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Two things struck me about Aaron Rodgers’ MVP acceptance speech:

  1. It was very gracious, and at times contrite and even self-deprecating.
  2. It was written and delivered in the past tense.

I think that’s it, at least in Green Bay.

This was an eye-opener. If the vote on NFL Comeback Player of the Year had been taken in October, Dak would have been the unanimous winner. Unanimous. But three and a half months later, he didn’t even get a chance to get out of his chair. Instead, he watched Super Bowl-bound Joe Cool accept the award via Zoom.

As Aretha once asked, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”  I cringed. Seriously. That had to be embarrassing. And make no mistake, the voters absolutely meant that as a blatant diss to Dak. His career, or at least his stature, is at a crossroads.

On the flip side, it’s probably pretty good to be Micah Parsons. That’s a cute kid, too.

As far as the other award winners, could you argue with any of them? Aaron Donald might politely raise his hand (although T.J. was certainly deserving), but the others were lead-pipe locks.

HOF? That would have been hard to mess up.  I’m particularly happy for the families of the late Cliff Branch and Sam Mills.

I think it’s cool that the climactic award was the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, even above the MVP.  Andrew Whitworth? Mensch, indeed. And did you see how proud his two young sons were of their dad?

Yeah, there was some social engineering and even damage control going on with the evening’s content. But could you argue about the merits of the societal positions that were being engineered?  I couldn’t.

OK. Enough nice. Hip-hoppers DEMANDING that they be given headliner status for every Super Bowl halftime show until The End of Time can kiss my shield. That’s a damn shakedown….

Have you always wanted to own an NFL franchise? The Washington Commanders will be for sale very, very soon…

Happy Friday, all. I’ll do the SB pick thing Saturday morning.

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Paul's Bio

I clearly have the attention span of your median fruit fly.Look! Airplane!

Sorry. I’m back.

It’s both a curse and a blessing. I’ve never bought this stuff about, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But I do think that a wide range of life experiences helps us grow as people, and helps us better relate to other people. I’ve been fortunate. And I am beyond grateful.

I show up on time. I go like hell. I’m a good listener. I hold myself accountable. I own my mistakes. And I have a natural and an insatiable curiosity. I’m never afraid to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t. But then I try to find out.

The flip side is I’m a lousy ballroom dancer and my clothes sometimes fit me funny.

Stuff matters to me. I care. But while I take that stuff seriously, I try hard to never take myself seriously. As a result, I have sometimes been told, “Paul, it’s hard to tell when you’re serious and when you’re just having some fun. Which is it? Serious or fun?”

My answer is “yes.” But I think that is a legitimate criticism. I promise I’m going to work on that.

This has been the quickest and strangest half-century I’ve ever experienced. During that period, I’ve been afforded amazing opportunities in news and sports journalism across all platforms. I have taught wonderful students at the high school and collegiate level. Always, I learned more from them than they did from me. I’ve been a high school administrator. I spent ten seasons as a high school varsity football coach. I’ve been an advertising executive. I’ve hosted nationally syndicated television entertainment shows. In maybe the biggest honor I ever received, I was selected by NASA to be “Chet The Astronaut” for the “Land The Shuttle” simulator at Space Center Houston. (All I can say there, is “Do as I say, not as I do.” I put that thing in the Everglades more often than not.) Most recently, I just wrapped up a decade as a television news director, during which time our teams distinguished themselves in holding the powerful accountable, achieving both critical and ratings success.

What does all that mean? It means I am profoundly grateful. It also means I’m ready for “next.” So here we are. Radically Rational. It’s an idea I woke up with in 2017. I scribbled “Radically Rational” on a piece of notebook paper and used a magnet to stick it on our refrigerator. I saw it every day, and it just would not leave me alone.

I am second in charge at Radically Rational, LLC. My wife, Jo (also known as BB), is the president. Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to sleep my way to the top of this organization.

I hope you will learn that I’m loyal as a Labrador. But I will admit that this doggie can bite every now and then. My promise to you? I will show up on time. I will go like hell. I will listen to you earnestly and attentively. I will hold myself accountable. I will never be the least bit hesitant to say, “I don’t know,” when I don’t.

But then I’ll try to find out. Let’s do it.