While there are myriad issues in the world in which we live that need to be addressed, what may affect us directly is the one we place at the top of the priority ladder.

We live in an information age. Now whether the information is true or not is another story. Competition to be first exists among media conglomerates, blogospheres and social media.

I must acknowledge I have stayed away from writing about presidential politics intentionally. I have stayed engaged in following the various campaigns by reading newspapers and blogs, participated in dialogues through social media and discussed it in various platforms among my circle of friends and colleagues.

If you like college sports such as golf, gymnastics, soccer and swimming, then you probably like college football because – at many of the large universities, football is the engine that drives the rest of its athletic programs.

Everybody loves a winner. It is true that there are some valuable lessons in losing, but the fact remains that everybody wants to be associated with a winner.

As the summer heats up so it appears that our presidential politics is doing as well. It is not just enough that President Barack Obama has to govern this nation, but he has to campaign for the fall election also.

There is no doubt that we live in a dangerous world. Service men and women place themselves in harm’s way daily to secure the freedom we enjoy.

Fame comes with a price. Sometimes that price is too difficult to calculate. It is not out of the ordinary for human beings to want to be loved and appreciated.

There is probably no other subject discussed that will bring various views of opinions such as religion. It can cause us as a society and world the propensity to defend it, practice it, or surmise no usefulness whatsoever.

Politics will solicit many opinions. One does not have to be a politician to have a thought about the political process.

Slogans used by politicians are nothing new. They are part of the formula to capture attention; and; if one cannot remember anything else, the catchy phrase usually works.

Intercollegiate athletics is big business. It’s time to stop acting like money does not play a significant role in collegiate sports.

Nike, Inc., is a sportswear company that specializes in apparel that includes sneakers, t-shirts, shorts, shoes, plus a whole lot more. When it comes to selling sports apparel, Nike is the leader. Its creativity in advertising its product is second to none.

March Madness has begun. That is the given name to the next three weeks of the college basketball season. This moniker is provided because of the passion that coaches, fans and players display over the games that will be played.

I preface my remarks by saying that I like the Pittsburgh Steelers – well, check that – love the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is true that I will be rooting front and center for them Sunday in Super Bowl XLV.

Holidays named to honor people are reminders of the significant impact that they have had on others and the world at large. It has been two weeks since this nation has celebrated the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, one such honoree.

There is something about sports and, in particular, certain athletes who may make the casual observer express their opinion. Two athletes over this past year have not only grabbed the sports spotlight but they have infiltrated some of the mainstream media headlines.

Sometimes I do not know whether to laugh or cry over some of the discussions that take place within our political discourse. It appears that vision is so lacking when it comes to the direction within this country.

Uh Oh! This is just a false alarm. No need to panic. Everyone can now go back to their regular scheduled program until the next time someone says something on video where only snippets are viewed and not the whole tape.

Reality Television really has a huge audience in our current culture. We perceive to be a society where the public display of people’s lives paraded before television intrigues us.

Baseball has been called America’s pastime. There are many reasons for this depending upon the sources drawn from.  One reason is that baseball has brought families together for the enjoyment of playing and watching the sport together.

Life is filled with transition. No one stays on top forever. What comes up must come down. No matter how long someone is at their best, our hope is that they will always stay there.

Just a couple of weeks ago Tea Party rallies were held across the country to oppose some of the proponents of government spending and intrusion. Rightly Tea Partiers believe government is not the answer to all of individual or societal problems. And if those in government thinks that it is and everyone can be on equal footing, then some would pronounce this to be socialism.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! The sky is falling! That is what some would have us to believe. The problem in this is not in reference to the recent passage of the healthcare law. More on that later. No, this inference of the sky is falling has to do with a recent Harris Poll of Republican attitudes toward President Barack Obama.

Fame comes with a price. It will cost all of us something. The prices are different in each circumstance. In many instances the price is constant media attention.

As a columnist it is an honor and a privilege to share my respective views. It can be rather difficult sometimes to articulate them, putting pen to paper. One could say it would be easier to express opinions via another medium.

I must admit I am not a follower of the Tea Party movement. This does not mean that I cannot look at it objectively. I am not a follower in terms of believing all of its principles.

How long would it last? Now that didn’t take long. Much of this nation was tuned into President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address. With the myriad of problems that this country is facing, many wanted to hear the solutions that would decrease the deficit, lower unemployment, health care reform, and the abuses on Wall Street.

The political landscape changed last week according to the pundits. The election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate forced the Democrats to relinquish their 60 seat stronghold.

The details continue. Great journalists must be really having a difficult time finding quality in this era. Why? The constant bombardment and stream of salacious detail reporting.

This nation currently finds itself in two wars, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. A large part of the discussion has centered on achieving victory. The problem with contemplating strategy appears to be what is victory or what does victory look like.

Tiger Woods is arguably the most famous athlete in the entire world. Heck, he might even be the most recognizable person in the entire world. All because he can play a game called golf.

Former Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is currently on a cross county tour promoting her book, “Going Rogue.” She has recently made the rounds on many of the most popular television shows, The Oprah Winfrey Show, an interview with Barbara Walter, The Sean Hannity Show, and many of the morning news programs.

Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, once coined the phrase, “All politics is local.” This can be interpreted to mean politicians should be able to understand their local constituents and the policies that affect them the most – the local political issues.

Several weeks ago talk show host Rush Limbaugh garnered national headlines with his participation in an ownership group attempting to purchase the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams. Mr. Limbaugh was not going to be the majority owner just a partner in the ownership group.

It has been 10 months since Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States. He has been under tremendous scrutiny ever since.

There are currently six candidates vying for the President of the United States. Two of the candidates have garnered much of the national media attention and are a part of the two primary political parties.

Well, it is almost upon us. Everything that has been said and conjured up will come to a screeching halt on November 4^th. That is when the real politics will begin.

Okay, it has been weeks since the glitz and glamour, the pomp and circumstances, the cartwheels, boos over the “other” name and cheers for it as well just because someone delivered a good punch line.

Last Friday the 2008 Summer Olympics games opened in Beijing, China, where the government has come under scrutiny because of proclaimed human rights violations. The air quality – to some degree – has been deemed unhealthy. The government has been criticized for neglect of some of its citizens and the economic disparity is widely known. And its capital punishment policy has been questioned.

This last week of the primary presidential election season has not been about politics. It has more exemplified a mini-drama series.

So far this presidential election has developed many subplots. They – if we are not careful as voters – will take us away from the important issues that affect this nation.

Recently the University Of Notre Dame hired a football coach. In fact, they hired two.

We all make mistakes and this is exactly what the University Of Notre Dame did when it first hired George O'Leary. Nothing personal against O'Leary, he has done a fine job at Georgia Tech. When O' Leary falsified information regarding his athletic and educational achievements, he put Notre Dame in a serious fix. Not to mention that Notre Dame did not find about this until after O'Leary had been hired as the football coach.