Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 2-2-18

Editorials/Columns
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN
(USPS 202-140)
2207 21st Avenue, Tampa Florida 33605 • (813) 248-1921 Published Every Tuesday and Friday By
FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHING Co., Member of National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
S. KAY ANDREWS, PUBLISHER
C. BLYTHE ANDREWS III, PRESIDENT/CONTROLLER ALLISON WELLS-CLEBERT, CFO
GWEN HAYES, EDITOR
IRIS HOLTON, CITY EDITOR
BETTY DAWKINS, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR HAROLD ADAMS, CIRCULATION MANAGER TOYNETTA COBB, PRODUCTION MANAGER LAVORA EDWARDS, CLASSIFIED MANAGER
Subscriptions-$44.00-6 Months Both Editions: $87.00-Per Year Both Editions.
Opinions expressed on editorial pages of this newspaper by Columnists or Guest Writers, do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of The Florida Sentinel Bulletin or the Publisher.
Flying With The Eagles
ell, the event that
football fans across the country look forward to watching every year has, once again, arrived... The
Super Bowl.
And this year, for the
eighth time in the last 16 sea- sons, the New England Patri- ots will be one of the teams competing for the title of World Champion. Their op- ponent? A Philadelphia Ea- gles squad that is 0-2 in Super Bowl appearances, with one of those losses com- ing against this same New England team 13 years ago.
To the casual observer a New England victory, more than likely, seems like the obvious outcome. Consider- ing that “Terrible” Tom Brady and Bill “The Mad Scientist” Belichick have more Super Bowl victories together (5) than any other quarterback and coach pair- ing in the history of the sport, it makes perfect sense to believe that they’ll be able to win their sixth ring at the expense of a quarterback (Nick Foles) and a coach (Doug Pederson), who are each playing in an NFL championship for the very first time.
But, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that nothing is ever as sweet as it looks. And that’s why, after going with the Pa- triots in every Super Bowl since Brady first became a starter in 2001, I’ve decided to go in the opposite direc-
tion.
Part of the reason for my
decision to buck the trend this time around is that a majority of the people who I’ve talked to are convinced that this game won’t even be a contest, with Brady easily overcoming any obstacle the Eagles may place in his path. These are the same individu- als who were on the Atlanta Falcons bandwagon last year, the Carolina Panthers bandwagon the year before and the Seattle Seahawks bandwagon the year before that.
These “hype riders,” as I like to call them, live and die by whatever team seems to be trending at the moment. And I’m willing to wager that, after being burned when the Jacksonville Jaguars’ train blew up two weeks ago, many of them de- cided to jump aboard the Pa- triots Express while living by the old “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy.
The problem is that, even though going with New Eng- land is logical, this may be the worst time to grab hold of their red, white and blue coattail. That’s because Philadelphia, like the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Cavaliers, is the latest love- able-loser franchise overdue for a championship.
The City of Brotherly Love hasn’t won a football title since 1961. Match that pathetically long drought with almost everyone expect-
ing Foles to turn back into a pumpkin on Sunday and it creates the perfect scenario for an historic upset.
On top of everything I just mentioned, the fact that Philly also boasts one of the league’s best defenses gives them more than a puncher’s chance at defeating the de- fending champs. And that’s a critical part of this entire equation that I believe a lot of people are overlooking at their own betting peril.
This isn’t the Atlanta Fal- cons of last year. If Philadel- phia can establish a lead on the Patriots early, the game could get ugly quickly with Fletcher Cox doing to Brady what Von Miller did to Cam Newton two years ago during obvious passing situations.
I just don’t think that New England can continue to count on favorable offici- ating to keep bailing them out of jams when they get into trouble. That means, if Philly’s offense can keep their foot on the pedal throughout the game, Philly’s defense will make it extremely hard for Brady and Belichick to start an- other ring collection on their other five fingers.
For all of these reasons, I’m putting on my underdog mask, taking the 4.5 points that Vegas is giving up and riding shotgun with the bul- lies from Broad Street. Some may think I’m crazy for doing it, but I guess we’ll know for sure come Monday morning. Good luck and enjoy the game.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: barr6502@gmail.com.
POSTMASTER: Send Address Change To: Florida Sentinel Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3363 Tampa, FL 33601 Periodical Postage Paid At Tampa, FL
C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Pardon Us For Wishing
ardon us. But for a few of us, nostalgia got in the
way. We’re referring to what is probably the best speech Donald Trump has yet made . . . with one excep- tion.
Trump’s finest speech was overshadowed by an- other speech given directly after his speech. The man who gave it had a familiar name and for the life of a few of us, had a recognizable way of tossing his hair, front to side.
His name was Joe Kennedy, II, direct kin of Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, and their father, the great and affable Joseph Kennedy, Sr. And like each of them, this millennial Joe Kennedy spoke with the power and thunder of Abraham Lincoln, yet this Kennedy spoke in both English and Spanish.
Speaking in rebut to the 45th President’s first State of The Union Address, young Kennedy’s comments are already consigned to the annals of history, especially the statement he made about bullies wherein he de- clared “they” (bullies) may scar our bodies, but never our unity . . . something to that effect he said.
His words were like lightning to an audience obvi- ously tired of rhetoric. They stood and cheered.
Yes, it’s too soon to predict who will run against the present administration. But if you pardon us, the idea of a Kennedy-Winfrey ticket would surely be nice.
Feature
Citizen Hopeful To Meet With Governor, Gubernatorial Candidate Next Week
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Community activist,
Reverend Willie G. Dixon, has sent in the nec- essary paperwork to get on the schedule to see Gover- nor Rick Scott and Mayor Andrew Gillum, a candidate for Governor.
Rev. Dixon, 86, has not received a response to his requests, however he will be making the trip to Tallahassee next week.
Rev. Dixon, Founder and CEO of COACH Foun- dation, Inc., says the trip is two-fold.
“I want to personally thank Gov. Scott and the Clemency Commission for granting me a full pardon,” he said.
He says he will be filing a request to expedite the hearings for the Restoration of Rights for 2 individuals so that they will be allowed to vote in November 2019.
He also wants to speak
REV. WILLIE G. DIXON
with the Governor about as- sisting with his request of $500,000 from the Legisla- ture to assist 100 juveniles after they spend 21 days in the juvenile program.
Currently, he says it takes $5,000 per year to in- carcerate a juvenile.
“The COACH Youth Em- powerment Program (YEP) will assist each juvenile by providing a mentor, busi- ness owner, non-profit or- ganization or church to work with the juvenile and
their parents for 90 days.”
(See advertisement in this issue)
His next stop, if permit- ted, will be to chat with Mayor Andrew Gillum. “I have a 10% plan that will win any election. I want to share that with him.”
Additionally, while in Tallahassee, Rev. Dixon will spend some time with his 3 daughters and grand- son, Kameron Gray, who are residents of Tallahas- see.
P
W
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5-A