Paul Prattles On

 "Why do you hate your own people?" I was asked. "Why do you look to denigrate all White people, making "our" history one of hatred and violence, instead of focusing on all the good we've done? What about the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, winning all those wars?" This was in response to a post I shared on Facebook about one person's observation of the US accepting White "refugees" from South Africa and not Black or Brown ones from other countries. "Why the Hate?" But here's the thing. I am a passionate sports fan. I have been a fan of the University of Georgia, the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Atlanta Hawks for well over half a century. When they lose, I don't hate them; I want them to do better. When the Braves won only one World Series in the midst of 14 consecutive division titles, I was proud! I didn't hate them, I wanted them to do better. When the UGA football...

Today, I attended just my second protest. I've been on this Earth for more than 61 years, and had seen protests, but had only participated once- after George Floyd was murdered. But this was my first political protest. I had some idea of what to expect, but was unsure about how I would feel. I also had no idea what reactions I would get as cars crawled (and sometimes sped) past us.  First, a little background. I am very new to political activism. For many years, I have kept to the admonition of not discussing religion or politics in public. As a public school teacher, I have rarely discussed either subject, except in the context of educating students. For example, when discussing western music history, you cannot leave out the role of the Catholic Church (though I am not Catholic). And when discussing music from the 60s and 70s, protest songs (anti-Vietnam War, for example) cannot be ignored. But this was always in the context of history. I would venture to guess that the students ...

Welcome Back! I actually did OK on bowl predictions this year, though it was rough there for a bit. At 57.8%, I improved by about 7.5% from last year. My record is 26-19, thanks to getting the last 6 correct (so I was barely above .500 before that run).  Bowl Games are notoriously difficult to predict, and always have been, but it's been made so much more difficult with all the opt-outs, transfers, and coaching changes occurring much earlier than they used to. All of which is to say that if I can finish at or around 50% for the bowls, I will consider that a success. Above 60%? That's a rousing success. 75% or better? That's a minor miracle! For the year, I finished 659-259, or 71.7%, with the bowls knocking 1.8% off my winning percentage. This is how each conference did in the bowls/postseason: Independents 4-0  1.000 (3-0 by ND) AAC 6-2 .750 MAC 5-2 .714 Big Ten 10-6 .625 (3-0 by OSU) SBC 4-3 .571 SEC 8-7 .533 Big 12 4-5 .444 MWC 1-4 .200 CUSA 1-4 .200 ACC 2-11 .154 Pac 12...

Welcome Back! For the bowls (and early round CFP games), I have been a very mediocre 24-19, or 55.8%. This makes me 657-259 for the year, a winning percentage of .717, way below my usual percentage. That means I'll need to get all of the last 3 games correct to bring that up ever so slightly.  All the bowls are completed, and all that's left are this week's semifinals, and then the CFP Championship Game on Monday, December 20.  Now... on with the picks! Thursday, January 9 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl 7 Notre Dame vs 6 Penn State  (Miami Gardens, FL) - This series is tied at 9-9-1, with the Fighting Irish winning the only prior bowl clash 20-9 in the 1976 Gator Bowl. ND's wins are in 1913, 1926, 1928, the '76 Gator Bowl, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1992, and 2006. PSU's wins are in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, and in their most recent contest in 2007. The tie was in 1925, and like so many from the 20s and before, was...