take the next step into the world of professional football.

Here’s what intrigues me about the draft. More than anything, I love the human interest stories. Beyond the highlight reels, the profiles of specific players always fascinate me. I love to watch the families gathered to celebrate and support their loved ones. Whether it involves a wife, girlfriend, mother, father, or some other important figure, it is a real life drama better than most of what the networks can offer on their best days. Whether they are at home or sitting in the green room, watching these young men get that phone call is truly touching.

I am also drawn in by the behind-the-scenes intrigue and all the wheeling and dealing done by the teams. The unpredictable trades are the best. When a team suddenly jumps up the board, everyone freaks out. Especially when the so-called experts didn’t see it coming and have no idea who the team is planning to pick. I also love all the false rumors that fly around the draft process. Every year, there are certain players that are become linked to specific teams, either due to positional needs or comments by the coach or general manager or owner, or because he has become a fan favorite, or sometimes for completely unknown reasons. Sometimes spread intentionally, these rumors are often totally false. As fans, we never know until the last minute whether there is any truth involved at all. When the team picks an entirely different player, the commentators are always stunned and it makes for great TV!

I love watching the commentators shock and surprise when the players they are so sure will be chosen are passed over. The abundance of mock drafts and their great variety demonstrate what a crapshoot the draft can be. When a team selects a player that no one had predicted, it is priceless! There is also the sudden rise of certain players and the painful, inevitable slide of others that makes for suspenseful drama. Finally, I love the predictions of which players will be this year’s boom or bust. That determination will not come until the season starts, but the conversation will start tonight.

Just for grins, here’s my opinion. If I were the Browns, unless I was just completely smitten with one of the top three QBs, I would pick Saquon Barkley with the first pick. Whatever happens at picks 2 and 3, I could still get one of the top three guys (who I think are pretty close) at number 4. Then I would walk away with the best young backfield in the league. Probably won’t happen, but it makes sense to me.

I’ll be back with an update tomorrow!

Book Review: Is Don Quixote a Great Novel?

Not since Moby Dick have I had such a difficult time forcing myself to finish reading a so-called classic. If you Google “great novels” or “classic novels” or something similar, you will almost always find the novel Don Quixote listed, and surprisingly, at least to me, it is considered the number one book on several lists of literary classics. Because of this, I was truly excited to come across a decent copy at a resale shop not long ago and eagerly began reading it.

My copy ran a little over 940 pages and I took a solid two months to finish it. I am generally a pretty fast reader and this was a little slow for me. Supposedly, the book is a hilarious parody, full of laughs, yet also containing deep philosophical insights, etc. I did find a few funny scenes, but OMG, it’s 900+ pages! Needless to say, I would not recommend the book to anyone looking for laughs. And as for the philosophy, well, if you like reading long conversations between two characters while they sit around killing time waiting for the next adventure to begin, this one’s for you.

At the risk of spoiling it for any future readers, the plot is fairly simple. An old man reads so many books on chivalry, he loses his mind and decides to become a knight-errant roaming the countryside in search of adventure. He recruits a dim-witted neighbor to be his squire and they take off searching for wrongs to right and damsels to save. As a true knight, Don Quixote does all in service of his true love, Dulcinea, who incidentally never appears in the book, despite the near constant references to her. (In reality, she is a woman from the town with whom he had once been in love, although she never knew it.)

The book is actually two volumes written ten years apart. In Part 1, our hero and his squire battle a series of imaginary foes, usually losing, and encounter numerous characters in their travels. (These people frequently tell elaborate tales and stories that are often more entertaining than the actual events surrounding our knight.) The most well-known “adventure” finds Don Quixote tilting at windmills which he mistakes for giants. Surprisingly, this “famous” adventure takes up a mere two pages of the book. He sees enemies everywhere he turns and when he is not fighting, he is instructing his squire on the tenets of chivalry. Their discussions are LONG and often snooze-worthy. Concerned for his safety, his friends eventually capture him and drag him back home.

