Thoughts for the Day, January 2, 2025: A terrible start to the New Year

New Orleans

Leah and I woke up New Years Day in a Hampton Inn in Cave City, Kentucky as we were getting ready for day two of our trip from Petoskey, Michigan to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Leah went down for breakfast prior to me and came back to the room to tell me about the carnage that a nutcase terrorist caused at 3AM New Years Day on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans.

As I went down to breakfast, I watched the coverage on television and started to get sick to my stomach as the NOLA chief of police was holding her press conference. She was angry and did not hold back her contempt for the effort by the terrorist who went out of his way to inflict the most damage possible to the revelers.

We weren’t even 3 hours into the new year, and already we had a mass murder of 15 people, and another 35 people injured. FUBAR

I want to give my Orchid of the Day to the law enforcement people who with all eyes on them, made the tough call to postpone the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game for one day until law enforcement could be comfortable that it was a one-time incident, and the chance of a second occurrence was remote. Fortunately, law enforcement along with everyone else involved in the decision-making process had their priorities correct.

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Great Advice

At this time of year, the news media is filled with articles about new year’s resolutions, best of 2024 lists, etc. I usually gloss over these articles. However, an article in the NY Times by Melissa Kirsch caught my eye. Here is the best piece of advice Kirsch said she received in 2024. I want to share it with you.

“We are all juggling so many balls. Differentiate between glass balls and rubber balls — and don’t be afraid to drop the rubber balls.” I’m not sure why this particular advice stuck with me — really, it’s just saying “learn to prioritize,” a colorful riff on “don’t sweat the small stuff.” For whatever reason, picturing the messy, ungovernable realm of worries and to-dos as rubber and glass balls helped me think more clearly in times of stress.

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Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was the person we all should strive to be.

From Elliot Kirschner’s blog… He was a peacemaker, a bridge builder, and a tireless advocate for the poor, the sick, the marginalized, and the dispossessed... Perhaps the most crucial lesson Carter leaves us is the value of hard work. We build for the future not with sweeping gestures of empty rhetoric but through the kind of dedicated effort he exemplified after his presidency. This is perhaps best captured in the mission of his beloved Habitat for Humanity—changing the world by building homes for those in need, one at a time.

The world is better off because of Jimmy Carter.

College Football Playoffs

The College Football Playoff Committee has much to work to do for future playoffs to make the games more competitive.

In round one, the four home teams won in routs. In the quarter finals, the four top ranked teams, Boise State, Oregon, Arizona State, and Georgia all lost. These teams had a bye in the first round.

Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, and Notre Dame, who were ranked numbers five through eight, all advanced to the semifinals.

Of the eight games played to date, 7 of the 8 games were decided by more than 10 points. Only the Texas/Arizona State game was competitive in the end.

Michigan Football

No one saw this coming. To defeat Ohio State at Ohio State and then to defeat Alabama in the bowl game is beyond anything I expected of this team.

To hold two of the most explosive teams in college football to 10 points (Ohio State) and 13 points (Alabama) was beyond the expectations of Vegas’ best prognosticators, especially with Michigan’s three potential NFL first round draft pick defensive players choosing not to play versus Alabama. Michigan is the first team to ever beat Alabama twice in the same calendar year.

In the last two games, Michigan’s defense played free and loose with discipline. The future looks bright for Michigan.

New Feature: Lyrics of the Day

I have always been a big fan of the lyrics in rock and roll music. Some are genius, some make no sense, and some are only there because they rhyme with other words in the song. Starting today I will be adding the feature Lyrics of the Day to my other daily features below.

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Quote of the Day: “citing how in college nowadays, you've "gotta have deep pockets” and in the NFL, "you can't love sleep." Teddy Bridgewater, who the Lions just signed as a backup quarterback, just finished coaching Miami Northwestern High School to a Florida Class 3A football state championship prior to the Lions signing him, was asked by a Detroit sportswriter why he has no desire to coach anywhere beyond high school.

Orchid of the Day: To the law enforcement people of New Orleans who with all eyes on them, made the tough call to postpone the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game for one day until law enforcement could be comfortable that it was a one-time incident and the chance of second occurrence was remote. Fortunately, law enforcement along with everyone else involved in the decision-making process had their priorities correct.

Onion of the Day: The nutcase terrorist who killed 15 and injured 35 innocent people celebrating the New Year in NOLA

Lyrics of the Day: “But Frank Zappa and The Mothers were at the best place around, But, some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground.”

If you think you know either the song or the artist, send me your guess in the comments below.

Question of the Day: Who will win the game between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night?

For the first time in history of the NFL a team that will finish 14-3 will not win their division title as the NFC North co-leaders Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions take their 14-2 records into the matchup on Sunday evening before a Sunday Night Football crowd. The winner gets the number one spot in the NFC and a first round bye, while the loser gets a wild-card spot as the fifth seed and most likely will have to go on the road for all their playoff games.

Video of the Day: Calls of the Game: Detroit finishes 8-0 on the road with a win in San Francisco | Lions vs. 49ers

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