Jennifer Robidoux, vice president of the New Hampshire Right to Life, came on my show, Frankly Speaking earlier this week and talked about facts, statistics, and various alternatives to having an Abortion. This was one of the more informative and fascinating shows I’ve ever done.
Opening and closing theme song, Comin’ and Goin’ performed by Sharon DiFronzo of Screamin Heart records.
I believe there’s an old cliché that warns people of things which are free because you usually wind up, in the very end, getting what you pay for. This is basically how I felt when I picked last week’s copy of, The Hippo newspaper to see all the recipients of its “Best of 2014” issue, basically promoting “local favorite” establishments and entities via a month-long Internet readers’ poll conducted every February. Specifically, The Hippo, published by Hippopress, is a free weekly newspaper that covers the southern New Hampshire cities of Nashua, Manchester, and Concord, along with all of its suburbs.
As a point of disclosure here, I’m indirectly involved with the production of a local access TV show in Nashua. As a fun experience, I strongly lobbied a couple dozen of my friends to vote in this Hippo readers’ poll for the Best Locally Produced TV Show, and Best Local TV Personality categories. Since the rules of this Poll frowned on national entities even being counted in this contest, I figured, at the very least, we could nab “Best of Nashua” on both those categories – I have no clue exactly how popular local access TV is in either Manchester or Concord. Since the Hippo appeared crystal clear in its posted rules that national chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc., were automatically going to be disqualified from this contest, I didn’t foresee either a commercially supported TV show, or a professional TV personality in NH bumping my show from getting some mention in this particular contest. Boy, was I ever wrong.
WMUR-TV, Channel 9, in Manchester is sort of like New Hampshire’s ONLY commercial TV station, for all intents and purposes. Channel 9 broadcasts a NH news show, along with about a half dozen other assorted feature shows, and then about 90 percent of its daily programming is from its National affiliate, American Broadcasting Company (ABC). There’s no doubt in my mind that the “personalities” employed by WMUR, are college-trained, along with their studio personnel, and have the best electronic equipment and clothing money can buy. As you might’ve already guessed, WMUR personalities swept the Best TV Personalities in this “Local” Hippo contest. And, rather than giving the awards in this particular category as: Best in Concord, Best in Manchester, and Best in Nashua – as it did with the vast majority of its categories – it was listed as, Best, Runner-up, and Honorable Mention. Go figure on that one.
Were the WMUR recipients of these 2014 Hippo honors considerably better than the “host” of my local access TV show in Nashua? Absolutely, without a doubt – the host of the local access show I’m associated with has ZERO journalism experience. But that was DEFINITELY NOT THE “SPIRIT AND INTENT” of this contest. If the Hippo readers could’ve voted for ABSOLUTELY ANYBODY ON TV in this particular category, celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill O’Reilly, or Katie Couric probably would’ve slaughtered the WMUR personalities in the final outcome. Come to think of it, if The Hippo were being judged in a newspaper journalism contest, it would literally look pathetic against rival daily publications like the Nashua Telegraph, or the New Hampshire Union-Leader. The Hippo simply doesn’t have the resources or personnel to compete in a journalism contest against most reputable daily newspapers. The same thing holds true when trying to compare WMUR with most local access TV shows. Having said that, there’s still a tremendous amount of heart and hard work that goes into making a lot of these local access shows informative and entertaining for its viewing audience. It’s too bad that The Hippo refuses to acknowledge that.
Lastly, in the Best Locally Produced TV Show, again, The Hippo chose to deviate from the usual Best of Manchester, …Nashua, …Concord – which it did for MOST of its categories — and awarded the Best show to one on WMUR (surprise, surprise), the Runner-up to a Manchester local access show, and then Honorable-mention to a show on New Hampshire Public Television. Give our local public access shows the exact same financial resources and equipment as WMUR and NH Public TV and watch what happens.
Incidentally, did I mention that the local access TV show I’m associated with is a Christian-based broadcast? I hate to think that could’ve been the actual reason The Hippo newspaper chose to snub our show from any mention in this annual readers’ contest, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a Christian-related or Bible-related article in that thing, at least, since I moved to NH about 12 years ago.
