A message from the past that did not fall on deaf ears as the twentieth century was only beginning. However, the image conveys both hope and innocence about what was to come as we entered the 1900’s HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Next column: Watch Welland grow…again
(Terry Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)
Remembering 2023 With 12 Favourite Photos
Captions:
January: Slam, dunk! Tribune Tournament action;
February: Winging it. As seen from a train car window while en route to Albany, N.Y.;
March: For the birds. Residential development along a rural road;
April: Spring sunset;
May: Family outing under mom’s watchful eye;
June: Itoh peony, my backyard beauty;
July: At the beach;
August: Under the lights at Welland Tennis Club, viewed from across the recreational waterway;
September: Photo finish;
October: Bike ride;
November: Cenotaph icons, Chippawa Park;
December: Joy to the world!
-Joe Barkovich photos
By WAYNE REDSHAW
I enjoy watching National Football League games on television whether I’m at home in Wainfleet in the fall or wintering in Florida. It’s THE LEAGUE when it comes to viewing top-notch professional football and first-class television coverage.
On Sundays, there’s always a ton of games on various networks starting at 1 p.m. and ending just before midnight. Then there’s the Monday night game and sometimes even two games that same evening. And on Thursdays there’s always one game. During the holiday season, you can always count on televised games too, not only on Christmas Day but usually just before.
If your favourite team isn’t on a bye week, you are pretty well guaranteed to see them play depending on the network, the time zone and the schedule.
This season is no different than past years. However, when you take in Kansas City Chiefs televised contests this season, there’s an added side attraction which the networks have been zeroing in on after the Chiefs score or make a big play. That side attraction features pop culture singing star Taylor Swift, who happens to be dating the Chiefs’ wide receiver Travis Kelce.
Every time Kelce makes a big play or is on the receiving end of a touchdown when Swift is in attendance at the game, the TV network zooms in on her to show her reaction.
This is not something new for the networks. For years now when the Dallas Cowboys were featured on TV, the cameras focused on owner Jerry Jones a few times every game whether he be in a private box, sitting in the stands or walking along the sidelines. Rarely did networks show other team owners. But for some strange reason Jones was always the No. 1 boy with networks.
While I prefer to see the networks focus on the game and the players rather than the sidelines I have to admit Taylor Swift is much nicer and prettier to look at than Jerry Jones, anytime. It’s a big change but at the same time I feel the networks are going overboard. They are forgetting the product they are supposed to be covering. That’s the game itself and the players on the field.
It’s overkill in every respect. Furthermore, it seems the rest of the media — print, radio and websites — have jumped on the bandwagon. Some radio stations have even started a Taylor Swift watch for every game. Will she or will she not be in attendance at the next Chiefs game? Pick up a major newspaper or sports magazine and pictures of Taylor Swift are published along with coverage of the game.
A couple of weeks ago on NBC’s Sunday Night Football Night In America which featured the Chiefs and the New York Jets, the network in my estimation went overboard. Seventeen different times the cameras broke away and focused on Swift and friends in a private box celebrating. The game seemed secondary.
One would think NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who is paid an annual salary of $63.9 million, would intervene and say something to the networks. But no way. He won’t address the dreadful officiating, which has been a problem in the NFL for years so why step in and stop the Taylor Swift issue.
Furthermore, I think the NFL is 100% in favour of the extra attention and publicity Swift has generated the past few months attending games and dating Kelce. While Goodell may be the head honcho of the NFL, the TV networks rule and have the final say as they pay mega bucks to the league for TV rights every season. In fact, you could say they even contribute towards Goodell salary.
Surprisingly, the Kelce-Swift romance has paid instant dividends for the networks. For instance, the Christmas Day game between the Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders, the CBS network experienced their biggest December 25th ratings since 1989 as more than 29 million viewers took in the game. Apparently NBC and Fox have seen a boost in ratings too.
On the financial side, sales of Kelce’s No. 87 jersey have sky-rocketed too, by 400 percent. When the NFL season began in early September Kelce’s jersey was the 19th most popular sweater on the market. As of December 24th brisk sales had moved the jersey into the top five, even passing teammate Patrick Mahomes, who has been sitting near the top of the jersey sales leaderboard since he entered the NFL.
So don’t expect to see any changes with only two weeks remaining in the schedule. Of course there’s the playoffs and the the Chiefs are pretty well assured of a berth. The big question is how far will they go?
The Chiefs have appeared in three of the last four Super Bowls and won twice defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in 2020 and the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 this year. In 2021, the Chiefs bowed to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9.
