A North Korea ICBM. Real Warriors. Hitting the KPI’s. The Other Football.

A Response to Kim Jong-un.   Cork the Whine.  In a Word:  Overachievement.  Have the Falcons Become Secondary to United?

Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s so-called supreme leader, sent the United States an alarming ‘gift’ for the 4th of July.  North Korea’s ballistic missile, fired off last Tuesday, flew seven times higher than the international space station.  Why is this significant?  Their intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) traveled a vertical distance of 1700 miles before falling back into the Sea of Japan (yes, it landed in the part of the Sea that is designated North Korean territory).  Analysts now say that on a flatter trajectory their ICBM would be capable of reaching as far as Alaska.  As the world responded with alarm, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, continued to convey that the U.S. would maintain diplomatic and economic strategies with the North Koreans.  It is obvious that any military strike against North Korea would severely affect South Korea and possibly China.  With all of that said, Mattis, in a press conference at the Pentagon, did admonish the North Koreans for their provocative actions and warned Kim Jong-un “that any effort by North Korea to start a war would lead to severe consequences”.  There are a few geo-political issues to deal with should the U.S. elect to strike and wipe out North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure, but let’s be clear that the deployment of U.S. B-2 bombers and up to 24 F-22 Raptors, followed by up to 300 Tomahawk missiles from our Ohio-class nuclear submarines would for the most part set North Korean nuclear proliferation back twenty years.   Godspeed.

I enjoyed my working assignment at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.  As part of the Olympic broadcast production team, I worked the football (soccer) competition at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium.  As the Games were about to close I was offered to stay on and work the Paralympic Games, which turned out to be way more enjoyable than working the ‘regular’ games.  From that day forward I have had the upmost respect for the athlete who performs at levels we can only dream about, with disabilities that we cannot comprehend.  I have the same respect for all of the participants of the Warrior Games, held last week in Chicago and honoring close to 265 wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans from the Army, Marine Corp, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and U.S. Special Operations Command.  This year, the Warrior Games also invited the United Kingdom Armed Forces as well as the Australian Defense Force to participate.  Call me ignorant (my friends Samir and Richie do all the time), but I had no idea the Warrior Games started back in 2010 as a way to enhance the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded warriors and to expose them to adaptive sports. Teams include active-duty service members and veterans with upper-body, lower-body, and spinal cord injuries; traumatic brain injuries; visual impairment; serious illnesses; and post-traumatic stress.  As I watched some of the competition last week, I quickly remembered how much I enjoyed the camaraderie and competitive spirit of the athletes participating in the Paralympic Games.  To say the least, way more rewarding than working the regular Olympic Games competition.  Next time you are ‘hurting’ participating in your sporting activities think about the athletes of the Warrior Games and just ‘cork the whine’.

To Darren Eales and his Atlanta United staff:  a job well done at the mid-season break.  A 9-7-3 record, 4th place in the eastern division, a league-leading 39 goals scored, sellout crowds at Bobby Dodd, and a game-in-hand against fifth place Orlando City and sixth place Columbus.  I assume that the tension fabric covers for the upper deck sections of Mercedes Benz stadium are no longer applicable?  I will go with 60,000 fans for the September 10 match against league-leaders FC Dallas.  I can’t wait to see how the video operator handles the massive LED screen way before the 3:30pm start time……the Falcons play at Chicago starting at 1pm!!  Maybe Major League Soccer can push the Atlanta United start time to 4:30pm?  No matter, that September Sunday will be great fun for the city of Atlanta.

Speaking of the Falcons and the National Football League, we are only a  27 days away from the first exhibition game and less than eight weeks away from the NFL regular season.  The Fall should be great fun.

Adios and have a Funday Sunday!!