FILE UNDER: Tim Tebow-phobia
(College football and pro football are obviously two completely different games. Personally – especially as a Christian – I was rooting for Tim Tebow to hook up with an NFL team. Unfortunately, Tebow doesn’t seem to have the “mechanics” needed to be an NFL quarterback despite having much success on the college level.
Assuming this report on Sam’s final season with Missouri is true and accurate, why should an NFL waste a draft choice selection on this guy? If Sam had disclosed absolutely nothing about his sexual orientation, it sure sounds as if he’d be a very late-round pick perhaps not even drafted at all. So for example, if Sam does go undrafted this May, will sports reporters then go up to somebody like, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and insinuate that he’s a “homophobe” because he wouldn’t pay this guy the respect to at least draft him despite the fact that he’s openly Gay. The higher the number draft pick, the more lucrative the initial rookie contract.
The bottom line is there seems to be some serious reservations on whether Sam is really a better-than-average football player on the collegiate level, never mind the professional level. Conforming to “affirmative action standards” don’t exact win teams too many Super Bowl championships in the National Football League. What would YOU do if you owned an NFL franchise and were in desperate need of a better-than-average defensive lineman from the upcoming draft in May? As for myself, after reading the following article, I think I would take my chances and assume Sam will go undrafted and then perhaps invite him to compete for a team roster spot in the pre-season training camp. Then, if Sam’s not good enough to make the team, I won’t be obligated to pay this guy hundreds-of-thousands, if not millions, should he turn out to be a bust.
I just hope the “affirmative action crowd” remembers some of these arguments when, about a year from now, Michael Sam is employed with some organization other than the National Football League.)
http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/13/michael-sam-film-study-nfl-draft/
By Greg A. Bedard
I knew very little about Michael Sam until Sunday night, when the draft-bound Missouri defensive end announced he is gay. (I don’t have time to watch much college football during the NFL season aside from a few big games here and there.) I read a few of the stories about his announcement, but that was the extent of my knowledge about Sam.
On Monday morning, my boss, Peter King, called with an edict: “Don’t talk to any scouts or general managers. Just find as much tape as you can on Michael Sam, watch it and write what you think.”
Several hours, 12 games and 922 Missouri defensive snaps later (I couldn’t get my hands on the Indiana and Kentucky games), I feel I have a firm grasp on the 6-1 ½, 260-pound Michael Sam, NFL draft prospect. Film doesn’t care whether you’re gay or straight, black or magenta: You are what you show on the field.
Here’s what I learned:
He plays hard. When Sam is on the field, he’s always engaged and plays to the whistle. Even though that aspect of his game isn’t extraordinary (other players have higher motors), it’s a solid NFL foundation. However, there is one important aspect to consider: Missouri plays with a strict defensive line rotation. Sam played 58 percent of the snaps in the 12 games I watched. That’s a bit of a double-edged sword, depending on your point of view. On one hand you could say that Sam could have put up even better stats than his 11.5 sacks and 7.5 additional tackles for a loss if the rotation weren’t so strict. On the other hand you could say, “Well, he should put up those kinds of stats and play to the whistle since he plays less than NFL starters. He received more than enough rest during a game.” I lean towards the latter because …
Missouri’s defense has better players than Sam. If Sam was a standout, you would see the Missouri coaches break from the rotation late in the game to get the best players on the field. That didn’t happen, and it stood out in the must-win finale against Texas A&M. On the Aggies’ final three possessions in a 21-21 game, Sam played five of nine snaps. It could be argued that Sam is the fourth-best pass rush prospect on the Tigers. Right end Kony Ealy, who could be a top-10 pick this year, drew much more attention from offenses and had to face the opponent’s best tackle, on the left side of the offensive line. Markus Golden, Sam’s backup on the left side, will be drafted higher than Sam when he enters the draft a year from now. Golden could be a star. He is more athletic and faster than Sam, and watching the Tigers play, I thought Golden was better. There could be other factors as to why he played behind Sam, including Sam’s leadership and smarts. Or perhaps the Missouri coaches didn’t want Golden, a junior-college transfer, to start, in order to increase his chances of staying another season. Sophomore Shane Ray is also more athletic than Sam, a quality valued on special teams at the next level. Same goes for senior end/outside linebacker Brayden Burnett.