This season the Chiefs have a 9-6 won-loss record. They are 5-3 with Swift in attendance and 4-3 without. But the Chiefs have have lost four of their past six games and it has some experts wondering. Is Taylor Swift a curse or a distraction? I wouldn’t say a curse by any means. But a distraction yes, especially for the average “Joe football” fan, who wants to enjoy the game, not the sidelines follies the networks are zooming in on. Maybe the Chiefs will make an early exit from the playoffs and the Taylor Swift network saturation will be over, at least for this seasonI
(Wayne Redshaw has covered sports, both professional and amateur for over 60 years. He can be reached at wredshaw@icloud.com).
Caption: A compilation of seasonal walks on the lower trail, Merritt Island, Welland. Regardless of time of year, it is always a joy to visit, The tree limb extending across the trail is my “landmark limb”. The archive photos are shared simply to highlight the year-round beauty of nature here in our home. Happy New Year! /Joe Barkovich photos.
This penny postcard printed in Germany as were many from European card makers of the day was postmarked December 20 1909 and features a religious theme with a sleeping child about to receive her Christmas gift from an angel. The sender of the card writes “We all wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Come up and see us sometime.” And so to you who follow Heritage Lives, the message remains the same. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Next column: Watch Welland grow…again!
(Terry Hughes is a Wellander who is passionate about heritage, history and model railroading. His opinion column, Heritage Lives, appears on the blog once or twice monthly.)
ST. CATHARINES – This year will be 610 /CKTB Radio’s 91st consecutive broadcast of Christmas Midnight Mass from the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria in downtown St. Catharines.
The tradition dates back to 1933.
The celebrant of the Mass will be Gerard Bergie, bishop of the Diocese of St. Catharines.
A highlight of the Christmas celebration is the program of carols by the cathedral choir under the guidance of Tim Marrie, the choir director, and Lucas Chorosinski, organist.
The carols begin at 11:30 p.m. followed by Mass at midnight.
(Source: The Vineyard, Journal of the Diocese of St. Catharines)
High school basketball classic returns in January
The 67th annual Tribune Tournament, sponsored by Mountainview Building Group, tips off January 10th at four venues. The championship games are at Notre Dame./Supplied graphic.
Please Take Note Of Food Bank’s Seasonal Hours
By WAYNE REDSHAW
When are the owners of the 30 Major League Baseball teams going to wake up? MLB is the only major professional sports organization in North America that doesn’t have a salary cap like the National Hockey League or the National Football League.
Of course, MLB claims they do. They call it CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) or as it is referred to by many as a luxury tax. The CBT was introduced in 2003.
It is supposed to take the place of a salary cap. The CBT, so they say, regulates the total sum of money a given team can spend on their roster each season. A team is penalized if the combined annual average value of their player contracts exceeds that season’s tax threshold. A club is taxed on each dollar above the limit.
A club over the limit is subject to an increasing tax rate for consecutive years. For the first year, it is 20 percent. Two straight years the rate increases to 30 percent and for three or more consecutive years the penalty is 50 percent. And if a club dips below for a season, the penalty level is reset to 20 percent the next time they exceed the threshold.
There is also a surcharge for clubs that exceed the threshold by $20 million or more. For being over $20 to $39 million the additional surcharge is 12 percent, $40 to $59 million is 42.5 percent and $60 million plus is 60 percent.
Clubs who surpass the season threshold by $40 million or more shall also have their highest draft selection for the coming season moved back 10 spaces unless it falls in the top six. In that case, that club will have its second highest moved back 10 places.
Of course with this CBT there are loopholes and some teams, especially the Big Market Teams are taking advantage of it. This past week was a perfect example when the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the signing of 29-year-old free agent superstar Shohel Ohtani to an astronomical 10-year $700 million contract. And the big joke is the Dodgers are only being assessed $2 million per season for the next 10 years against the threshold instead of $70 million. That will reduce the Dodgers’ CBT payment considerably.
The Dodgers claim it was Ohtani’s idea to defer $680 million until 2034. Then he will receive equal payments of $68 million with no interest per year until 2043.
Whether it was or not, the Dodgers came out on top as it reduces what they will be shelling out for the CBT. With the bargain basement deal, the Dodgers can also build around Ohtani by picking up a few more free agents to stack their roster. They are apparently pursuing prized Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
It should be pointed out deferring is nothing new for the Dodgers. When they signed Freddie Freeman to a six- year $162 million deal, $57 million of the contract was deferred with payments starting in 2028 and ending in 2040. And Mookie Betts 12-year $365 million contract includes $115 million deferral from 2033 to 2044.
And the Dodgers aren’t alone. Other big market teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies to name just a few have played same game. It’s not only a joke it’s a total farce.
It would be nice to have a level playing field for all 30 teams but don’t count on it for the foreseeable future. The millions of dollars they are shelling out is like pocket change to them.
(Wayne Redshaw has covered amateur and professional sports for over 60 years. He can be reached at wredshaw@icloud.com).
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