Baltimore Ravens - NFL's Most Criticized Team?

I ruffle enough feathers with my views on politics and religion. But I'm really going to walk on the edge this time as I give my two cents on the 2012 Baltimore Ravens......

First off, for a team that's 9-2, they get about as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield. It takes me back to the 2000-2001 Super Bowl season when everyone was criticizing the Ravens over their lack of offensive prowess. I can remember one game during that season where a sideline reporter caught coach Brian Billick coming off of the field at halftime. She said, "So, Brian. Your team seemed to struggle in the first half. What do you plan to do differently in the second half?"

I was no huge fan of Billick, but I loved his response. He looked up at the scoreboard and in that condescending Billick-like way, he replied, "We're up by fourteen points!" And then he trotted off to the the locker room. It was a classic example of how the Raven's were viewed around the football world. Even after winning the Super Bowl, people still criticized them. Most notably, for going five straight games during the regular season without an offensive touchdown.

Back to this year....

In his fifth season, QB Joe Flacco continues to be a magnet for criticism. Say what you want to about Joe, but you can't deny that the guy wins. If I'm not mistaken, he has more wins in his first five seasons than any other quarterback (during the same stretch) in NFL history. So, why hasn't the guy won the adoration of all Raven's fans by now? Well, for one, his lack of emotion can't be ignored. After an interception, Cool Joe will simply walk off the field and take a solitary seat on the bench. Dropping an emphatic F-bomb would surely have a more dramatic impact, especially with fans.

Personally, the thing that really bothers me about Joe is his apparent lack of peripheral vision. I know the offensive line hasn't been stellar this year, but Flacco has got to recognize when the pocket is collapsing. I can't even count how many times he's been blindsided by pass rushers this season.

Is Flacco ever going to be the top-five quarterback that many Raven's fans had hoped for? In my opinion, probably not. But the guy is a perennial winner! What more could a fan really ask for?

Now, the spark plug of the team is, no doubt, running back Ray Rice. This guy is one of the best all-around backs in the game. He might be the smallest guy on the field but he plays with the biggest heart. Watching him make that first down on 4th and 29 against the Chargers this past Sunday was one of the most clutch football plays that I've ever seen. And I've been watching football for a long time! When Rice plays the game, you can tell that he is really enjoying himself. He's also does a lot around the community, especially for kids. He's truly a class act.

Torrey Smith continues to grow into one the NFL's best receivers. The guy not only has blazing speed, but he's not afraid to go up and get the ball, even in double coverage. Watching his performance right after he learned of his younger brother's death earlier this year was beyond inspirational. He could have easily sat the game out and it would have been perfectly acceptable. But instead he showed us, in poetic fashion, that it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, it's how many times you get back up that really matters.

And I love the ferocity in which Anquan Boldin plays the game. When he's steamrolling down field with the ball and lays that shoulder into the unsuspecting defender.....OUCH! The guy hits like a linebacker. Not surprising, he's always a highlight at our football gatherings.

And Jacoby Jones has turned out to be a pretty decent punt returner, always having potential to break the big one. And I've got to mention rookie kicker Justin Tucker. We didn't know know what to expect after Billy Cundiff packed his bags. But so far, Trucker looks like he's the real deal.

I've mentioned several offensive guys but we certainly can't forget of the defense. I think it's fair to say that this year's defense isn't quite as efficient as in previous years. The have had major issues stopping the run and the pass defense has been porous at times. And until Tyrell Suggs rejoined the team, the pass rush was pretty much non-existent. But they are still making impressive plays at times and creating turnovers. And opposing teams still fear them.

Of course, having Ray Lewis watching from the sidelines over the past few weeks hasn't really been a positive thing. Yeah, I know Ray's lost a step or two, but the guy is still a force to be reckoned with. If there was ever a general on the football field, it would be Lewis. His presence alone brings something to the Raven's. Ray Lewis makes everyone around him a better player. In my opinion, he's the greatest linebacker ever to play the game.