Part 2 is less tedious, although more painful in other respects. Apparently, all of the characters in the novel have now read the first part and Don Quixote is now famous, but not for the reasons he desires. He now encounters people who view him as somewhat of a celebrity. They are aware that he is insane and either play along, laughing behind his back, or in the case of the Duke and Duchess, go to great lengths to exploit his mental illness staging elaborate pranks on the clueless knight for their own entertainment. Sancho is also a victim of their jokes and we suffer along with him at the hands of these cruel tormentors.

Another aspect that I found annoying was the constant awareness that they were all just players in some drama designed to written down in some book. After the publication of Part 1, another author actually penned a sequel. Cervantes did not appreciate the effort and spends considerable time in Part 2 referring to this work. Don Quixote is offended that this new book portrays him poorly describing adventures he has not had. He longs for his original narrator to record his further tales, ignoring the fact that this original author has portrayed him as insane throughout Part 1. Perhaps this is all supposed to be clever, but I just found it irritating.

Eventually, he is once again deceived by his friends who stage a challenge by another knight who defeats the old man and commands him to return to his town and give up being a knight-errant for a full year. He returns home, regains his senses, and becomes ill. He and Sancho dream of going out on one last adventure and then, he dies.

To answer my own question, I did not think this was a great book. In my defense, I will admit it is an important book. Many consider this to be the first modern novel and honestly, I loved the main characters. Don Quixote himself is a great tragic figure. As the noble knight who longs to be the hero and believes with his whole heart in the code of chivalry, he is wonderful. Sancho, his loyal companion is also a great character. Despite his awareness that his boss is not fully competent, he does an admirable job of supporting him and patching him up after their battles. There are a few occasions when his actions appear questionable, but for the most part, he is a true and honest friend.

Overall, I would say the book is good, but not great. Part 1 seems very repetitious to me. Every adventure is basically the same. Don Quixote sees something, mistakes it for something else, fights it, rides away to tend his wounds and goes out the next day to repeat the process. Part 2 is sad and pathetic. The old man rides around trying to accomplish good while others give him made up tasks and laugh at him behind his back. I love his optimism and his desire to achieve great things and make the world a better place, and he makes for a great literary character, but I can’t honestly say the book is great. Some great characters and some great tales, but they are often lost in the midst of lengthy narrative passages in this too-long novel. Or maybe I’m just not smart enough to recognize the brilliance of this classic.

Literacy Privilege and Other Nonsense

Last week, I wrote a semi-serious piece about silently correcting the grammar of other people. Little did I know that my innocent piece of journalism would expose me as a racist, white supremacist, and bigot! Am I secretly guilty of Literacy Privilege? Although the term has been around for many years, I had honestly never heard it before until this past week, so I actually had to spend some time educating myself. Apparently, as a privileged white male, I have no idea the struggle other less privileged people have with the English language. After a very short time researching and reading, I call BS!

According to popular blogger Chandra “the idea that there is only one right way of doing English – and everyone else is doing it wrong – is inherently flawed.” She goes on to say that what is generally judged to be “right” or “good” or “correct” in writing or grammar is “ALWAYS aligned with characteristics of the dialects spoken by privileged, mostly wealthy, mostly white people.” She also claims it to be a “common myth that literacy ability is tied to intelligence” or that “bad English is the result of laziness.” Her full article including a Literacy Privilege Checklist can be found at https://paintingthegreyarea.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/literacy-privilege/.

Allow me to respectfully, but forcefully disagree. There is a right way to speak and write the English language, there is an accepted standard when it comes to the rules and usage, and anyone, regardless of race or ethnicity can learn those rules and speak (and write) the language correctly. As a high school English teacher, I taught my students that there was indeed a “right” way to speak and write English, or to use the textbook explanation, a distinct difference in standard and non-standard English. I did once have an African-American student tell me, “You’re trying to make me talk like a white person.” To which I replied, “No, I’m trying to make you talk like an educated person.”

