I don't bet on college football games. Most of the time it's hard enough to decide which team will win without trying to factor in the point spread, and it's easier to enjoy the game without a financial stake in the outcome. However, I usually try to figure out which team will win in advance because I consider it an exercise of the same analytical skills I use to write my detective novels as "Rocky Leonard", and specifically the ability to apply logic and reason to problem-solving, especially if I care about the outcome of the game. As a Georgia Bulldog alumnus and football fan, I care about the outcome of the 2018 national championship game, and I'm aware that the bookies in Las Vegas have installed Alabama as a four point favorite. The prognosticators and pundits have also spoken: Colin Cowherd decreed that Georgia has absolutely no chance to beat Alabama, and according to him the Crimson Tide are "best team in football" who only lost a nail-biter to Auburn, (by "nail-biter", Cowherd apparently means losing the game by only 12 points as opposed to a 23 point margin.) UGA fans who have been upset by Cowherd's prediction that Alabama will thrash our Bulldogs in the National Championship game should note that this same "expert" analyst also predicted Oklahoma would defeat both Georgia and Alabama and win the national championship. Remember, the "experts" forecast Hillary Clinton would be President today, not Donald Trump. In other words, as my late Dad used to say, opinions are like a-holes. Everybody has one. Almost every writer at Sports Illustrated also picked … [Read more...]
Field of Opportunity
I've been wrong before, and I'll be there again I don't have any answers, my friend -- Just this pile of old questions that my memory left me here. In the field of opportunity, it's plowing time again. - Neil Young If you've read articles or books that I've written and published, you know that I'm not reticent about expressing my opinion. For example, I didn't hesitate to predict Mel Tucker would become Georgia's defensive coordinator under Kirby Smart, because common sense dictated that Jeremy Pruitt should be retained, unless a better candidate was available. However, as my late Dad used to say, even a blind squirrel can find an acorn once in a while. Or, more appropriately, I should heed the wisdom that Davin Bellamy imparted to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, and humble myself enough to admit that I was wrong. It's easy to brag about being right about Mel Tucker - who doesn't like admitting when they are right? However, it's also important to remind myself when I am wrong, and I was definitely wrong about UGA and Mark Richt needing to part company in order for this national championship game to become possible. My love and admiration for coach Richt had blinded me to the reasons why Georgia Bulldog football was not closing the talent gap with Alabama, and many blue chip recruits were leaving the state. Clearly, I was wrong. In spite of several articles here at my blog in which I adamantly insisted UGA had just committed an egregious mistake by parting company with Mark Richt, I now acknowledge that the time for change had come. In the early … [Read more...]
Analyzing Atheism & Critiquing Modern Atheist Tactics, by Landon Freeman
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Landon Freeman is a very intelligent young man and talented writer with quite a few interesting things to say on a variety of topics, so I've invited him to share some of those thoughts here at my website. I hope you will enjoy reading his articles as much as I normally do.] I frequently encounter and converse with atheists on my Facebook group, "Evidence for Creation". I have to say that, unfortunately, most atheists that have been in the group have since been banned. It is rare for a Christian and an atheist to have a reasonable conversation. If they do, it usually doesn't last long, turning into a vitriolic shouting match after awhile. Why is that, though? While I do have to deal with troublesome Christians quite often as well, I'm amazed at the attitudes and the anger many atheists display. There are usually three types of atheists I encounter on Facebook. The first is usually made up of those content with not believing. They may argue with Christians or other theists, though they are usually respectful and present arguments in an attempt to build a strong case for their position. It's usually rare to encounter an atheist like this, however. The second group is made up of atheists who may be respectful for the first few comments and/or posts. However, soon after they begin behaving unnecessarily aggressively, usually mocking Christians while presenting no valid argument of their own. These atheists are quite common. The third type of atheist is usually a troll from the start, not even attempting to present their position in a reasonable and … [Read more...]
Exceeding expectations
On February 10, 1980, the Russian national hockey team absolutely demolished the U.S. national team in an exhibition game in Madison Square Garden just prior to the Olympics, by a 10-3 score. Arguably the game hadn't even been as close as the score. The Russian team looked a lot like the Harlem Globetrotters on ice, and the U.S. team appeared to be significantly less competent than the hockey equivalent of the Washington Generals. They didn't even look as good as the Mighty Ducks (meaning the team coached by Emilio Estevez, not the NHL version.) After that brutal and humbling loss, U.S. coach Herb Brooks made a very interesting observation. He said: "Sometimes a real butt-kicking is good for a quality team, or a quality athlete." Incredibly, less than a month later the U.S. national team managed the unthinkable and defeated the Russians in the far more-important "Miracle on Ice" rematch in the Olympics. Do you believe in miracles? I do. I happened to watch that 1980 hockey game in the SAE fraternity house in Athens, Georgia as it happened, in real time. And yesterday I witnessed a similar sports miracle. Georgia won the SEC Championship by three touchdowns by the same team that had beaten them by more than three touchdowns, only three weeks earlier. Don't pinch me. If I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up. The University of Georgia Bulldogs are the 2017 SEC Champions. Say it again, out loud and proud. Go Dawgs! Sic 'em! Woof woof woof woof! Who could have believed it, before this season started? Heck, who besides our players and coaches believed it … [Read more...]
Never Discuss Religion With a Unitarian
I've never liked to fight with people. To be perfectly honest, I don't think I've thrown a punch in anger since my junior year in high school, more than forty years ago. It isn't my natural instinct to start an argument. I've only had one formal debate in my entire life, and it wasn't my idea in the first place. By the same token, I'm not afraid of a challenge, or to defend my personal beliefs. My opponent on that momentous occasion was a former president of American Atheists, a guy named Ed Buckner. He proposed our debate only a couple of months before my book Counterargument for God was published, so I saw his challenge as an opportunity to test the substance of that argument. Personally, I liked Ed. If he ever wants a rematch, I'd only have two conditions: I don't want to argue cherrypicked verses from the Bible all night, and a second debate should be held on Ed's home turf, the normal meeting place for freethinkers in the Atlanta area. I've come to believe there are two kinds of atheists -- the kind that hate Christianity and religion in general (anti-theists), versus others who also don't believe in a supernatural God, but without the latent hostility toward people with religious beliefs. A handful of my virtual friends on Facebook are the latter variety of atheist, and those are some of the friendships I value the most. Recently one atheist friend took the time to send me this message: After years of (dogmatically) thinking creationists as ignorant/dogmatic etc. (much like many feel about atheists), you are the one who has taught me otherwise. I'm glad you … [Read more...]