Safety Ed Reed has been hobbled all season but he still remains a major distraction for quarterbacks throwing the deep ball. And he can still deliver a highlight-reel hit.

So, what's not to like about this team??

At 9-2, it would take a catastrophic collapse to keep them out of the playoffs. If they beat Pittsburgh on Sunday, they pretty much lock up the AFC North. This would be the earliest that this has ever happened for the Ravens. And if Houston manages to drop a game or two, Baltimore could be looking at a number one seed in the playoffs.

At this point of the season, with only two losses, it really amazes me that the Ravens are still so readily criticized. I have to wonder if they'll get a break from the critics if they go on to win the Super Bowl. Somehow, I doubt it.....

kw

A Wrap-Up of Black Friday 2012

All right, so another Black Friday is in the books (or is it Black Thursday now? I'm so confused!). And, as expected, the ensuing pandemonium had it's share of idiotic moments. Here are some of the better ones:

• Defying stupidity, a Massachusetts man  left his girlfriend's 2-year old asleep in the car on a K-Mart parking while he went inside to purchase a big-screen television. This was at 1:30 am on Friday morning. And just when you think it can;t get any worse, the guy catches a ride home with some else and leaves the child on the parking lot. But I'm happy to report that the television made it home safe and sound.
• Two people were shot after arguing over a parking space at a Tallahassee, Florida Wal-Mart.
• At a Sears in San Antonio Thursday night, a man was punched in the face by a "line-butter". This caused the victim to draw his gun. Choose your battles carefully in Texas, because you never know who might be packing. 
• In Omaha, Nebraska, a shoplifter maced the mall cops. Now, there's a change of events! Gunshots were also reported from the Westroads Mall where nine people were shot to death back in 2007.
• Not far from where I live, a 14-year old received a beat-down and was robbed of his Christmas purchases courtesy of a group of roving thugs at Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Maryland. This is the same location were a casino was recently built. Stay tuned for even more robberies and assaults...
• A woman was robbed at gunpoint outside a Best Buy in Myrtle Beach.
• Five people were injured after they smashed through a door at the Urban Outfitters in Santa Monica.
• There was a reported gang fight at the Woodland Mall in Kentwood, Michigan.
• Two people were run down by a driver in a Covington, Washington Walmart parking lot.

Aside from these incidents, there were countless episodes of aggressive shoppers storming the doors of Walmart to Victoria's Secret. In many cases, the scenes resembled a bunch of sharks during a feeding frenzy. It's really disappointing to see how our society puts so much importance of material things. Instead of helping one another, we're now killing each other over i-Phones. To say it's sad would surely be an understatement....

kw

Yellow & Black Attack

My eyes have finally adjusted after watching the Steelers swarm around in those ridiculous looking uniforms on Sunday night. But I have to admit, I was really worried for a while. After the game ended, I watched virtual bumblebees crawl across my bedroom ceiling until a heavy dose of Zzz-Quil finally put me out of my misery. By Monday morning, the hallucinations had subsided but my left eye seemed to be a little off-center. I looked like Marty Feldman after a a few rounds of Jose Cuervo.

Moving on......

The yellow and black striped uniforms brought back memories of Stryper, the old 80's rock band. For those who have never heard of Stryper, they were a Christian hard rock band known for their 3-part harmonies and melodic guitar solos. I caught these guys in concert a couple of times back in the day and they were quite entertaining. At one point of the show, they would throw out these miniature bibles out to the crowd. I really don't think the majority of the crowd was into "the message", but nonetheless, it was always a good time.

With with the yellow and black colors still somewhat burned into by memory and out of a bit of nostalgia  I picked up the latest Stryper CD. This one is called "The Covering" and is basically a collection of cover tunes by the band. Preparing to drive to work this morning, I popped the CD into my car stereo and prepared to hit the button on the way-back machine. I have to tell you, I was pleasantly surprised by how good these guys sounded. Some of the tunes they cover:

• Scorpion's "Blackout"
• Black Sabbath's "Heaven & Hell"
• UFO's "Lights Out"
• Deep Purple's "Highway Star"
• Van Halen's "I'm On Fire"
• Iron Maiden's "The Trooper"
• Ozzy Ozbourne's "Over The Mountain"
• Kiss' "Shout It Out Loud"

Along with these tunes, they also do a kick-ass version of  "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas as well as Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". And in an ironic twist, the Christian band does a pretty decent version of the Judas Priest classic "Breaking The Law".

