Positively Negative...

I can remember some times in my life that were very satisfying, to say the least. They are little things but they were much appreciated by me, which is very important. One of those things was the first time my mom made a batch of oatmeal scotchies. As a youngster eating a warm cookie with my favorite chip was like I imagined heaven would be. Yes, I kissed my mom and thanked her a bunch.

I remember the first time I had prawns with my dad. I wondered where these tasty little gems had been all of my nine years of life. The little diner where we ate this lunch is no longer in business nor is the building where it was housed. But it was a special moment for me and I remember it vividly fifty years later.

I will also never forget the time my wife first made me her signature peach pear pie. When she first asked me if I wanted a peach pear pie I said, “Hmm…I’ve never had one but it sounds pretty good, so sure!” As Dave Niehaus said, “My, oh my!” because it was and still is an unbelievably tasty treat.

Now you may think that my whole life has been focused around food. Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to be around people who can bake or know a real good place to eat. What this really means is that I have been around some very positive influences, which can’t be all bad.

I bring these things up because of three things that happened on Sunday. The second thing that happened was the ending of the Baltimore Ravens-New England Patriots game. The Ravens trailed the Pats with a few seconds left. Baltimore had gone on a good drive and had a TD pass knocked out of the hands of a Ravens’ receiver just prior to a 32 yard field goal try that would tie the AFC Championship game and send it into overtime. Unfortunately for Baltimore, kicker Billy Cundiff pulled the kick to the left and the Patriots would punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

Now Cundiff will be blamed for the loss because of the miss. Kickers live on the edge and are expected to have ice water in their veins when it comes to kicking the football through the uprights. But they are also human and everything needs to be just right for these kicks to be successful. This was a tough loss to swallow because the Ravens outplayed the Patriots in a lot of ways except the scoreboard.

The third thing that happened was in San Francisco. The 49ers and the New York Giants were locked in a tie game in overtime of the NFC Championship game. The Niners seemed to be ready to break out after another fine defensive stand forcing the Giants to punt.

On the ensuing punt, 49er Kyle Williams caught the ball and it looked like he had the makings of a decent return when he was hit and the ball was fumbled. The football was recovered by the Giants leaving them with great field position. After several running plays the Giants kicked a field goal to win the game and reserve a spot opposite the Patriots.

Williams is blamed for the loss because of two return errors, which led to 10 Giants’ points. Of course, these errors are magnified because of the time of the game when they happened. But Williams also had a great kickoff return earlier in the game, which gave the Niners great field position to which they capitalized and scored a touchdown to take the lead.

San Francisco’s offense should also take the blame for the loss because of the failures to make first downs or put a stop to the Giants’ pass rush. Now all the 49ers have to look back on is a great turn around season, which doesn’t mean so much since the Super Bowl won’t be the final destination.

Now the first thing that happened was the death of Joe Paterno, legendary former coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. His passing was a sad ending to a great career. Paterno was fired as the PSU coach in November because of the inappropriate behavior of a former defensive coordinator. Paterno was blamed for not doing enough to put a stop to these incidences.

It is unfortunate that Paterno’s legacy will forever be tied to these allegations. His former players will remember him as the father figure that cared about how they grew into men and that means everything to them.

The three things that happened on Sunday had negative connotations because of the outcomes of two games and the death of an icon. As humans we have a tendency to find a goat or blame someone. For some reason we feel better when that happens. It is a lot harder to say something good because isn’t always in our nature, is it.