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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Forever Braves?

 

The Cleveland Indians are changing their name, which has reopened the can of worms about the Braves. The Braves are doing everything they can to keep the name, forging an alliance with the Cherokee Indian tribe of North Carolina (kinda like smoking the peace pipe, huh?). Without fans at games in 2020, the Braves didn't have to deal with the tomahawk chop, which is one of the most offensive things to those offended. Those demanding change say getting rid of the chop and tomahawk uniforms isn't enough, that the name must be changed as well.

Like many Indians and Redskins fans, I would be sad to see the Braves be forced to change their name. I understand where this is coming from. A particular race of people should not be made out to be a caricature of themselves. Many will argue that the Braves' name honors the fierce Indian warriors, but protesters aren't wavered.

I suppose changing the name to Cherokees wouldn't make people happy. Some want the new name to be the Hammers. I am all for honoring Hank Aaron, but Hammers is a sorry name for a baseball team. I also dislike dropping the S to make it the Atlanta Brave. Bravest isn't good either. Might as well make up a new name. I say change it to the Doves, Rustlers, or Firecrackers, since Crackers would never work. I prefer a name tied to Braves history, heck, even Beaneaters would be fun. Thrashers would be better than Hammers. 

If the Braves change their name, would it become politically incorrect and insensitive to wear the old Braves gear to games? Protesters say yes. It's said that owners will only change an offensive team name when they start feeling the protests in their pocketbook. Those protesting encourage boycotts of tickets and fan merchandise.

The Chicago Black Hawks are being pressured as well. Also the Kansas City Chiefs, whose fans also do the tomahawk chop. Even the Texas Rangers, named after the elite lawmen, are under fire. What about the Vikings, who are known to rape and pillage? The Raiders and Buccaneers? Yet no one is offended by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, or the San Diego Padres. Must be okay to make a monk a caricature for a team. Soon people will be offended by the New England Patriots. I am offended by the "Washington" part of the Redskins name. A joke, but these people don't have a sense of humor.

 

The first time Clemson played the Irish, Notre Dame shut down the Clemson running game. The Tigers backup QB, a freshman, passed for over 400 yards. Having Trevor Lawrence back will open up the running game. Plus Clemson has several experienced starters back on defense, who missed the game in South Bend. I predict Clemson will cover the spread. The first half will be close, but in the second half Clemson will pull away.

Another prediction: like we saw last week at Virginia Tech, Trevor Lawrence will be faking more handoffs and running the ball himself more now that we're in the postseason. Notre Dame didn't have to defend against that in the first game. The Irish will be wearing their navy jerseys Saturday, unless they wear green. Clemson will wear white jerseys and orange pants. 

I'd like Notre Dame to lose the ACC Championship Game but still get picked for the College Football Playoff – then get beat again by Alabama. Looking forward to Alabama beating Florida on Saturday night. Doubt I'll watch. There are a couple new Hallmark Channel Christmas movies debuting Saturday night that Ceil wants to watch. 

Not sure about all that odds stuff. The spread will probably be lowered as we get closer to game day. Check what it is tomorrow. I am not at all any kind of betting person. That may have been one of the very few times I have ever typed the phrase "cover the spread" in my life. Pretty sure it means that if Clemson is favored by 10-1/2 then to cover they have to win by eleven points. Otherwise lots of people who bet for Clemson would lose their bet. Depending how you bet, you win if Notre Dame wins – or loses by ten points or less.

That's why lots of bettors were mad when Nick Chubb ran out of bounds instead of scoring a few weeks ago. Caused them to lose their bet. Nowadays lots of fantasy football team owners are interested just in stats. Lang has written about how it makes watching meaningless games more interesting. I've heard real players like Peyton Manning talk about meeting fans, and all some fans want to talk about is how Peyton wrecked his fantasy football season.   

Now everyone texts. I'm not a big texter.

This morning at 8 am Will was out playing golf at Chastain Park. It was 37 degrees.

Sounds like I won't be getting the Christmas cards from Anna until late Thursday afternoon. She's getting them printed at her favorite shop in Athens. She's been busy with work and other projects. On Thursday Grace Church has asked her to come meet with them, about the work she does for them. 

Last night I had a dream me and a bunch of friends were at this big Baptist church, in Texas I think. It was supposedly a church we had sang at on choir tour that was now in a run down area of town. It was like we were college students, but for the most part these were people I knew in the dream but not real people from my life. The minister of music was asking us to sing in the choir, to practice for the service. Slowly almost everyone took their place in the choir loft, except for me and one other guy, Holt Davis. We high fived, because we had commitments and couldn't join in. Finally I succumbed and joined the choir. All us students were in this back choir loft, and there were a bunch of adults in a loft in front of us, closer to the pulpit. Not much singing was going on, and then the minister of music started working with the adults. That's all I can remember.

Left work at five yesterday. Small group with two other guys, John and Ron. Got home and Ceil started a Hallmark movie, and we stayed up until it ended at 11 pm.

Four things emotionally mature people don't do: an article by Niklas Goke.

1. Escaping from emotionally challenging situations. Escaping clouds your emotions, rather than clarifying them.

2. Blaming others. We assume we know why people do things. Fools yourself into believing you know what's going on, and that you had nothing to do with what went on. Think of a solution instead.

3. Beating yourself up. Be realistic. Learn from your mistakes, then move on.

4. Fighting battles not worth fighting. Ask yourself: what are we arguing about? Is it really worth it? You can't control someone else's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or behavior. Quit trying. Instead think about why you're so worked up. 

https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/4-things-emotionally-mature-people-dont-do?ltm=YeOdthGDOXNrPeJ1k0BVmJJi9QVKdCNKa8E6OuapV6Ap0Diz1y7SJ5bvM7cU1bo0&subscriber_type=member&utm_swu=6280&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter&utm_term=dnl-4-24-20-eharmony&utm_medium=email&utm_content=dnl-4-24-20-eharmony&utm_source=member

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