SPORTS IN LIFE -- MENTAL ACUITY -- SUPER BOWL

All the hype we hear about the Super Bowl might lead some to think everyone in the U.S. is obsessed with going to the game in Atlanta, Georgia this year or viewing the TV coverage.   The reality is that statistics indicate more people watch the game than any other program – but that’s only approximately one-third plus of our population.   Of that number viewers may only watch part of the game as VOX reported in their analysis a few years ago of rating company Nielsen’s methods: 

“A ratings point — calculated to the 10th decimal place — is a percentage of the number of American households that own at least one television and were tuned to a particular program at a particular time.

It represents 1 percent of the ... American homes that own a television set....   From there, Nielsen estimates viewership based on its demographic samples, which account for age, race, family size, and other things.

One of Nielsen's "homes" could be a family of five, all watching the big game, or it could be a single person, or it could be a big Super Bowl party. The company can't ever know with 100 percent certainty how many people are watching the game in any of these homes (that single person might invite a friend over!), but it has a pretty good guess.”

Predictions by many sports analysts are that this year’s game will attract an increased number of viewers.   I don’t usually watch the game but did see some of the earlier NFL conference championship game that has become controversial, intriguing me. 

I guess this isn’t the first time a team ended up being “the winner!” when possibly their opponent might have been had it not been for a game official’s call or failure to call an offense.  That is what happened in the NFL conference game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints national football teams.

The New England Patriot’s aren’t without some controversies of their own.  One of the most recent has involved some manipulation of the football in the 2015 AFL conference game.  Interestingly, this year a ten-year-old boy won a science fair contest with a project designed to “prove” the team’s quarterback to be a “cheater”, possibly having been given an advantage.  You can view his project at Global News.

Feelings run strong with many avid fans of the teams who were defeated in those Conference playoff games by each of these two teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl.    I’ve thought the Patriot’s quarterback at age 41 defying typical age limitations to continue playing, is to be lauded, though the infamous “deflategate” scandal has colored the views of many football fans.

If I view the Super Bowl to be played this coming Sunday, February 3^rd, the Los Angeles Rams will be my favored team – coincidentally the same name and team colors as my high school’s team.    The offending violation that officials didn’t call was finally acknowledged, a fine imposed, but no game replay granted as some wanted.  

I have had and continue to have reservations about this sport (also boxing, soccer, other sports) with athletes willing to risk damaging their brains in order to play and fans continuing to view.  

Brain-Injury-Research continues to determine any relationship, cause and effect between CTE and sports-related effects.  

“Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain condition associated with repeated blows to the head. It is also associated with the development of dementia. Potential signs of CTE are problems with thinking and memory, personality changes, and behavioral changes including aggression and depression.”

We can reflect on some of the centuries earlier colosseum sports we’ve learned about as being violent, or even  considered barbaric that have declined from sport.    Physical damage to the human body was the most obvious aspect in sport then.  Life span was generally shorter than now.

Now that we’re acquiring more knowledge about the much less visible brain and neurological functions, plus having extended life expectancy, perhaps we’ll reconsider our favored sporting events for participation and/or viewing.   We might want to exercise some caution to retain our mental faculties as best we can.  Our brains sometimes outlive our braun.

I wonder if  how the current popular sports are played will, or should change in the future?  Will they diminish in popularity?   What sports might ascend to capture attention?   Will new sports gain prominence? 

NET NEUTRALITY RESURRECTED -- SHORT CHANGED

Net Neutrality may be resurrected in California as our House Assembly will be voting any day now on SB 822 and SB 460.  

  

California voters reading here, and readers who have resident family or friends contact them -- you and they are urged to call your California Assemblymember requesting they vote for these two bills as a necessary step to save net neutrality.     

Net Neutrality preserved in California could have significant future implications for similar provisions being instituted in other states, or eventually, maybe even nationally.  Time is of the essence with phone calls needing to be made now since voting is expected any day.

How California's net neutrality was sabotaged earlier this year is not a pretty picture.

