Dick’s Pick of Selected News Stories

I thought that I would try a different tack with this blog post by inviting your attention to a few of the newspaper articles that I came across yesterday.

The first story is about the kind of topic that level-headed parents really like to read about; namely, the achievements of their own school-age kids and – in this case, specifically – of the enthusiasm and respect that Nina Kozielska, a senior at the Bridgewater-Raritan High School has for American education and for this country’s people. 
 
Her expression in the story’s photo says it all.  Just click on the link below “for the rest of the story.”

A Standout Student from Poland:

·         Nina Kozielska:  A terrific, uplifting article of human interest on the local scene:  Polish exchange student thrives at Bridgewater-Raritan High School

The last three paragraphs below provide links to the controversy about the alleged deliberately underinflated footballs used by the New England Patriots last Sunday in their championship game and victory over the Indianapolis Colts.  On February 1^st, the Patriots will meet the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

All about the Air in Footballs:

·        1.)  In Sports, the New England Patriots are in the frying pan, and sports writers are falling all over themselves to analyze what happened, most of them speculating about facts which they don’t yet have and drawing conclusions which they should not be making until those facts are made available.  The best article that I’ve read so far about the N.E. Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks game last Sunday was written by retired sports writer Jerry Isenberg, a pro among pros.

·         2.)  A  Seattle Seahawks player was fined for obscene gestures in Seattle’s win over Green Bay last Sunday.   Marshawn Lynch was slapped with a $20,000 fine and, on December 21^st, he was also fined $11,000 for the same violation in a match against Arizona.  Click on the link to find out about another $50,000 fine in 2013 for violating a league media policy.  Nice going Lynch.

  

·       3.)   Columnist Shirley Leung advises us to get our heads on straight about football and of what it tells us about ourselves in the midst of this nation’s real problems.  Her analysis of this topic presents a rational woman’s view about this sport.  It is essential reading should you wish to consider a completely different viewpoint about so much attention to this ‘inflation’ brouhaha.