My father used to say that opinions were like anuses -- everybody has one, but they shouldn't be shown in public. Of course, he didn't actually say "anus" but used a very similar word that clearly meant the same thing. Before I start, I must confess to be perfectly honest, it feels...wrong to speculate about another man's livelihood. Nevertheless, I am compelled to ask this question: should the Atlanta Journal-Constitution fire sportswriters Mark Bradley or Jeff Schultz for their failures to perform their job with peak efficiency every day? Before we make any quick decisions, let's look at some of the evidence: Mark Bradley has been with the same newspaper for twenty-five years. But exactly what has he accomplished in all that time? According to his online biography, Mark Bradley freely admits that he "Has won some awards but lost many more." Sorry, but doesn't that make him a loser? If he's truly lost more awards than he's won, his overall record is below .500. By comparison, Mark Richt's winning percentage at Georgia is currently .739. His teams are ninety games above .500. Yet curiously enough, it was Mark Bradley who recently suggested it was time for Mark Richt to be fired. As if to further confirm my belief that it has become time for the AJC to make a move, Bradley put in his own bio that he "Isn't as smart as you might believe." However, Mr. Bradley might be surprised to learn just how smart I don't believe he is. And as for Mr. Bradley's co-defendant to my charge of journalistic malpractice, what should we say about Jeff … [Read more...]
The odds against atheism
Imagine that you're playing a game of poker, five card draw. The dealer issues each player five cards, one at a time. He deals fairly, taking the top card from the shuffled deck and tossing them face down to each player in a counter-clockwise rotation as he goes around the table in order. You look at your cards and discover that you've been dealt a royal straight flush: the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of hearts. You don't even need to discard and draw another card. You struggle to hide your excitement, knowing that the odds of drawing such a lucky hand are roughly 649, 740 to 1. This translates to a probability of success of 0.00000154, a mere fraction of one percent. Naturally, you should expect to win this hand. Even a royal straight won't be good enough to beat you. It doesn't beat the royal straight flush. Nothing does. The best another player could have done would be to draw a second royal straight flush in either diamonds, clubs or spades, splitting the jackpot with you. But the odds of two events with a probability of 0.00000154 percent occurring in the same hand of cards is considerably worse than the single rare occurrence, because the number of cards and possible winning combinations have been reduced. Furthermore, if two players in the same game drew a royal straight flush from the same deck of cards in the same hand, somebody somewhere would naturally certainly be accused of cheating. One royal flush is highly improbable; twice in the same hand absurdly so. The cards would be checked for signs of marking or tampering, and the dealer … [Read more...]
Mark Richt: the best man for a difficult job
Famous tennis instructor Dennis Van der Meer has often said that a player's IQ is cut in half as soon as he or she steps onto the court and the games begin. His quip translates to mean in the spur of the moment during heated competition, people tend to make ill-advised, emotional decisions as opposed to rational and reasonable ones. Apparently, that would also be an appropriate way to describe many Georgia Bulldog fans, especially during football season. Fans who are calling for a coaching change have let emotion shape their comments, which often lack logic and intelligent thought. People are called "fans" for a reason. It's short for fanatic. These "fair-weather" fans have unrealistic expectations for the present, and a very myopic vision for the future. The truth of the matter is that Mark Richt is an excellent football coach. However, his team has already lost twice this season. Some of our fair-weather fans (apparently those few suffering from temporary insanity) have called for Mark Richt to be fired. To fire Coach Richt at the end of this season wouldn't just be dumb, it would be one of the most stupid decisions in school history -- and that even includes Jake Scott's legendary death-defying ride over Stegeman Coliseum on a motorcycle. Coach Richt is currently one of the best in the business, and when he finally retires, he will ultimately be considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. The fair-weather Georgia fans currently calling for his ouster may be wondering -- how can anyone make such an outlandish claim, … [Read more...]
Why evolution is probably false
I've never wanted nor pretended to be a biologist. I prefer to blame this possible character flaw on the fact I never liked dissecting animals, or the smell of formaldehyde. My approach to science has always been "need to know" -- meaning if I decide that I need to know something, I'll put a little effort into figuring out how it works. In the years since graduating from college I have certainly learned how to make children and grandchildren. For the longest time, I felt like that was enough knowledge of biology to satisfy my curiosity; I knew how to do my part to perpetuate of the species, and that was all I thought I needed to know. When these evangelists for atheism like Richard Dawkins began using their belief in evolution as justification for attacking belief in the existence of a creator God, I decided it was probably time for me to learn a bit more about this theory used to justify their claims of having eliminated the possibility that a supernatural God could exist. The Business Dictionary provides an excellent definition that I like which describes information as "Data that is (1) accurate and timely, (2) specific and organized for a purpose, (3) presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and (4) can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty." As a former professional software developer, that definition seems both useful and apropos. Computers accept raw data as input. Software applications inside the computer process that raw data to convert it into useful information. The key phrase in the definition … [Read more...]
Fair-weather fans
I graduated from the University of Georgia in 1983. I am a Bulldog who bleeds red and black. In contrast, my dad never had any sort of solid connection to any particular school or football program. Rocky didn't go to college. He was what I refer to as a "fair-weather" fan, meaning that he'd ride the bandwagon when things were going well, but at the first signs of trouble he'd be ready to hang the captain from the main mast and jump ship . While I was in school, a Bulldog banner usually welcomed me home every Thanksgiving and remained on display until the Christmas decorations went up. But those were the glory days of Herschel Walker, Erk Russell and the Junkyard Dawgs. Georgia won just about every regular season game during those three years, so Rocky never had time to switch his allegiance to another team before the season was over. However, once Vince Dooley retired, the football program went through a long period of decline under the leadership of Ray Goff and Jim Donnan. I still remember a small plane circling over Sanford Stadium at every home game, pulling a banner behind it that read, "Fire Ray Goof!" and wondering if Rocky had paid for it. Being only a fair-weather fan, Rocky loved to aggravate me if UGA was struggling when my family and I visited for the holidays. Sometimes I would even find a Yellow Jacket banner flying over my parking space when we visited for Christmas, if Tech was having a better season than my Dawgs, or managed to beat us that year. If Rocky hadn't died in 1997, he probably have called this week to play "Rocky Top" to me over … [Read more...]
