Presidential Election

The upcoming presidential election really has people talking. In past elections that I can clearly remember, I had not heard nearly as much debating, and even yelling or arguing among the general public about who is better suited to run this country. Many of the adults that I'm around a lot of the time are undecided on who they will vote for, and most of them say that they don't like either candidate. The arguments that people are making about both candidates are very consistent, though. Some will argue that Obama is too young, and doesn't have the experience needed to be president, while others will argue that someone like Obama is exactly the change that this country needs. As far as John McCain goes, the common argument is that he has sided with George Bush 90% of the time, and we can't afford another four years of George Bush. Obama and Biden have made this point the forefront of their campaign..."we can't afford more of the same."
Despite these arguments, I'm worried that this election is going to turn into somewhat of a prejudiced election. I think it will work both ways too, meaning that some people will not vote for John McCain because he has chosen a running mate who is a woman in Sarah Palin, and some will vote for him because of the sole fact that he has chosen her and they want to see a woman in the White House. I think it will work the same way for Obama. There will be many people who are going to be hesitant to vote for him because of the fact that he's black. This is quite sad, but true...I've heard the conversations myself. Also, I think there are a lot of people out there who want to see the first black president of the United States. My point here is we shouldn't be basing our votes off of these things, we should be taking into consideration what each candidate has to say about the issues that are most important to us. If you're going to vote, make sure you visit each candidate's website first, and decide who has a better plan. I think we will all feel better about who we're voting for if we know a little bit about what we're voting for.

Did the Packers Make the Right Decision?

After a recent turn of events, an opportunity for the "Favre Faithful" (which seems to be the majority of Packer fans) to question the decision that Packer management made about the quarterback situation has arisen. The first two weeks, one could not hear a peep from a fan in Green Bay, though the new-look, Rodgers-led Packers were 2-0 at that point. Now, the Packers have lost their last two games falling to 2-2, and Rodgers threw three interceptions this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not to mention, Rodgers sustained a sprained shoulder in the Tampa Bay game as well.
I can't imagine the enormous amount of pressure that Rodgers will now be dealing with because of all those games that #4 started even when he was hurt. There was already enough pressure on him at the beginning of the season to put up good stats and make sure the Packers win the division, but now he will have to do that fighting the pain of a sprained shoulder. Personally, I hope Rodgers is able to "tough it out", and make believers out of all Green Bay fans. I think he deserves more respect than he's gotten in Green Bay because of the way that he handled the Brett Favre situation, and the way he quietly waited his turn for three seasons. We have to face the fact that Favre is not coming back, and that Rodgers is not going to start as many games in a row as Favre did. What we need to focus our attention on is the team as a whole, and whether or not we make the playoffs. It shouldn't matter if Rodgers throws 30 interceptions this year, as long as we make the playoffs. Yes, a good quarterback is essential to making the playoffs, but rodgers is a strong leader and makes good decisions. I think that's really all this talented Packer team needs to make the playoffs, not MVP statistics from any one player. In conclusion, I don't think it's anywhere near time for Green Bay to hit the "panic button". Look for Rodgers to have a strong start against the Atlanta Falcons this week.

Brewers

Being the huge Brewers fan that I am I'm very concerned about the last ten games of the season and whether the Brewers will be able to put together a run at the playoffs. Milwaukee is just a half of a game back of the New York Mets in the National League Wild Card race, and the Cubs have pretty much locked up first place in the division, to my distaste. The Brewers just fired manager Ned Yost in order to "jumpstart" the club, and it seems to have made a bit of an impact with Dale Sveum calling the shots as the Brewers lost to the Cubs 5-4 Tuesday in a valient effort, and were able to pull out a 6-2 win last night. An important part of whether the Brewers will make the playoffs is how well they hit the ball over the next ten games because Brewers' pitcher Ben Sheets left the game early last night against the Cubs witch tightness in his throwing forearm, and that will really hurt the Brewers' starting rotation if he is unable to pitch one or two more games; thus, the Brewers' offense will really need to pick it up and carry the team if the pitching isn't where it usually is. C.C. Sabathia will need to make a couple more successful starts as well if the Brewers are going to make the playoffs. He pitched his first game for the Brewers where he was on the losing side against the Cubs on Tuesday for the first time since coming to Milwaukee. The Brewers can't afford to drop any more games when C.C. is on the mound. Those are must-win games. If Milwaukee is going to make the playoffs this year they really need to come together right now and keep consistently hitting the ball well. Prince Fielder has been red-hot lately, now it's time for everyone else to jump on board!

Packers vs. Vikings

I'm really excited for tonight's game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. There are great stories to watch develop on both teams. Aaron Rodgers will be making his first NFL start tonight entering his fourth season in the league (all with the Packers), the first start by a quarterback other than Brett Favre in Green Bay since September of 1992. I think that he will be under a lot of pressure, especially early on in the year, trying to follow the hall of fame career of Favre who the Packers shipped off to the New York Jets before the start of the season. Rodgers has shown in the preseason that he has the decision making abilities and the arm strength to make it as an NFL quarterback, but I'm interested to see how he will lead the Packers this season. I can't think of a better way for Rodgers to establish himself and gain respect in the league than to play a great game tonight on Monday Night Football with the whole nation watching.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson will look to get off to a great start entering his second year in the league. Peterson was voted rookie of the year last year in the NFL rushing for 1,341 yards on 238 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry, along with 12 touchdowns in fourteen games. Peterson will look to top those numbers this season by staying healthy. Last year he suffered a knee injury against the Packers that held him back from putting up even bigger numbers had he been able to play all sixteen games.

I expect tonight's game to be close, and Rodgers or Peterson will play a large role in their team's win. Let's hope it's Rodgers! Go Packers!