Sam produced big time, but… There’s no question that Sam had major production this season, as he led the SEC in sacks and tackles for a loss (which includes sacks). This is probably why he was named SEC defensive player of the year by the media, and co-DPOY (with Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley) by the coaches. However, you have to look at the circumstances of his production. Namely, most of it came in three games of a four-game stretch against inferior competition: ArkansasState (three sacks), Vanderbilt (three sacks) and Florida (three sacks). Sam had a total of a half-sack in his final six games, until he made a huge play on basically the final play of the Cotton Bowl. As OklahomaState was driving for a game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown, Sam made a sack-strip that was returned by Ray for a touchdown. Sam beat right tackle Chris Grishby, who took a false step and was a beat late coming out of his stance. Of the 12 games I watched it was by far the biggest play Sam made all season. (The half-sack Sam had against Texas A&M would not be counted as such in the NFL: Aggie quarterback Johnny Manziel left the pocket, although not on a designed run, and clearly had become a runner. The “sack” was mostly made by Ealy and Matt Hoch, with Sam coming in late.)
So basically in his final five games plus 40 snaps against Oklahoma State—the best competition Sam faced all season—he had no splash plays. The right tackles he faced (as a left end he didn’t go against Texas A&M left tackle Jake Matthews, a projected top-10 pick) in that stretch were more of what he will see in the pros. The right tackles he beat up to gain his production likely wouldn’t be on NFL training-camp rosters. Four of his sacks came with lesser opponents desperate and behind by large margins in the fourth quarter, in obvious passing situations. In addition, Florida’s offensive line was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Lastly: Sam’s sack against South Carolina in overtime was on an unblocked stunt.
He lacks pass rush moves. As a pass rusher, Sam has one move: a decent, if inconsistent, first step, with a little giddy-up so he can get home on a straight line either around the edge or on a quick stunt inside. But if he’s pushed around in the slightest off the ball, he doesn’t make plays, because—from what I saw—he doesn’t have a good counter move. Of his first 10 sacks of the season, only once was he engaged with a blocker and defeated him (first sack against Vanderbilt). The rest were seven speed rushes around the end against inferior competition, and two when he wasn’t blocked. Sam showed little ability to convert speed to power on his rush, which is one of the most important traits in a good NFL rusher: speed to gain leverage and then the strength to win the play after that. I do think he has some of that somewhere—Sam plays with strong hands and shows good functional strength—but it’s going to have to be developed by a good NFL defensive line coach. He has two pass-rush techniques he incorporates: a dip on the edge, and the occasional hand slap of the tackle. He will need more to succeed in the NFL.
Part of Sam’s limitation with the pass rush is he doesn’t play with a natural instinct for the ball. He’s very good at being assignment-sure and in the right spot immediately after the snap, indicating he takes coaching well, but after that the game does not appear to come naturally to him. It’s a constant theme on tape that he often falls for zone-read play-fakes and also struggles to diagnose screens. A player with limited athletic ability can be a viable player if he has exceptional awareness and instincts, but that does not show up on tape for Sam.
He doesn’t have an obvious NFL position. To me, Sam looked below average against the run. He can’t get off blocks when engaged, and I saw him get cut several times by offensive linemen. For that reason it’s tough to see him as a 4-3 end. Against Auburn, a premier team, Sam was often blocked, and effectively, by a fullback. That’s a bad sign if Sam is going to have to convert to standup linebacker in the NFL. Plus, rookies in the NFL most often have to be special-team stalwarts, and those are most often very good athletes. The marginal athleticism that I saw will be a problem in Sam’s fight to earn a roster spot.
His most successful path to long-term NFL employment could be as a developmental prospect via the practice squad if a team thinks he can make the transition from 4-3 end to 3-4 outside linebacker. I don’t see him as a 4-3 end because of his size, stiffness as an athlete and inability to defeat blocks against the run. I also believe Sam does have some potential (if a team would like him to cut a little weight and work extensively with him) as a possible two-down inside linebacker in the 3-4 defense. Maybe he could convert on third down to a pass-rusher on the defensive line. That’s a big projection to make for a draft pick. Some of his most impressive plays happened earlier in the season when he occasionally was used inside at defensive tackle and showed a knack for beating guards with his quickness. So Sam does have some positional versatility if a team is able to work with him and hone his skills.
