One of the top NFL games that season was the NFC Championship game between the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers in San Francisco.  The 49ers were the favorites to win, led by Joe Montana, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice.  The Giants had a great defense but a boring ball control offense.  In 1991, defense won championships and it was the Giants defense that gave them the upset victory, by knocking Joe Montana out of the game and causing a fumble as the 49ers were running out the clock.  The Giants won the game a few minutes later with a field goal.  The win in San Francisco propelled the Giants to the Super Bowl where they defeated the Buffalo Bills.

21 years later, we are right back to that NFC championship game.  The players are different but the stakes are the same.  No one will confuse Alex Smith with Joe Montana, but some might think the Giants defense is just as good as the 1991 model, and they are probably right.  For those wanting to take a trip down memory lane, here is a YouTube clip of the game highlights:

I miss flying around the world even when it meant delayed flights, missed connections and lost luggage.  This week there were two cool videos that were posted to satisfy my flying needs.  The first video is a behind the scenes look at what happens to your luggage from the time you check your bag to the time it is delivered to you.

The second video is a cool behind the scenes look at an average day at Denver International Airport, an airport I flew through way to often in my 5+ years flying United.

As of December 2011, there are no non-stop flights from Washington, DC to TCI, so we hopped a prop plane up to Newark, NJ to catch our flight down to paradise.  I caught a great sunrise picture departing National Airport:

After a 3 hour flight from Newark, we arrived in Provo which is the largest city in the TCIs.  One of the most popular places to stay on Provo is an area called Grace Bay and is considered one of the top 10 beaches in the world.

The beaches were completely empty and the color of the water definitely lived up to its reputation.

The downside of the TCIs and Provo is that the cost of food and other goods on the island is in some cases 50% higher than in the US.  In one store I saw a container of Breyer’s Ice Cream selling for $12.50!

The cost of food aside, the privacy, solitude and beauty of the TCIs definitely make the trip worth it.  To see it from above is even more beautiful, here is a video of our departure:

Last month when I wrote about Penn State University and morals, I had to re-write that post a few times because my original draft was very angry.  I was angry at so many people, and I wasn’t even sure why I was angry, I did not personally know any of the people involved.  When I stepped back, I realized my reaction was due to shock…I was shocked that Coach Sandusky could do what he is accused of to children and, Coach Paterno and Penn State could turn a blind eye.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving, and now there is a similar scandal erupting at Syracuse, my alma mater, class of 1999.  Again, I was shocked when I heard these allegations.  I spent 4 years working in the athletic department, I got to know Jim Boeheim, his wife Juli, and the coaching staff.  I never saw or heard anything to indicate that Coach Fine was abusing children.

The reaction that I had, and the inactions of Penn State University and definitely the inflammatory remarks from Jim Boeheim come from the same place, shock.  See, we never really know a person.  You may be friends or work colleagues with someone for 30 years, but you cannot possibly know everything about that person.  I first learned this lesson when my rabbi was caught on Dateline NBC to Catch A Predator back in 2005.  I kept asking myself, how could this happen?  I knew this man, I traveled to Israel with him, and was friends with his daughter, but you see, you never really know a person.

I thought Sean Keeley at the Syracuse SB Nation blog, Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, wrote a terrific piece about how everyone interpreted Jim Boeheim’s comments incorrectly.  Coach Boeheim, Sean Keeley wrote, was scared, and he was scared because the person who he spent 40 years with turned out to be someone he never really knew.

Last week I decided the time had come, it was time to see which mode of transportation was fastest home from NYC to DC.  While we were not as scientific as the Top Gear crew, we definitely discovered whether flying is faster than the train.

We left midtown at 445PM, I was headed to LaGuardia for a Delta Shuttle flight at 630PM, my competitor left for Penn State trying to make the 5PM Acela train, but knew he would most likely take the 6PM Acela train.

It took me 45 minutes to get to the airport, just missing the 530PM shuttle, but enough time to grab a drink at the bar.  It turned out that my racing companion made the 5PM train which meant that he would be south of Philly before I even left the ground.  I was doubting my choice.

Finally it was time to board, and get under way.  We took off on time and the pilot announced a flight time of 33 minutes.  When we flew over downtown Baltimore 20 minutes later at 650PM, I knew I had taken a lead.  We touched down and were at the gate by 710PM, the train well that was still 40 minutes from DC.

While I had to go through security at LaGuardia, had no Wi-Fi and had to sit in an airport for 45 minutes, I still got to DC 40 minutes faster than the train.  Now the train has benefits, it was slightly cheaper than my plane ticket, I can get work done (a pro tip, sit close to the food car because that is where the wi-fi connection is strongest).

The uncontrollable factors in the race include the cab ride between the city and the airport and weather. I find that the cab ride out to the airport is always easier than into the city, so it may be the case where the train is faster when going to NYC.  When the weather is bad (thunderstorms in the summer, snow in the winter) the train is a better bet than the plane.  In this race, I had little traffic and perfect weather.

I waited a few days before writing about what has gone on at Penn State University because the first 2 attempts to write this post came across too angry.  I am angry at Jerry Sandusky who has been accused of harming so many young children, I am angry at the former Penn State quarterback, and at the time a grad assistant who witnessed one of the alleged assaults but only went to Joe Paterno, I am angry at Joe Paterno for not reporting the assaults to the police, and finally the leadership, or lack there of, at Penn State to take these statements seriously.

What happened at Penn State is that they forgot that as leaders they should have done more than the bare minimum.  Mike McQueary, was a quarterback at Penn State.  He led 10 other men into battle each week in the Big Ten Conference, and when the games ended, he became a grad assistant coach.  Why only tell Joe Paterno?  If someone was robbing the PSU Bookstore would you tell coach or campus police?  The athletic director and finance guy just sat on the news.  And then there is Joe Pa, he did nothing.  Sure he told the AD, but as the leader of 80+ student athletes, and dozens of coaches, he essentially did nothing.  If Joe Paterno saw a person injured on the street, would he try to help?  He has no morals, and was more interested in protecting his image, his university and his friend, Jerry Sandusky.

This pattern of protecting Penn State and the semi-pro status that the football team has is well documented.  I encourage you to read an article by Chris Korman, a PSU grad, who talked about all the cover ups that have occurred at Penn State under Joe Pa.

My heart aches for the victims and how their lives have been impacted by this.  In a community as small as Happy Valley, PA, I initially was shocked that no one had discovered this sooner, however, after reading Chris Korman’s article it became clearer.  At Penn State University the only morals that leadership had when it came to their football program was money.