Jeff's Commentary - 3/16 - March Madness

In what can only be explained as one of the greatest times each year in sports, the NCAA Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) begins this Thursday. While Super Bowls come and go each year, it still remains a one day event. With March Madness, water coolers across this great country are full of office employees who are costing the country millions...maybe even billions in lost productivity. Hours are spent deciding over which 12 seed will defeat which 5 seed. Deep rooted discussions on who should have been in the “Big Dance”…different seeds…and how about those poor teams like ASU who didn’t get to the dance? Do the RPI rankings really matter anymore? These are the deep questions that scores of people ponder before Thursday.

Those who are not sports advocates become so during these next three weeks.

It’s distracting. It’s annoying at times. But it’s sure fun to fill in your picks. It gets us away from the grind of the everyday week and allows us for a few glorious days to watch which teams can swing the pendulum. Few even care or know the players that perform. That is not the point. It’s the excitement of building your bracket. Whether by complex computer analysis or picking teams because you like their colors or name, however you get to your Final Four is just fine. That is what makes this week so great. It just doesn’t matter how you pick…..it’s simply that you pick. I take my sheets home for my dog to fill out. Whatever paw he puts on each team becomes his pick. Last year he took fourth place in his bracket.

March Madness gets some folks you haven’t seen for a year out of their office to compete and actually talk to you. I didn’t even know we had a certain employee at the station until he stepped out and introduced himself while filling in his picks. We probably won’t see him for the rest of the year.

So as President Obama and the two parties fight over health care this week, I have “the” simple solution. Legalize March Madness office betting and tax it. You could save the health care woes of this nation by simply setting up an office tax for everyone who participates and send that money to Uncle Sam. The millions or billions that could be raised is more than enough to take care of our health care issues for years to come. Just think what happens WHEN they expand and go to 96 teams. You could tax each week of the tournament differently as it progresses. We could make this so complex that accountants would be needed to help us understand the tax rules which then would open up more jobs and fill some of the gap of those unemployed. Additional jobs could be created as we use technology to really take us to the next level on our picks. My son’s four years at ASU would not be wasted.

And best of all, as your teams progress to either winning or losing you are happy... because it’s about participation. It’s about renewal as the winter comes to an end and clean jump shots and team work still count on the court of life. So, with health care solved by my tax initiative on March Madness, have fun with picking your teams. Upsets always rule the roost this time of the year.

Jeff

Jeff's Commentary - 3/9/10 - Photo Radar

"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe."
--Dr. McCoy on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

I commute daily on Tatum south from Shea to Camelback...and each day it's the same thing. The speed limit turns to 40mph and you can count on 1-2 photo radar sites between these streets. You can tell the regulars who just get in the right lane and go 42-45 mph...they let the knuckleheads pull Star Trek maneuvers and use light speed to pass you until they see the photo radar and then need their titanium brakes to get 50 mph so the flashing bulbs don't go off. But once by the radar, they accelerate to warp speed again.

I drive on the SR-51 quite a bit. Heading north, there are now signs that say upcoming speed cameras are ahead. The natural flow of traffic is about 68 mph and suddenly you'll get one or two panic cars that get cement in their shoes and slow down under 55 in this 65 zone.

This becomes a worse hazard for the rest of us than normal traffic flow as everybody else then slams their brakes to avoid mass pileups from the "scallywags" driving 55 or less. Going south SR-51, you hit two photo radar vans. Both have signs alerting you to the upcoming cameras. Again, you have to be a moron not to see the signs and an idiot if you don't slow down. Speeds of 60 mph suddenly go down under 50 and it becomes a danger zone of zigzagging drivers trying to avoid the line of slamming red brake lights.

So should photo radar go the way of the dinosaur?

My opinion is that if the county has to put out signs that alert you to every photo radar location, why bother? The photo radar vans in my commute do nothing more than make driving more dangerous than a NASCAR outing. If the goal is to reduce speed, it’s not working. Drivers either slow for the moment then zoom ahead or they simply get a ticket that often never gets paid. The system is not working…and it’s becoming more dangerous. Not to mention that by slowing quickly and accelerating we are probably putting more carbon pollutants in the air anyway. Dr. McCoy was right that the bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in Arizona.

Jeff

Jeff's Commentary - 3/1/10 - Our Heroes

I was reading the Saturday Arizona Republic and I came upon a story in Section A15 with the following names: Matthias Hanson, Eric Ward, J.R. Salvacion, Marcos Gorra, Adam Peak, Christopher Eckard, Michael Cardenez, Joshua Birchfield, Gregory Stultz, Jeremy McQueary, and Kielin Dunn. I paused as I read each name and the short information about each person and flipped to the next page and story.

As to the rest of the news that day...the Waste Management Phoenix Open has been going on this week to huge crowds. The Olympics are concluding in Vancouver with great fanfare and applause. The U.S. had its best Winter Olympics ever and is bringing home a lot of gold, silver, and bronze. Spring Training is beginning in Florida and Arizona...bringing back the "Boys of Summer." We're still worries about whether Tiger Woods will be able to figure out his addictions in time to save his endorsements and marriage. Sheriff Arpaio and Andrew Thomas continue to get rebuffed on their grand conspiracy tactics towards the Board of Supervisors. The City of Mesa is fighting for a tax to be implemented to keep the Cubs in Arizona or the new billionaire owner (Tom Ricketts) will take his new toy to Florida. All the news that is fit to print and read...and forgotten.

Later that night I attended a service at an inner city church called Fire & Water. Meadowlark Lemon, of Harlem Globetrotters fame, was the guest speaker and quietly talked about something special at this Church...a spirit of life that is now gone from many grand buildings of worship. He then talked about new accountability, one that comes from your own heart...to have a dream...a vision...and get out and do whatever is necessary to make that vision happen...as he had done many years before. He talked about adversity, poverty, and the ability to still have a faith that we can all survive and be as one in the community. Achieve a level of excellence that sets an example for others to live by...a code of respect you live by.

I went home and opened the paper back to Section A15 and re-read the names again. For these were not just names of ordinary people. These were not the names of sports stars or Hollywood actors. They were not the latest gossip newsmakers or for that matter politicians.

They were people who gave the ultimate sacrifice for you and me. People we never knew but should...lives we will never read about again. They will not be at the next Phoenix Open as spectators or viewers of the 2012 Olympics. They will not worry about Tiger Woods or whether the Cubs stay or go.

They have already given what most of us would never think of giving...their lives. You see, the names: Matthias Hanson, Eric Ward, J.R. Salvacion, Marcos Gorra, Adam Peak, Christopher Eckard, Michael Cardenez, Joshua Birchfield, Gregory Stultz, Jeremy McQueary, and Kielen Dunn...are all U.S. soldiers who lost their lives this past week in Afghanistan. These brave soldiers were fighting for us to be able to do all the things we read about in the paper today. They are the ones who had a vision to be accountable...they chose service among all else and paid the highest price...their lives. They did this so that one day there may be unity in the world we live.

We take life too much for granted. We are off to the next story in the paper. Because we don't often see the tragedy of war, we are willing to turn the page every day to the next story with little to no remorse. I will say an extra prayer of thanks tonight for the unknown few who cared to have a service committment in hopes that one day our vision is reachable because of their sacrifice.

Jeff