Chad’s Morning Brief: NFL Season on the Brink?, Julian Castro as the Future Governor, and More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of September 26, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.
1. Problems for the NFL
Is the NFL season on the brink? After a weekend of bad calls and no calls, topped off with Monday night's debacle in Seattle, players might have had enough. According to Breitbart:
The National Football League (NFL) last year survived a players' lock-out which threatened to shut down the entire season.
But sports analysts are warning that the game could be in even greater jeopardy this year after a profusion of uncalled penalties and blown calls by the temporary referees officiating for the 32-team league.
The lockout of veteran referees threatens to "irreparably damage" the game, warned sports columnist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, who urged NFL owners to give in to demands from the striking referees for a pay increase
Even some players have thought about taking matters into their own hands according to CBS.
On the long flight back for the Green Bay Packers following the team’s 14-12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, players debated going on strike or taking a knee on every play in upcoming games if the replacement referee issue isn’t solved.
That’s according to Packers guard TJ Lang, a Royal Oak native who issued an infamous anti-NFL Tweet after the game that said “** It NFL. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.”
Many believe the Packers loss was caused by the worst referee decision in NFL history, and players got down to the nuts and bolts of what to do next on the plane, Lang said.
Lang said incensed players decided they’re willing to go to great lengths to show their displeasure about the replacement ref situation.
“Whatever it takes, it’s just a total embarrassment to everybody watching the game, the players in the game, it’s not fun to be part of something like that … If it keeps going on, it’s going to get ugly,” Lang said during a Tuesday afternoon interview on the Valenti & Foster show on 97.1 The Ticket.
It will take something major for fans to start turning off the TV on Sunday's but if things keep getting worse, I could see it. However, I still think the NFL will cave to the refs soon. They have to.
2. Castro for Governor? (link)
Julian Castro as Governor of Texas? I doubt it, but Cory Booker is predicting it.
Cory Booker brushed off questions about his own ambitions but predicted Monday that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro would be the first Latino governor of Texas.
Castro and Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J., headlined a talk here fresh off Booker’s trip last week to San Antonio, where the two rising Democratic stars taped a video for the Obama campaign, Booker said on Twitter.
“I think the gentleman sitting to my left will be the first Latino governor of the state of Texas,” Booker said of Castro Monday.
A Democrat has not won statewide office in Texas since 1994. Texas’s Hispanic population is rapidly growing, raising expectations that Democrats will soon see better fortunes on the ballot.
“The demographics are on your side,” Booker said.
“The work in Texas now is planting seeds for that state to go blue very, very soon,” Booker said, adding, “Once the state shifts blue, it changes presidential politics forever.”
“Join me in the ‘Draft Castro’ campaign,” Booker said.
Castro would be a serious threat, but he hasn't done a great job in San Antonio and I still believe it will be many years before Texas turns into a swing state or a blue state.
3. Sadler Thinks Cruz is out of Touch (link)
The Daily Texan had an interview with Paul Sadler who is running against Ted Cruz in the U.S. Senate race. They asked him a number of questions and at one point Sadler said that the beliefs Ted Cruz has do not fall in line with most Texans.
Win. I realistically hope to win. I don’t think that Mr. Cruz represents the mainstream views of this state. I don’t think he represents even the mainstream view of the Republican Party. I think that when the people of Texas see those differences they will understand that and then vote for me, I hope.
According to the Daily Texan, Sadler is 17 points behind Cruz. Sadler has no chance and honestly it's Sadler who is out of touch with Texas. Sadler is pro-ObamaCare and pro-DREAM Act. But according to Sadler it's Cruz that is out of touch.
4. Corporal Punishment in Florida (link)
Corporal punishment seems to be big in the news this week. This time a Florida school board member wants to bring back paddling.
A former Florida elementary principal who was just voted onto the board of education wants to bring back spanking as a form of punishment.
Carol Ely, who was principal Ocala's Shady Hill Elementary for 14 years, says paddling works, and she’s put restoring the spank at the top of her agenda on the Marion County School Board, according to Ocala.com.
"It was very effective the way we implemented it. We only did it on very small occasions, but it was for children who were chronic [misbehavers]," Ely told the station.
Ely hopes to convince fellow board members to put the paddling initiative up for a vote this fall after she takes her seat. Ely said spanking would be a last resort, and only done with parents’ permission.
Parents who talked to WKMG differed on whether paddling is appropriate.
"I would let them get a spanking and when they get home they would get another one for disrespecting school," said Linda McClean.
But Jerrilyn Taylor said she is against the idea.
"No one should ever hit my kid. It should never be allowed," Taylor said.
No one is hitting your kid. It's a swat on the butt, not a punch to the face. Schools should be allowed to use corporal punishment. If parents want to opt-out, that's up to them.
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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