To most people, Wednesday, Feb. 4 is just another day, but to many high school football players around the country, it’s their next step to making their dreams come true as they announce what college they will attend to step on the gridiron. Many East Texas kids will have the opportunity of a lifetime as they make their decision on National Signing Day.

Seeing how much we Texans love our football, it comes as no surprise that the Lone Star State is a highly recruited area for schools all over the nation. Many of the East Texas kids will sign with schools within the state while others will get offers outside the state that the can’t afford to turn down.

Tyler has seen several of its athletes go on to have great careers on the professional level but before they played ball on Sundays, they first played on Saturdays.

One can’t live in Tyler without hearing about the greatness of Tylerite Earl Campbell, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Campbell attended John Tyler before signing with the University of Texas Longhorns. Not only did the Tyler Rose stay in Texas for his college career but he also remained in his home state for the majority of his professional career.

If you look at NFL rosters, you’ll see a good chunk of them are from Texas and they once made their decision on National Signing Day. Who knows? Maybe the kids making their decisions on Feb. 4 will follow suite.

It’s that time of the year again, time for Super Bowl XLIX as the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks. There are several big story lines surrounding this game. This is Tom Brady’s sixth Super Bowl and he’s on a mission to win his fourth. If he accomplishes that, he’ll be in the company of Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to have four Super Bowl rings.

On top of, the Seattle Seahawks are hoping to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Last year, was the first Super Bowl in franchise history as they look on tack on their second.

Controversy surrounds New England who can’t escape the Deflate Gate situation. Did it give the Patriots an advantage? Probably no but they didn’t need it to in order to manhandle the Colts but because it is a rule, it’s one the Patriots shouldn’t have broken.

Several former quarterbacks, including Hall of Famer, former Cowboy, Troy Aikman, have spoken out saying Brady had to have known the balls were deflated.Quarterbacks scuff up balls and whatever needs to be done. Regardless, somebody knew what was going on. At any rate, I plan on making the most of it by enjoying the last game of the year.

As a resident of Tyler I’ve made no secret of the fact that there are times when I and other citizens often feel over policed. I don’t like speed traps and trolling for traffic infractions that our police forces often engage in, not just because I don’t like paying tickets, which I don’t, but because it’s easy for those sorts of activities to turn into another form of taxation. They can also be frustratingly ticky- tac. In the last couple of month however I’ve been reminded of what our first responders mean to us and our community.

I spend a lot of time in my car, about two hours a day actually. And while my commute is not generally a high traffic drive, I see a lot of accidents. Now, I’ve not exactly been counting, but I’ve by around four or five fresh wrecks over the last several weeks, a couple of which were fatal. I’ve seen police, fire fighters and paramedics standing, directing traffic, and tending the wounded in cold, wind, rain and sleet. Every time I witnessed this I have found myself wanting to take them a hot cup of coffee and tell them thanks.

So why now? Why publish my thoughts on the subject with no direct relationship to victims? Because I’m tired of police taking it on the chin for defending their own lives once in a while. Right now, in our sister city of Longview, three police officers have been placed on administrative leave because they were forced to shoot and assailant who was charging them with a butcher knife. According to the report I read, one of the officers first employed his Taser but it had no effect.

Since the incident the Longview city webpages have been the victimized by hackers trying to turn the incident into a social justice issue and spawn a protest. Personally, I know nothing about the ethnicity of the assailant who was killed, and I must say that I do not care. When a citizen, any citizen, attacks police or first responders, it is the right of those responders to protect themselves regardless of the assailants race, or that of the officer.

So my message to mr. tymples (the would be hacker and protest leader), is this: keep your teenaged rebellion and hatred of authority to yourself. The rest of us are having none of it.

So in the waning hours of 2014 I find myself not really in the mood to party. Instead I’m sitting and my kitchen table grading papers, drinking something warm and walking back and forth into the other room. Occasionally I glance at my television where drunken revelers in a faraway city are pretending to enjoy themselves while freezing, in anticipation of an illuminated glass orb slowing “dropping” about 30 feet or so without even a crash to show for it. And yes that maybe the most priggish paragraph I’ve ever written.

Why so sour? In all honesty I’m not. The fact is 2014 has been good me personally, very good. And I don’t mean so much financially. It’s been a year were I’ve seen some things in my life finally completed, that I’ll never have to go through again. So was 2014 better than 2013? Definitely.

But the same cannot be said for the nation. 2014 was a year that has brought more social and political unrest, both at home and abroad than any period since the 1960s. The country has been treated to new lies and scandal on what has seemed like a weekly basis. The world over radical terrorism is on the rise and the persecution of Christians in Iraq has created a new crop of martyrs, (may light perpetual shine upon them).

So what are the chances of a better year starting in a few short hours? I don’t know. If I consulted what I see around me, I have to say the odds aren’t good. But the fact is I try to walk by faith rather than sight. I find the unrest which surrounds me upsetting. The arrival of deadly new diseases to our shores, the prospect of new terror attacks at home, and the changing political structure in the country all make me fear for the world in which my son will grow up. On the other hand my life as it is, is far, far, better with far, far, more opportunity than that of 90+ percent of most of the humans who have ever walked the planet, and for that I’m grateful.

So what do I want to see in 2015? I can think of no better benediction than one of Franklin’s maxims: “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.” Happy New Year Tyler Texas. Whatever 2015 brings us, I have faith we’ll muddle through.

It’s not often that I look forward to seeing a movie that just comes out but I’m intrigued to see the film “American Sniper.” This movie is about Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL sniper who’s famous for his on-the-dot accuracy. He’s a hero to many people after having saved many people’s lives on the battlefield. Despite having a wife and kids at home, Kyle realizes it’s probably his country that needs him more as he serves four tours of duty.

The film was directed by Clint Eastwood and it stars Bradley Cooper who plays the role of Chris Kyle. It also stars Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner and more. The film is R-rated for violence.

The film has received mix reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal says, “Mr. Eastwood’s film lets this good anguished man speak for himself, and discover himself at his own pace.”

A.O. Scott of the New York Times says, “Less a war movie than a western-the story of a lone gunslinger facing down his nemesis in a dusty, lawless place- it is blunt and effective, though also troubling.”

Then finally, Claudia Puig said, “It’s clearly Cooper’s show. Substantially bulked and affecting a believable Texas drawl, Cooper embodies Kyle’s confidence, intensity and vulnerability.”