- In the National Football League, the one position where old dudes can survive and even thrive is kicker. Punters and place kickers can play on into their 40s because they don’t really have to run, block, tackle or do anything other than swing their leg a few times each game. Yet even bearing that in mind, 44-year-old Jeff Feagles is still something of a marvel. He has never missed a game in his 22-year career and holds most of the NFL's punting records. He has a 41.6-yard career gross average and a 35.9-yard net average and in a mark that bests even the Ol’ Gunglinger, Feagles has played in an NFL-record 352 consecutive games. Feagles is a topic of conversation because he agreed to a one-year deal with the New York Giants on Thursday, meaning he will be back for a 23rd season in 2010. While he must compete for the starting job with former Australian rules football player Jy Bond, the fact that Feagles is still considered a viable NFL punter more than two decades into his career is amazing. Punter or not, you have to maintain a serious level of focus, dedication and precision in your craft to be able to make an NFL roster for 22 years and counting. So far in his career, Feagles has played for New England, Philadelphia, Arizona and Seattle prior to spending the past seven seasons with the Giants. He now trails only fellow kickers Gary Anderson and Morten Andersen for most career games played, although hanging on long enough to best those two greats of the game might be too much for even Feagles. Then again, maybe not…………
- With the iPad set to officially launch tomorrow, users have been able to view applications for the device in the iTunes App Store this week. The iPad itself was unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in January and thus far, the iTunes store offers more than 2,500 iPad apps. Many of the apps mirror those available for iPhone and iTouch users, such as Twitterific and Pandora. Included in the 2,500 apps are gadgets for everything from entertainment to business and sports to news. Apple had initially balked at allowing anything related to iPad use to leak out before the tablet officially dropped Saturday, but relented and has created quite a bit of buzz by changing its mind. Criticisms have now shifted to the exorbitant cost of the apps, which are on the whole much higher than those for the iPhone and iTouch. For example, the Lonely Planet Publications' "1,000 Ultimate Experiences" costs $19.99, MLB At Bat is priced at $14.99 and the diagramming program OmniGraffle retails for $49.99. However, most programs are between the 99 cents that the average iTunes song download costs and $10. Some news-related apps remain free, including those for USA Today, AP and NPR are still free. Wherever you stand on these apps, the reality is that the functionality, quality and usefulness of the iPad itself will be the reason it rises or falls. Keep in mind that no matter how many cool apps you have on your iPad, you will only be able to have one of them open and running at a time, meaning no multi-tasking. That’s my man beef with the device, other than Apple charging $499 for the 16-gigabyte version, $599 for the 32-GB version and $699 for the 64-GB model. Great, upwards of $500 for an oversized, glorified iPod touch or iPhone. As much as Apple lovers have been waiting for their computer maker of choice to venture into the tablet computer field, the result of that endeavor has been met with tepid enthusiasm at best. I won't be owning one of the half-inch thick, 1.5-lb. computer with a 1 GHz processor any time soon, mostly because as I said, it’s not so much a computer as it is a big iPod touch with a bloated price………….
- Was the worldwide terrorist scene just not jam-packed enough? Did we really need a bunch of domestic terrorist whack-a-doos here in the United States, making wild threats and demanding that 60 percent of the country’s governors step down? I didn’t think so, but maybe I’m off base here. The kooks are the people who espouse the "Restore America Plan" that calls for the removal of any governor who fails to comply with their bigoted, small-minded and extremist views. The group has sent letters to more than 30 U.S. governors demanding they resign and now the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating the matter. The manifesto/threat, dated Monday, gave the governors three days to vacate their posts. Where these extremist kooks seem to have dropped the ball is in putting teeth into its threats. See, if you are going to demand something patently absurd like the political leader of an entire state resigning on your say-so, you need threats to back that up. But according to the FBI and DHS, there do not appear to be credible or immediate threats of violence attached to the letters. So what exactly is supposed to inspire the governors to resign? A sudden empathy for the out-of-touch views of a bunch of misguided fools in camouflage? According to the note, "law enforcement should be aware that this could be interpreted as a justification for violence or other criminal actions.” Other measures in this bizarre plan include "establishing bogus courts, calling of 'de jure' grand juries, and issuing so-called 'legal orders' to gain control of the state.” States that have acknowledged receipt of the letters include Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Maine, Colorado, Rhode Island, Michigan, Georgia, Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Missouri, Montana and Hawaii. Nevada must be really high on the target list for this group of miscreants, as Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons received one letter Monday and three more Wednesday, including one by fax. If you’re not familiar with the aims of the group, they believe there should not be a federal government. What I want to know is whether they went full-on terrorist/Unabomber can wrote their notes with letters cut out of magazines and carefully pasted together. Whatever the case, how’s about we all agree that there is no need for additional entries into the “insane domestic terrorist” category and just focus on dealing with the ones we already have on our hands……………
- What is an election at any level of government in any part of the world without allegations of vote rigging? Just as it’s not a family Thanksgiving dinner until someone makes a rude, inappropriate remark to attend half the people gathered around the table, it’s not really an election until someone claims that the entire process is one big sham. For this month's elections in Sudan, the person shouting “Fire!” in the crowded electoral theater is Yasar Armin, the presidential candidate from the former-rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). Armin, a major contender in the election, called Thursday for a boycott in parts of the country, saying the vote is already rigged. He called on voters in parts of northern Sudan and Darfur to boycott the election. He’s not pulling out of the election on the small chance that he is wrong and might actually be elected, so he must not be that certain of the vote rigging. The elections are scheduled for April 11-13 and are intended to be the first democratic elections involving the whole of Sudan. For many years, the country has been bitterly divided along north-south lines. "The presidential election is already rigged," said Yien Matthew, Armin’s spokesman. "We are sure about this." The man accused of doing the fraud-engineering is incumbent President Omar al-Bashir, leader of the National Congress Party (NCP). In calling for the boycott, Armin cited the security situation in Darfur as the primary reason. He also vowed to act in "solidarity" with opposition groups. "We have got materialistic evidence," Armin said. "We were able to find people already holding ballot papers." The move is being characterized by political analysts as extremely risky at this point in the process, but Matthew clearly feels that he is in the right here and based solely on my love of conspiracy theories and allegations of vote-rigging, I am going to support him. Oh, and there’s the fact that the United Nations expressed concern last week about reports that some opposition members and supporters are being harassed, intimidated, arrested, or detained ahead of the vote, so that’s more evidence that perhaps Armin is on point with his claims. Either way, let the boycott begin……………
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