Views from the Nosebleeds: 2016 NFL Regular Season, Week 10

Frankly, I don't show frequent love to NFL place kickers because, like many football fanatics, I tend not to regard them as "real" football players.  I often hate how a game can swing on the foot of a guy who only comes out for kickoffs, extra points and field goals--especially with the tough year kickers are having since the extra point extension to the 15-yard line last season.  Well, if you ask Chiefs play-by-play announcer Mitch Holthus--who has long been one of my favorite radio network announcers--Cairo Santos might as well have been Moses, King David and Jesus Christ rolled into one.  When their visit to Carolina was primed for overtime tied at 17, Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin handed Marcus Peters and the Chiefs' opportunistic defense an early Christmas present via a fumble on Carolina's 24-yard line with only 20 seconds remaining in regulation.  As Santos nailed the first walk-off of his career, Holthus' call was one for the ages:

This would be the biggest kick for Santos...and all of Brazil holds its breath...17-17...it's now four seconds they're saying left in the game...ball in the center of the field...on a 37-yard attempt...placement is down...Santos' kick...he lines it up AND THAT BABY IS RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE!  É SULCÉ É BOA!  É SULCÉ É BOA!  AND ALL OF BRAZIL AND THE CHIEFS KINGDOM REJOICES WITH AN INCREDIBLE, IMPROBABLE VICTORY ON THE ROAD!

First and foremost, thank God I kept my TuneIn Premium subscription because I wouldn't have located this audio otherwise.  Second, when I do something even remotely as amazing as that, I need Mitch Holthus on speed dial and speaking Portuguese is purely optional   Third, that's the best radio call I've heard since 98.5 The Hub color analyst Scott Zolak gave us, "BRADY'S BACK!  THAT'S YOUR QUARTERBACK!  WHO LEFT THE BUILDING?!?!  UNICORNS!  SHOW PONIES!  WHERE'S THE BEEF?!?!"  With that, fellow pigskin enthusiasts, let's recap Week 10...

For Black People Who Think Voting Is Pointless, Part 2: The Fastidious and the Furious

In the past week since posting Part 1 of "For Black People Who Think Voting Is Pointless", I have witnessed exactly how important this upcoming election is to a lot of people.  Not only was the first part one of the most popular posts in New Problem Tuesdays history, but more important, the post garnered the most amount of meaningful engagement and discussion--much of it making cases for either Democratic candidate Hillary Trump or Republican candidate Donald Trump.  However, perhaps the post-debate sentiments of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick summarize how many Americans feel, especially within the Black community and among "millennials": "...to me it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates.  Both are proven liars and it almost seems like they're trying to debate who less racist.  At this point, in talking to one of my friends, you have to pick the lesser of two evils, but the end is still evil."  Although Kaep plans on voting regardless, I have witnessed an even bigger surge of Black folks over the past week who are strongly considering not voting in November because of the paltry choices for Commander-in-Chief or their ardent supporters shoving their agendas aggressively down the throats of the undecided.  In the second and final part, I will outline the latter three reasons which note how simply having the power to choose fuels the importance of the Black vote in the most significant election in American history...