Good Guys

Sometimes the good guys actually win.  I'm writing here of Clarkston's boys' basketball team winning the state Class A title under long-time coach Dan Fife.  Fife has been the coach there for more than 30 years.  He's been recognized as one of the top coaches in the state, winning numerous league, district, and regional titles.  But the state crown had eluded him, until Sat.

I normally don't follow sports much these days, at any level, unless my kids are playing.  But I picked up on Clarkston early in the state tournament, hoping that maybe this was the year for Fife.  It was.  From all I have read, heard, and seen, he's done wonders for the community of Clarkston.

I played baseball with Fife, oh about 50 years ago, on the sandlots of Detroit.  He seems to be the same unassuming guy he was then, confident but friendly.  It was nice to see one of the good guys win.

One thing that still stuck with me in reading several of the articles about this were references to "not winning a state title," despite all the other titles, great teams and players, etc.  Those references reminded me of all the talk of the Minnesota Vikings back in the '70s, getting to the Super Bowl, but never winning it, as if that was a big blot on the team's greatness.  I have found that, for the most part, such talk comes from people who didn't play the game(s), at least not at a high level.  They just don't know how hard it is to perform and achieve like, well, like the Vikings did.  No, getting to the Super Bowl as often as they did, win or lose, was a great achievement.

I think the term "bridesmaids" is often used, pejoratively, for the continued runners-up.  I find nothing wrong with bridesmaids!  I first really met my wife when she was "a bridesmaid" and that turned out just fine.

Like Swampcare/Trumpcare/Ryancare/Obamacare Lite or not, the fiasco last week was very telling in more ways than one.  Like "repeal" or not, that's what the President and many members of Congress, both the House and the Senate, were elected on.  The proposed Republican bill last week did nothing of the sort, was not a repeal.  Wasn't that their promise?  So, while they passed repeal legislation (not exactly, but close) while there was no chance of it withstanding an Obama veto, now that there was the strong likelihood of a Presidential signature, they showed their true colors--both dishonesty and lack of courage.

It was humorous to read one former House Freedom Caucus member, who resigned from the caucus citing the failure of Swampcare, say, "Leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do."  The man needs to look at what they really "were elected to do," to repeal Obamacare and then do it.  If you don't really plan to do something, quit lying about it during campaigns.  He then added that all sides have "to come together," something that always produces a chuckle.  Why is it that one side always is forced "to come together," "to reach across the aisle," "to be biparisan," "to compromise," etc., while the other side isn't?  We haven't seen this from "the other side" since Bill Clinton, have we?  Maybe we have and I just don't remember.

It is also humorous to see how many are citing figures from the Congressional Budget Office.  With its track record of inaccuracies, why would anyone consult it or accept its estimates?  George Will had a great comment regarding that.  Citing a 19th Century religious skeptic who scrawled on the doors of a church, Will wrote "Important if true."