Classic City Rev

On Monday of next week, we will have the annual observance of King Day in our nation and community in which we celebrate the impact that Dr. Martin Luther King had on our society.  The contributions of Dr. King are many and need not be named here.  He remains one of the transformative leaders of our history. Last spring, Toni and I participated in a re-enactment of a march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama.  As most of us are aware, the Pettis Bridge was the sight of a brutal confrontation between the Alabama State Troopers and those trying to march from Selma to Montgomery in pursuit of voting rights for all.  Led by Dr. King and John Lewis, the march was a watershed in the Civil Rights movement and resulted in the passage of the Voting Rights Act.  The day was later labeled "Bloody Sunday."  What struck me last spring, as Toni and I walked across the bridge with a few thousand of our closest friends, was this time, rather than being at...

There was pure elation and joy among the Bulldog Faithful Saturday evening as the clock ticked to midnight and a New Year began. Unless one has been in seclusion at a monastery in Tibet, then one is aware that Ohio State field goal kicker Noah Ruggles shanked a game winning field goal at game’s end of the Peach Bowl sending Georgia to the National Championship with 42-41 win.   One kick, one simple kick, and joy is turned to sorrow and, sorrow turned to joy, depending on one’s perspective. Yet, it didn’t come down to one kick. In a one point game, every little thing made the difference. Sure, the play that didn’t get made at the game’s end is glaring, but it wasn’t the only play. Countless little things Saturday night made the difference. One thing, going different in one moment or another could have altered the outcome. I need not list them all but if any one of those things had happened differently the game might have been different.    When I coached football I ...