I cranked the radio up and jammed out to the entire CD on my way to work. And then I did it all over again on the way home. I felt like I was back in high school. So, although the week started with an excruciating "throw-back" visual assault courtesy of the Steelers, it transitioned into pleasant old-school audio blast from one of my favorite bands of the 80s. It's funny how we get from point A to point B sometimes.....

kw

Camping Out For Thanksgiving

As we prepare to enter the Christmas shopping season each year, I'm always amazed at the lengths that people will go to get those great Black Friday deals. This year, people started lining up a week or more ahead of time. Absurdity doesn't even begin to describe the sight of tents that are set up outside of Best Buy and other retailers. Is saving 150 bucks on a flat screen television really worth spending a week of your life sleeping on a parking lot? If so, you've got some serious priority issues.....

And here's what I find so amazing about Black Friday. We all gather 'round the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day and give thanks for the things that we have in our lives. And then, the very next day, many people will risk bodily injury to themselves and others in order to buy cheap Chinese electronics. So much for being happy for the things that we have!

There, no doubt, will be incidents of people trampling over each other in order to get their hands on the limited number of "super-buys". There's just something about a $19 DVD player that brings out a primal aggression in people. And it seems to get worse every year. If I'm not mistaken, last year a woman died and people just casually walked right over top of her. How much worse can it get? I guess there are some things were dying for, but I seriously doubt that an X-Box 360 is one of them.

And to take things a step further, this year several major retailers announced plans to start their traditional Black "Friday" on Thanksgiving Day. Nice! So, when we're all sitting around the dinner table and the kids ask where Mommy is, we can tell them that she's bonding with the flash mob at Walmart. I wonder how long it will be before retailers start offering a Thanksgiving buffet for holiday shoppers. I can see the family gathering their plates of processed turkey and other microwaved goodies only to anxiously eat their holiday meals atop a pallet of cordless drills. Of course, the blessing would probably go something like this..."Today Lord, we give you thanks for the blue-light special in aisle five...."

Doesn't tradition mean anything anymore? Is this what our society has been reduced to??

Hey, I know it's nice to have a the latest I-pad and or a Hi-Def television with all of the bells and whistles. But in the the end, none of this stuff really matters. If your TV dies, you can simply go out and buy another one. You certainly can't do that with people. Making memories with your family and friends, especially during this time of the year, should be more important than any material thing.

And honestly, I don't really blame the retailers for doing what they do. They are in business to make money, plain and simple. Profits are their number one priority. It's always about the money. Sadly, people have become a distant runner-up to the all mighty dollar. But ironically, it's people, specifically the consumer, that dictate the behavior of these companies.

You and I only have a finite number of days on this earth. I plan to make the most out of mine. If you feel the need to spend Thanksgiving with droves of over-aggressive K-Mart shoppers, be my guest. But I think I'll pass on the door-busting super-buys and spend some time with my family and friends. It's always a much better deal in the long run.....

kw

Goodbye To The Twinkie

As we continue to hear about how the economy is turning around, another American business icon is one the verge of going out of business. Hostess, the Texas-based baking giant, recently announced an aggressive plan to lay off most of it's 18,500-member workforce. The company's assets will then be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This decision comes after thousands of union members went on strike last week, drastically impeding business operations.

