Monk Fails To Be Elected To Canton

We are supposed to be civilized and humble, all the things former Washington Redskins wide receiver Art Monk was, at times like these. But Monk's rejection, again, as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, diminishes those who kept him out for the seventh time, and it sure as hell diminishes the hall.

How in the name of decency can the electors elevate loud-mouth Michael Irvin while rejecting Monk?

One story making the rounds in wake of today's latest rejection of Monk is that he did not talk with reporters during his career. So what? This is not a conversation hall of fame. It is a sports hall of fame, for crying out loud.

What it has become in recent years is a buddy-buddy hall of fame.

I suppose it is OK to put in drug users such as Irvin but keep out straight-as-an-arrow guys such as Monk.

If I were Monk and his supporters I would tell those doing the voting to, in the immortal words of Sam Goldwyn, "Include me out!"

What a joke this exercise is. What a big joke.

Is This Art Monk's Time?

Former Washington Redskins wide receiver Art Monk could be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when electors gather on Saturday, February 3. This is Monk's seventh or eighth time coming before the committee. He should have been a first-ballot lock years ago.

He meant as much, if not more, to the Washington Redskins of the first Joe Gibbs era as any other offensive player. He did not say much. He did not throw tantrums and dance like a fool after scoring a touchdown. He simply did his job, which was to come up with huge catches at crucial times. He had a big impact in the locker room and the practice field. His work ethic was second-to-none. He left the NFL in the mid-1990s as the leading receiver in the history of the game.

Russ Grimm, one of the famous Hogs, the Redskin offensive unit during the Monk era, also is a candidate for the hall on Saturday. He recently was passed over as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He deserved that job, and he deserves to make the hall.

But I find it hard to believe the electors, some of whom probably never saw either player compete, would elect two Redskins to anything.

Also on tomorrow's ballot, among a long list of candidates in what is viewed as perhaps a bit weaker field this year, is former Oakland Raider kicker Ray Guy. I'm hoping the judges put the football back into the hall and elect Guy.

He's a guy (pardon that!) who as a boy growing up in Georgia wanted simply to kick a football over a powerline. Did he ever!

Cynics laughed when then Raider Coach John Madden and owner Al Davis selected Guy as a No. 1 draft choice. The laughing died quickly, as Guy pinned down the opposition with his kicks in the proverbial coffin corner.

Super Bowl Weekend

I hope to get enough work done around the newspaper to take off Sunday night and watch this year's Super Bowl. I seriously doubt it will be as good a game as the AFC Championship match between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. That tilt was one for the ages. But Indy and the Chicago Bears might surprise some of us and make a dramatic game of it.

I am picking the Colts by a score of perhaps 28-14.

I am pulling for the Colts because of Coach Tony Dungy and quarterback Peyton Manning. Coach Dungy got summarily fired in Tampa Bay a few years ago because he did not get the Bucs to the big game. Young Jon Gruden succeeds him and wins the bowl! Coach Gruden won that game with Tony Dungy's team and he said as much.

As to young Manning, his critics, most of whom never played the game, contend that he cannot win the really big game. Well, win or lose Sunday night, Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the entire league. It would be nice to see him get a ring.

This weekend long has been something of mid-winter festival for many Americans. Parties are common and fellowship rich. But the National Football League always attempts to throw a wet blanket on the partying. I just read where the NFL went ballistic over a church-sponsored party in Indianapolis this week. The church's sin? It used the precious NFL logo in promoting the event. Cynics don't call the NFL the "No Fun League" for nothing.

Enjoy the game

Subscription Rates To Increase February 15

Subscription rates to the weekly Crewe-Burkeville Journal are scheduled to be increased this February 15.

The local rate, meaning the rate for newspapers mailed to Nottoway County and the immediate surrounding area, will rise from $17 to $19 annually.

The rate for a subscription elsewhere in Virginia is to be increased from $22 to $24 annually.

The out-of-state rate is set to be increased from $27 to $29 yearly.

We value more than subscribers could know their patronage and hope they understand that rising costs force increases in these rates.

If you would like to subscribe, and we hope you do and will, send a check or money order to: The Crewe-Burkeville Journal, P.O. Box 108, Crewe, VA 23930.

Crewe-Burkeville Needs New Businesses

CREWE, VA -- It is a known fact that people far from Crewe and Burkeville and Southside Virginia read The Journal and check in at least occasionally on this blog. The hope is expressed here that some of them will look into locating or relocating businesses in our community.

Granted, this can be a tough place to live in large part because of the lack of businesses and services that most Virginians and Americans take for granted. This is one reason our community needs to draw more enterprises here than in the past.

But if you are reading this and are considering moving your business, then please contact me at The Crewe-Burkeville Journal. I will give you an unvarnished view of how it is to operate here. I will not sugarcoat the situation. But I truly believe there is money to be made here by new ventures.

Burkeville Betty Creates A Stir

BURKEVILLE, VA -- In 40 years as a newspaperman, I have only allowed two writers of letters to the editor to use a pen name. These two writers have penned three letters, all to The Crewe-Burkeville Journal during the past year.

Frankly, I have had mixed personal views on allowing this. Now, one of the two writers allowed the liberty of a pen name, a writer using the pen name of "Burkeville Betty," has stirred something of a storm directed at the newspaper, which may have lost some advertising in the Burkeville area as a result.

What has happened, at least with some readers and the elected officials written about by Burkeville Betty, is the fact that they do not like what she has written and have gone after the newspaper and its editor and publisher (that's me!). This is one of the reasons newspapers, and I have worked for seven of them through the decades, do not allow pen names. As our critics have reminded us, writers should stand behind their words and readers should know who writes the words.

It has not helped that Burkeville Betty's last published letter spoke critically of the "good old boys" in Burkeville. I have found the the "good old boys" in these parts do not like being called that in the public prints.

One yet-to-be published letter to the editor opines that real names should be used on these items. Otherwise, the critic writes, ink is wasted.

We cannot exactly argue that point. So we are revisiting the entire issue and will have a discussion with Burkeville Betty about it.

Burkeville Betty, an educated soul, believes she would face threats and intimidation if she uses her real name. Instead, as these things usually work out, the newspaper and its editor are the ones facing harm's way.

We do not make it a habit of caving in to advertising pressure. But the critics, this time, may be more right than we are.

Stay tuned for new developments.

Accept Our Apologies For Being Away

It is good to be back here after several months of being away. We promise to update the site on at least a weekly basis this year and sometimes more often than that.

So much has happened in Crewe and Burkeville since we last posted here. So much has happened in Virginia, the U.S., and the world, too. We want to put our arms around all of it and squeeze some sense out of it. Check in with us often. We'll try to worthy of your time.