Sam’s body type reminds me of three NFL players. In terms of body type, Sam reminds me of three players: LaMarr Woodley (Steelers), Terrell Suggs (Ravens) and Trent Cole (Eagles). Those are very good models. All three are 3-4 outside linebackers, and they exceeded 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Sam is expected to run in the 4.7 range at the Scouting Combine or his on-campus workout—perhaps as high as a 4.8. Playing those positions is not all about how fast you can run. However, what made Woodley (second round in 2007) and Cole (fifth round in ’05) stand out was their short-area quickness. Woodley (4.42) and Cole (4.22) ran very good times in the short 20-yard shuttle. If Sam can show that at the combine (his film indicates he will not) then he has potential to make it on the next level.
It’s almost unfair to mention Suggs’ name in this conversation as the 10th overall pick in ’03, for several reasons: he plays with outstanding strength (especially against the run) and his production at ArizonaState was phenomenal. But he did run a 4.84 in the 40-yard dash, so it’s an example of speed not mattering. And if Sam is to make it in the NFL, he’s going to have to be that kind of strong-at-the-point-of-attack player who can get home on the pass rush.
My conclusion. Sam was a good player for one season in college. He was productive, so the accolades he received were earned. But being a good college player and becoming a good NFL player are two different things (see Tim Tebow). Sam did well for Missouri with a lot of talent around him. A majority of his production came in three games against inferior competition without a need to show much of a pass-rushing repertoire. He doesn’t show much of what the NFL looks for on special teams, and it’s difficult to project a position for him on the next level. For those reasons, Sam would project to be no better than a mid- to late-round pick. He could go undrafted. To my eyes Sam is decidedly average, with nothing exceptional about his game—though he will be helped by the fact that this draft is not deep with pass rushers, and those are always needed.
But there’s a saying in the NFL: It only takes one team. One team that sees Sam’s ability better than I do, one team that believes that his courage in announcing he is gay before the NFL Scouting Combine is a trait that can help them. On draft weekend, nothing is a surprise. And draft position doesn’t really matter all that much; many undrafted players go on to have long and successful NFL careers. They just need to land in the right situation, with the right coaches, to unlock their potential. It’s happened before, and famously with undersized defensive players like London Fletcher. I don’t see it, but it could happen with Sam.
Tim Tebow
For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a PECULIAR people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. — Deuteronomy 14:2
Personally, I think when God Almighty inserted the aforementioned verse in the Bible, He had a person like Tim Tebow in His forethoughts. By all accounts, Tebow has to be regarded as a rather “peculiar” individual. Unfortunately, in Tebow’s young professional football career, teams tend to shy away from him because of the “circus atmosphere” that allegedly surrounds this guy – my question here is, “why”?
As a college quarterback with the University of Florida, Tebow was privileged enough to win both the Heisman Trophy (college football’s Most Valuable Player award), along with a national championship. But then again, there are a handful of past Heisman Trophy recipients and players who were a part of a collegian championship currently in the National Football League who don’t even get a fraction of the media publicity as Tebow.
Tebow did lead the Denver Broncos to the NFL playoffs two years ago, and then helped win an amazing first round playoff game against Pittsburgh Steelers. But that magical season came to a screeching halt the following week when Tebow’s current team, the New England Patriots, absolutely slaughtered the Broncos in the next round of the playoffs. But that was a year-and-a-half ago!!!
Another problem that NFL scouts seem to associate with Tebow is that he may have been a great quarterback in college, but he’s got poor “mechanics” to ever be successful in the pro ranks. But in that season two years ago, Tebow quarterbacked the Broncos to about 10-11 regular season wins, along with a win in the first round of the playoffs – that’s a heck of a lot than most NFL quarterbacks accomplish in their entire careers. Whether or not a “win” is pretty or ugly, a win is a win in my book, so what difference does it make?