Now I will admit, there are people with learning disabilities such as dyslexia who truly have a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the English language, but for most people who exhibit poor grammatical skills, I do believe it comes down to ignorance, or even laziness. I taught students of every color and the ones who applied themselves were all entirely capable of learning proper, standard English and the ones who did not apply themselves continued to display poor and incorrect grammar.

I understand there are cultural differences and dialects. I understand that how one expresses himself in the privacy of his own home is his own business. I taught my students that there was nothing wrong with informal speech and the use of non-standard English in those informal situations. I also taught them that there would be situations that would undoubtedly require more formal, standard communication and that when those situations arose, they should be prepared.

Whether or not you believe in the concept of privilege, my personal opinion is that it does not extend to literacy. No one is bad at English because of the color of his skin. I believe that education is the great equalizer, and it’s time we stopped making excuses for all the people who skated through school doing the bare minimum. They should have worked harder, listened more, maybe done their homework. There’s a reason why he don’t talk so good! No whut I meen?

I Am Silently Correcting Your Grammar

For many years, I taught high school English. Yes, I deserve a medal. No, I never got one. Seriously, I loved almost every minute of it! Now, I’m just another old retired teacher who wonders frequently if the people around me learned anything at all while they were in school.

Now I confess that for many years, I made a conscious effort to not correct anyone’s grammar outside of the classroom. Friends and family could speak freely in my company without fearing that I would point out their mistakes or embarrass them by publicly correcting them. The people I encountered in public places were safe from my judgment. Obviously I was making mental notes and cataloging everything that came out of their mouths, but I maintained my silence. (My mother did teach me manners and I did listen.)

Now I’ve reached the age where I can freely express my feelings, but sadly, years of holding back have mellowed my temperament, and alas, I still find myself only silently correcting the outrageous grammatical mistakes I hear and see all around me. It’s my own fault, I suppose, for exposing myself by engaging in dangerous behaviors such as texting, tweeting, and posting to Facebook. Tragically, in my opinion, too many people are not sufficiently educated for such language driven media.

According to an article I read recently, texting can be blamed for causing a general decline in the ability to spell. Honestly, I am myself one of those lazy guilty texters who routinely throw spelling out the window in favor of the shortest form available. I excuse myself by falling back on my old coaching and teaching advice that one should know the rules, and be able to follow the rules, before setting out to break the rules. When I text, I have to intentionally ignore my brain which is yelling at me the correct spelling of every other word. I know the rules, therefore, I’m allowed to break the rules. I suppose that’s illogical, but my brain differentiates between ignorance and willful disobedience.

Reading tweets and posts and memes on social media, I frequently encounter errors. Spellcheck has convinced most people, even educated ones, that the spelling must be correct if there aren’t any squiggly lines under it. The most obvious mistakes are the ones Spellcheck ignores, such as your, you’re, and the classic there, they’re, and their.  (My wife hates to see people use to instead of too.) To me, worse than the spelling, are the subject-verb agreement (or disagreement) errors. I suppose that’s because I spent so much time in class teaching those rules.

Regardless, (or irregardless if you want to have that argument), there are always plenty of things to find objectionable online, least of all grammar. Considering the political garbage that is thrown up by both sides these days, I have a hard time working up much enthusiasm for correcting English, so for the most part, when I see grammatical mistakes, I smile, allow myself to feel superior, berate myself for my ego, and then go on with my life. My brain, however, will continue to monitor and correct your usage of the English language. Silently, of course.

Hallelujah! He is Risen

He died. Or rather they killed Him. They beat Him, mocked Him, stripped Him, and nailed Him to a cross. And He died. At the hand of the Roman government and the direction of the religious leaders. His own people.

Thankfully, the story didn’t end there. The good news, the best news ever, was that three days later, He rose! He proclaimed His authority over death itself. If you haven’t heard the story, here it is from Matthew 28, New International Version (NIV).

Jesus Has Risen

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

The Guards’ Report

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

New International Version (NIV)

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