These lay-offs will, no doubt, have a huge economic impact. Directly impacted will be:

• 33 bakeries
• 565 distribution centers
• over 5000 delivery routes
• 570 bakery outlet stores

So, why did the workers decide to strike in the first place? Hostess, who has had it's share of  financial problems over recent years, filed for Chapter 11 protection back in January. The driving forces included increasing pensions and medical costs for employees. The company argued that concessions would have to be made by employees in order to sustain the business. So, Hostess presented a contract to the union that would essentially cut employee's wages and benefits. Although Hostess reached an agreement with their largest union (International Brotherhood of Teamsters), their second largest union (Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International) rejected the offer and a walkout ensued. Part of the contract would have cut salaries by 8% in the 5-year agreement. Salaries were then scheduled to increase by 3% in the next three years and 1% in the final year.

Even though Hostess warned that it didn't have the financial resources to weather an extended strike, workers failed to return to work by Thursday's deadline. And as a result, Hostess is now folding up.

I have heard all different types arguments regarding whether unions are good, bad or ugly. That's a discussion for another day. However, I have to wonder if the right decision was made in this case. Granted, no one wants to take a pay cut. But in today's economy, is it really wise to trade a company paycheck for a spot in the unemployment line? Hostess has been around since 1930, so I'm assuming that, at least some of the long-time employees were earning a decent wage. So, instead of taking a small pay cut, many of these now former employees will likely have to take jobs making considerably less than they were making at Hostess. Perhaps, a better option would have been to reluctantly agree to accept the terms of the contract. And then if you were that unhappy about it, you could find another company to work for. Because, let's face it, it's a hell of a lot less pressure to look for a job while you still have a job. Especially in today's economy.

With all of this being said, I do feel bad for Hostess employees. Because no matter what kind of bullshit the media tries to sell us about an "economic turn-around", times are tough. They're even tougher when you're unemployed....

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As a kid, I can remember walking down the snack aisle of the grocery store. I was always lured to the Hostess shelves for some reason. Being more a chocolate lover, I have to admit, I never really had a craving for the iconic Twinkie. Instead, I preferred the chocolate creme-filled cupcakes with the swirly white icing stripe on the top. I also ate my share of Ho-Ho's which were like a rolled up chocolate cupcake. The Ring Ding was a favorite childhood as well. And I can remember making lunch out of those Hostess sugary coated fruit pies on more than one occasion. Yeah, I know I'm not the poster boy for healthy eating, but those things were great! And I didn't even mention Wonder bread, another American classic!

The Twinkie is as American as apple pie. Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But considering that Hostess has been cranking out 500 million Twinkies a year, somebody must like them. And, although I've never actually tried one, I hear that the deep-fried Twinkie is a big hit at festivals and state fairs around the country. 

Farewell to another piece of Americana.......

kw

Companies React As Obamacare Moves Forward

With President Obama's reelection last week, it pretty much assures that his hotly contested Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) will move forward. And this appears to have a lot of businesses concerned about how they will pay for the additional coverage for their employees.

In a nutshell, Obamacare is due to be fully implemented in a little over a year (January 2014). Businesses with more than 50 employees will be required to offer an approved insurance plan to workers who work at least 30 hours per week. If the employer chooses not to offer the insurance, it will have to pay a $2000 penalty (per affected employee). This is what prompted several businesses to make some drastic changes over the past week.

For example, a Denny's franchise owner in Florida recently announced that he will begin adding a 5% surcharge to customer's bills. This is to help offset the inevitable costs he will have to absorb as a result of Obamacare. The same business owner also said that he will be reducing many employee's hours to under 30.

Papa John's also announced that the new healthcare plan will add 11-14 cents to the cost of each of the company's pizzas. This cost will be passed onto the consumer. I really don't think that the average person would complain too much about paying an extra 14 cents for a pizza. But there's also talk of cutting worker's hours. I must note that Papa John's recently gave away two million free pizzas in a NFL promotion. So, I can understand the criticism that would likely follow.

Darden Restaurants which owns popular chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster has announced plans to cut hours as well. Darden's 185,000 employees are all currently offered health insurance. But that doesn't mean things are going to stay the same. Many of employees currently have plans don't have enough bells and whistles to fulfill the requirements of Obamacare. Therefore, Darden will have to beef up the insurance plans or be forced to pay the penalty. So, instead, the company will likely reduce many employee's hours to the magical under-30 mark. (On a side note, I have read that the CEO of Darden is a big-time Obama supporter/donor. So, I'm scratching my head a little on that one...)

