A "Harry" situation

Beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana

Caution: may not be suitable for children or old people with heart conditions.


I'm sure some of you have seen the raging debate that is going on in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  This fairly large city (relative of course) is home to a sacred history.  A traditional midwest town that was settled by the French but eventually grew into a manufacturing haven during the mid-20th century.

As manufacturing was less in demand, the economy in Fort Wayne diversified and became known for its education, healthcare, insurance, defense, and security (according to Wiki).  The city has a thriving economy and has decided to expand.  The city has plans to build a new government center.  The problem?  It didn't have a name.

So what does a great democracy do?  They wanted to hear from the people via this nifty thing called the internet.  Great idea Fort Wayne!  Glad to see you're separating from Cairo.  Let the people have a voice.

And so they did.  This message board displayed the results.

Yes, you saw it right.  The people want to name their new government building after a proud mayor in the 1940's.

His name is Harry Baals.  By the way, I'm not writing a blog just to have confusion of how his last name is pronounced.  It's "balls."


I'll let you chuckle for a second.... ok.  Let's continue. 


Relatives have since pronounced their last name "Bales."  However, the town is a bit.... testy (stole that joke, heard it earlier but had to share) and they want their new government center to be named the Harry Baals Government Center.

However, the Deputy Mayor has already said that the name is a no go. I completely understand that.  The issue arises when you give your people the power to voice there opinions.  On the message board, Harry Baals already has 10,000 votes, while the second place vote getter has 500.  The people have spoken.  You don't need to call it Harry Baals.  Maybe H.B. Government Center.  Or H. Baals Government Center.  The new mayor can even pronounce the name "Bales" if he/she feels uncomfortable.

The fact is that Harry Baals was a strong influence in Fort Wayne and should be recognized for it.  Even the people think so.

Let's hope the city makes the right decision and honor the legacy of Harry Baals, Mayor Fort Wayne.  Seriously.

To my friends in Canton

An open letter to the voters of the Pro Football League Hall of Fame


To whom it may concern,

While emotions may overtake the point this letter will make; I will concede I have never been as angry about sports as I was on Superbowl Sunday.

Yes, the Packers did win the Superbowl and thus officially rendering this season to be the worst season in Minnesota Vikings history. Although surprisingly, that was not the primary reason why I was livid.

No, the voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame again proved why the system is flawed while all football fans simultaneously had strokes when the voting results were made public

You, the voters, have agreed to once again pass up on the greatest receiver of all time.  I know, Jerry Rice is in the hall but we aren't talking about the hardest working or the most fortunate.  We are talking about the best ever.

All he does is....

We are talking about Cris Carter.  Understand that voters had an obligation to put the best WR in the hall.  He retired as the statistically second best receiver in the game.  Have you ever known an athlete that has been second best in his career and not been voted as a first ballot hall of famer?  Are we leaving out Karl Malone?  Or Ty Cobb (Hank Aaron would be second in HR's)? I mean did you voters leave Marino out of the hall?  No, of course not.

So when you folks didn't vote Cris Carter in as a first ballot, the fans shook our heads and said, "oh well, he'll get in next year."  He didn't.  And now we must wait again so and hope that you don't make the same mistakes.

Sure, I could have lobbied for Andre Reed or Tim Brown but how are you leaving out the best?

Look, Jerry Rice was a fantastic receiver.  Rice had a great work ethic and had the fortunate opportunity to play with Steve Young, Joe Montana, and Rich Gannon for his career as well.

Carter?  Well he played with Gannon, Wade Wilson, Tommy Kramer, Sean Salisbury (God help him), Jim McMahon (who doesn't remember Carter), Warren Moon, Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham, Jeff George,  Daunte Culpepper, Todd Bouman, and of course Spergon Wynn.

As you can see, he may have had some decent QB's for Carter but none that were championship caliber (except for maybe Moon and Gannon). Furthermore, Carter had to suffer through the same open door policy that the Vikings continue to have at QB to this day.

Even though there was no chemistry, Carter overcame drug problems and was a prolific pass catcher.  In this clip, the NFL network rate him with the best hands EVER.  What am I missing here?

Oh of course.  How silly of me.  The only wide receiver in history to have back to back 120 catches. He was also the only player in Pro Football history to have three 12+ reception games in one season.

Though, we are blessed with knowing the transcendence of Cris Carter and what he did for the wide receiver position.  Any Viking fan will tell you that no one owned the sidelines better than Cris Carter.  And the common sideline techniques that fans see every Sunday is based on what Carter did throughout his entire career.  This technique is historically significant.

So now I ask you, Pro Football Hall of Fame: How long must you continue to torture the best wide receiver in history?  He certainly hasn't deserved it.

All he does is catch touchdowns.  And I look forward to having him tell all of us that in his induction speech.