It’s like the story of the Bumble Bee – according to the Principles of Aerodynamics, a Bumble Bee isn’t supposed to be able to fly. But nobody ever explained that to the Bumble Bee, so he just proceeds to go ahead and fly anyway.
I’d say, if Tebow’s quarterbacking “mechanics” are really that bad, keep letting him play in regular season NFL games until he starts losing. Getting slaughtered in a playoff game against the Patriots nearly two years ago doesn’t prove to me that Tebow is the worst quarterback in the NFL.
Since that time, Tebow hasn’t started an NFL regular season game or even played a “relevant” role in one. Last season, Tebow was Mark Sanchez’s backup quarterback with the New York Jets – a team which didn’t even make the playoffs. It seemed like after every loss, the media would ask Jets coach Rex Ryan if he was going to replace Sanchez with Tebow. Now after a long period of free agent signings, the Patriots decided to give Tebow a shot as its backup quarterback for future Hall of Famer, Tom Brady. As was expected, a whole media entourage peppered Patriots coach Bill Belichick with questions as to Tebow becoming the “new” quarterback should Brady, who’s now in his mid-30s, should have a string of bad games this season. Huh???
Where is this off-the-wall media interest on Tim Tebow coming from???
The guy does happen to be a devout Christian and blatantly shows his faith to God on the field either bowing down on one knee after a big play, getting caught on microphone trying to sing a popular Christian tune on the sideline, etc. Would most football fans feel much better about Tebow if he were addicted to Cocaine, or experienced 4-5 divorces, or had 4-5 kids out of wedlock? When sports fans or the media say that popular athletes have “an obligation to our society to serve as ‘role models’ for our children”, who’s a better “role model” for our youngsters than Tebow?
But the media is, in essence, attacking Tebow here by making him out to be “The Savior” when it’s clear that he’s initially signed-on to now his third NFL team as a backup quarterback. In other words, trying to make quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Mark Sanchez jealous and causing a schism amongst the various team members because Tebow, along with his supposed “circus atmosphere”, appears to be drawing the most media attention. And it’s not like Tebow is initiating all this attention to himself via “trash talking”, which many NFL players tend to engage in.
Compare and contrast Tebow with former Boston Celtic backup basketball player, Jason Collins. Collins, who’s now with the Washington Wizards, publicly announced back in April that he is a “gay homosexual”. Apparently, Collins is the first NBA player to make such a declaration. Major sports media outlets, such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated, painted Collins back then as a “hero” for making such a bold public statement like that. So why did America’s sports media cease to continue writing articles and/or broadcasting stuff on various aspects of Collins’ life??? There’s no doubt that presently, Collins is much more “relevant” than Tebow is, so how the heck did this “gay homosexual” backup basketball “hero” get to revert back to the proverbial woodwork in the media’s eyes?
Again, since Collins is merely a backup mediocre basketball player on a team that probably won’t even make the playoffs, it would probably be construed as “Gay bashing” to continue to give this guy more media attention that say, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, or Dwight Howard. And if the Reporter trying to publicize every single aspect of Collins’ life happened to be a Caucasian, then that would probably be construed as not only “Gay bashing” but “Race bashing” as well since Collins happens to be a Black guy. Can you say, “Double-Standard”???
And what about the dozen or so NFL players who have converted to Islam? How come we never hear about their religious testimonies in the media? Pro basketball Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (f.k.a. Lew Alcindor) converted to Islam in ’68 – which is 33 years BEFORE 9/11, yet even this guy’s Wikipedia page doesn’t even have the reason(s) he converted to Islam. It’s as if to say: Nothing to see here folks, just move along.
Perhaps it’s just a crazy conspiracy theory on my part, but is the American sports media, via Satan or the Devil, deliberately focusing on Tebow’s every single word and action here, hoping to catch him in a non-Christian type moment just so they can say, “Gotcha”!!! And, hypothetically speaking, if the media were to catch Tebow in a weak “natural man” Gotcha moment, will that somehow, in a backwards sort of way, prove that God does NOT exist???
FILE UNDER: Very desperate measures for very desperate people.
One Bad Decision Away From Homelessness 