Maybe I am being a bit too Southern Sensitive here but I got the distinct feeling the national media disrespected the Atlanta Braves from the beginning of the playoffs through the World Series and beyond. Had they had their way, I think they would have preferred Los Angeles or San Francisco. Then some MSNBC weenie decried us as racist because of the Tomahawk Chop and a sleazebag agent claims the win was “tainted” because of general manager Alex Anthopoulos getting three outstanding hitters from clubs willing to trade them. Both Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker were snubbed for postseason awards which they clearly deserved. As a result, all the team has as a consolation prize is the forever honor of being undisputed 2021 World Series champions! Eat your heart out, whiners, and kiss our grits. . . .
The few responses I got supporting Donald Trump’s harrumph about the late Gen. Colin Powell was not because Powell was an up-from-the-bootstraps South Bronx success story who served his country with distinction in Vietnam and later as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then secretary of state in the George W. Bush Administration, No, it was because he was considered (shudder!) a RINO. That is someone who is said to be a Republican In Name Only or, more succinctly, someone who does not support Donald Trump down to his or her tippytoes. I hear that term a lot but never DINO – a Democrat In Name Only. . . .
Trump is on record as saying he wishes Democrat Stacey Abrams had been elected governor of Georgia instead of Brian Kemp. He also financially supported current vice president Kamala Harris when she was running for attorney general of California as a Democrat. Does that make him a RINO or a DINO? I don’t have the answer but I do have a feeling someone is going to straighten me out on that. . .
My dear wife used to tell our grandsons, you are free to do whatever you choose. Just understand there will be consequences to pay if your choices are bad ones. Somebody should have told that to UGA linebacker Adam Anderson, who has been arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a 21-year-old woman in the wee hours of October 29. His lawyer says he is innocent. I say he should never have had the woman in the apartment between 5 and 6 a.m. as has been alleged and doing what he is alleged to have done. What was he thinking? Obviously, he wasn’t. . . .
Speaking of lawyers and football (Can I segue, or what!), I saw a recent article decrying the lack of Black attorneys in this country, saying that people of color make up 13.4% of the nation’s population but only 5% of the legal profession. If we are going to use that as a standard, then we need to apply the same rule to the National Football League, which is 69 % Black in a country that is 72% white. Maybe we can get the ACLU to quit stewing over who can go to what bathrooms and devote their efforts to getting more white running backs in the league. Talk about an underrepresented class. . . .
Seven law enforcement officers in Georgia have been killed in the line of duty so far in 2021, including two this month. But I don’t seem to recall a bunch of wet-behind-the-ear anarchists hurling Molotov cocktails, turning over cars and looting small businesses in protest. Frankly, they don’t deserve to be on the same planet with these brave heroes and their grieving families. . . .
Finally, my friend, Toby Probst, an ardent baseball fan and an Auburn War Eagle of the first rank, informs me that of the last three World Series the Braves have won –1957 in Milwaukee and 1995 and 2021 in Atlanta – the quarterback at Auburn has been named Nix: Lloyd Nix in 1957. Patrick Nix in 1995. His son, Bo Nix this year. I did some fact checking and discovered Bo Nix has just one more year of eligibility left and the only other two Nix surnames I could find on the Internet were Wendy Nix, an ESPN reporter and Sofia Nix, a porn star (I’ll take their word for it), neither of whom seem to be quarterback material. Hmmm. This could be serious. Let’s hope Alex Anthopoulos and Brian Snitker come up with a brilliant alternative. Like re-signing Freddie Freeman.
Dick Yarbrough is an award-winning columnist from Georgia. Reach him at dick@dickyarbrough.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dickyarb.
