Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Failure of Palestinian Nationalism

The Failure of Palestinian Nationalism: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The Warsaw Summit demonstrated that the popularity of the Palestinian cause continues to decline, suggesting that Palestinian nationalism has failed. Historically, the positive elements of Palestinian nationalism have been offset by

Founding Palestinian Myths

Founding National Myths: The vast literature proving the historic Jewish connection to the Land of Israel has been extensively manipulated and distorted as part of the Palestinian politics of nationalism. Propaganda, indoctrination, and socialization, both domestically and

Sunday, December 08, 2019

NFL Games Of 2019

The NFL's 100th season has been as compelling as the league has been for almost all of its existence.   Of course it takes time to build something and the NFL did just that.   Amid controversy over officiating, pace of play, etc. the 2019 season has seen quite a number of stunning games.   A video presentation below:


Lions at Cardinals



A rare tie seemed to bode well for both the Detroit Lions - who now appeared to be buying into coach Matt Patricia after a rough 2018 - and the Cardinals with first year coach Kliff Kingsbury, in his first ever pro game as a head coach, as well as rookie quarterback Kyler Murray.



Bengals at Seahawks



The Seahawks started a spectacular march through 2019 edging a Bengals team with new coach Zac Taylor that looked a lot more promising than it had been the previous three seasons but which fell into failure with a winless rut not ended until December.




Texans at Saints 



In the periodic Bum Phillips Bowl, the Saints started their own spectacular surge through the season as - speaking of Houston Oilers notoriety - they erased a 21-10 Texans lead and surged to a 27-21 lead, but in the final minute the Texans stormed to the lead, then the Saints booted the 58-yard field goal on the last play.



Giants at Bucs



New Bucs coach Bruce Arians got striking improvement out of the erratic Jameis Winston and an early example was this stunner where the Giants nonetheless erased a three-touchdown gap for a one-point squeaker.




Chiefs at Lions 



The game lead tied or changed eight times and combined for 895 yards and five fumbles.   The game lead changed four times in the final seventeen minutes and Darrel Williams' second score of the fourth quarter won it for Kansas City.





Chargers at Titans



While not an especially high-scoring affair it was a turning point in the season as the 2-4 Titans gave up on 2015 first rounder Marcus Mariota and went to ex-Dolphin Ryan Tannehill.  Tannehill responded by delivering the Titans to a tight win, their second over the Chargers in the decade after going winless against San Diego since 1992.  




Bucs at Seahawks



74 combined points, 910 combined yards, a missed Seahawks FGA, and the lead tying or changing eight times wound up meaning one thing - it had to be settled in overtime.   And the Surging Seahawks and Russell Wilson delivered again.



Chiefs at Titans 



For the eighth time in nine meetings the Titans upended a team coached by Andy Reid.  The two teams exceeded 900 yards and the lead tied once and changed five times as the Titans rushed like it was Eddie George.   It was Titans special teams that proved decisive in the final two minutes after a failed Tannehill fourth down conversion; after three straight Chiefs run plays the Chiefs gagged the FGA and it turned into an intentional grounding penalty; from there Tannehill turned into Steve McNair on an eighteen yard rush, a twenty yard completion, then a twenty-three yard touchdown strike.   The Chiefs raced to the Titans 34 but the kick was blocked.




Seahawks at Forty Niners 


The undefeated Niners hosted the surging Seahawks and the battle of NFC powers was a brutally tight affair as the Niners erased a 21-10 Seahawks lead, forced overtime, then the Seahawks stormed to the Niners 4 in nine plays but Russell Wilson was intercepted.   Jimmy Garoppolo clawed the Niners to a FGA that failed.  Two punts followed and the Seahawks finally ended this affair at the end of overtime.




Eagles at Dolphins 


The Dolphins under new coach Brian Flores were supposed to tank the season to draft Tua Tagovailoa; for most of the season they were terrible, but then started to win a few games.  The Eagles were supposed to challenge for the NFC East and a playoff bye; the division proved so weak that 7-9 threatened to be the record needed to win it, and the Eagles fell to 5-7 at Davie, FL in a game where they led 28-14 but the Dolphins stormed back to win.




Colts at Bucs


2003's 21-point meltdown to Indianapolis forever haunts the Bucs and this shootout threatened to add more misery but the Bucs kept firing, despite a hand injury that sidelined Jameis Winston for part of the third quarter.  Winston rallied the Bucs as they trailed almost the whole game and surged to a 38-35 shocker.  



Arguably this is Game Of The Year - Forty Niners at Saints



The NFC as of December is defined by the Niners, Saints, Seahawks, Packers, and Vikings, and two of them exploded in the Superdome in a chaotic affair that stormed past 100 combined points and reinforced the NFC West showdown combined with a shocker loss by the Seahawks later that night. 



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