California has been one of several states writing legislative bills to protect citizens from broadband providers being able “… to throttle some applications, or charge websites or services for “fast lane” access on their networks” after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) undid such rules as described in this Wired story here.  

Expectations of passage for a first-in-the-nation such bill were unexpectedly dashed in May.               Democrat Miguel Santiago, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Communications and Conveyance eviscerated those bills earlier this year by introducing and getting a vote on amendments weakening their provisions as reported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world). 

Democracy was manipulated by bipartisan corrupters -- both Republican and Democrat …..

Those amendments were introduced at 10 P.M. the night before the hearing and before the bill’s sponsor could argue for them the next morning.  This was after the Chairman the night before had refused a move to join the bills so there would be only one net neutrality bill.  These amendments were passed by the Chairman and seven Republicans and Democrats votes. 

“Democratic Chairman Assemblyman Miguel Santiago [had] stripped the bill of any teeth during the committee process, drawing rebukes from interest groups, and accusations that Santiago was being swayed by sizeable donations from the telecoms industry.”

Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, a bill sponsor, has subsequently reached an agreement with Assemblyman Santiago to put the weakening provisions back in these two bills “paving the way for California to pass the nation’s most robust net neutrality legislation” Chris Mills reports at BGR here (features news and commentary on mobile and consumer electronic markets.)

“If the bill makes it all the way through both houses and is signed into law, it’s likely to face a complicated legal battle from telecoms providers. Under normal circumstances, FCC rules surrounding net neutrality would pre-empt any state law, making the California bill toothless. However, the mechanism that the FCC used to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order didn’t just remove the net neutrality rules; it stripped the FCC of its own enforcement power, meaning that states may be able to write their own net neutrality legislation." (underlined emphasis mine)

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A penny for your thoughts.....as we’re nickeled and dimed…..dollared, too?  Reminds me…..

You can easily see what has prompted this next topic -- a fast food restaurant employee, then the manager on another occasion, deliberately withheld a penny I was owed in change.  When I called each of them on the error, at least the employee appeared chagrined, but the next time when the manager shortchanged me, I didn’t even get an apology, just a silly grin -- even after I said I lived on a fixed income and every penny counted.   I figure if he gets away with cheating me on a penny he might just decide to escalate the amount to see how much more he can get away with doing.

First they would take our pennies – rounding off to the higher number i.e. $6.00 if actual cost is $5.99 – then, could nickels be next, followed by dimes up to dollars, etc., I wondered.  This called for a Google search which led me to discover pennies are being phased out in Canada.  And…an economist there as reported in Global News has said the nickel could be next.  My concerns about escalation are not unfounded.

Coin elimination discussion has been occurring periodically, prompting pro and con responses you can access by clicking on either of these nation links: Great Britain,  U.S.  But could the paper dollar be turned into a coin?   Really?  Remember the Susan B. Anthony dollar?

Whatever your point of view, this minor insignificant coin issue does serve as a slight momentary distraction from all the other world matters boggling our minds. 

Eliminating the penny in the U.S. has not yet occurred.  Until it does, then I expect exact change when I make a purchase, and that includes receiving even one penny if that’s what I’m due.  If a business wants to keep that penny, then they need to ask my permission to do so or raise the price of their product to eliminate needing to give me a penny in change. 

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to count my pennies, pick one up from the sidewalk as I did when I was young, since finding a penny is considered to be a good luck sign.   

Now, I'm going to relax with some strictly instrumental jazz, without a vocalist's distracting lyrics -- Pennies From Heaven  -- Memories for me of Oscar Peterson at a Cleveland Club 

Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977
A tune from CD entitled “The Pablo All-Stars Jam” 

·       Bass – Niels Pedersen*

·       Drums – Bobby Durham

·       Flugelhorn – Clark Terry

·       Guitar – Joe Pass

·       Piano – Oscar Peterson

·       Producer – Norman Granz

·       Tenor Saxophone – Ronnie Scott

·       Trumpet – Clark Terry

·       Vibraphone – Milt Jackson