Along the same lines, several medical equipment makers recently announced plans to cut their workforces. Obamacare includes a 2.3% industry-wide excise tax on medical equipment.

So, what does this all mean? Is this knee-jerk reaction by frustrated companies who had rolled the dice on a Romney presidency? Or is it simply a political statement? And how will customers react to all of this? I've already seen online chatter calling for the boycotts of some of these companies. For American businesses as a whole, could this only be the tip of the iceberg? Will the standard work week now be 30 hours or less?

Giving everyone affordable healthcare insurance sure sounds like a good thing. But someone has to pay for all of this. That's where the big problem lies....

And I know people are going to redirect things to some degree (i.e... It was Nixon who first introduced the mandate, universal healthcare was Newt Gingrich's idea, socialized medicine works so great in other countries, etc). What difference does it make? The bottom line is this is President Obama's baby. If the Affordable Care Act turns out to be a great thing, he will certainly take the due credit. However, if it proves to be an economic disaster, he's going to have a hard time trying to blame this one on Bush....

kw

Cleaning Out The Spam Folder

Since ninety percent of the mail that the Postal Service delivers to my house is junk mail, I guess it's only fitting that email would follow the same course. So, today I decided to go through my spam folder to make sure no legitimate emails got "trapped" in there. As I sorted through the various items, I found many of them downright amusing. Here are some of the actual unedited subject lines that I copied and pasted:

• Say Goodbye to Body Acne 
• View Photos of 50 plus Singles Near You
• Why didn't you tell me?!
• Ken Wilson, Counsel Suffering Addicts
• Date Real Cheating Wives in your Area Today
• Canadian Pharmacy : Viagra + CIALIS !!
• $1,000 for Ken Wilson
• Give her the best of you
• USPS delivery information # Error ID6199
• Neglected and Lonely Housewives searching for love

I love the ones that basically say "Hot Athletic Women With Insatiable Sexual Appetites Are Dying To Meet YOU!". Now, I'm a happily married man, so it's a moot point. But I have to wonder how many gullible guys get these emails and let it go to their heads. I mean, if you've got thousands of women trying to knock down your bedroom door, it's understandable how you could get an inflated ego. 

And speaking of inflated.......

What's up with all of these Viagra emails? I get them of the time and frankly, it's starting to make me feel a little self-conscience. It always seems like the supplier is outside of the United States, most of the time in Canada. Hey, I appreciate my neighbors to the north having all of this concern for me, but my hydraulics are working just fine, thank you.....

And why are people who I don't even know offering to give me large sums of money. Have you ever gotten one of those emails that claim that there's $10 trillion waiting for you somewhere overseas? And the only thing that you have to do is send them $500 first in order to cover the processing fee. How could anyone pass up such a generous offer? I actually replied back to one of them I told them that if they would just send me a money order or cashier's check for the $10 trillion, I would gladly send their processing fee out as soon as the check clears. I haven't received anything yet, but I check my mailbox everyday just in case...

I also hate when you get a subject line that reads something like, "Regarding Your Order #12345". It always looks legitimate and since I order a fair amount of stuff online, I'm always tempted to dig into it. Along the same lines, I occasionally get a fraudulent email that appears to be from my bank. The key is to never surrender any personal information to these scammers. If you suspect that it's bogus, it probably is.

And lastly, I really get a kick out of the emails that invite me to "counsel suffering addicts". I think everyone knows that if  you left me alone with a group of addicts, we would ultimately wind up at Happy Hour doing Tuaca shots. Yep, I think they'd better find someone with a little more will-power for that job.

So, now that my Spam folder has been thoroughly purged, I think I'll take a nostalgic walk out to the "snail" mail box and see if that $10 trillion ever showed up....

kw