Editorial: Thumbs

To Albert Lea hockey moms.

Saturday was the fifth annual Hockey Day at City Arena, with many events for kids who play the game. However, we commend the organizers for the idea of having hockey moms of the Albert Lea HIgh School teams compete in a shootout. What a spectacle! Kudos to the moms who agreed to participate in this event, and thank you to all moms who support their children’s extra-curricular endeavors.

To the game of beanbag toss.

It’s about time someone locally took this popular party game and held a tournament. It requires participants to toss handheld beanbags into a hole cut into a wood platform. The game is just plain fun.

Wedgewood Cove today hosts what it calls the Super Bowl Beanbag Tournament, though, might we suggest, a better name would be the Super Hole Beanbag Tournament. Whoever came up with having this tournament on Super Bowl Sunday should get a gold star.

To Battle of the Bands.

Albert Lea sure is on a streak of good ideas, and here is another. Several businesses and organizations teamed up to hold a contest called the Battle of the Bands during Eddie Cochran Days in June. The location is slated to be at the north end of Bridge Avenue near AmericInn and Bergdale Harley-Davidson.

This is a good push to bolster the annual event, which celebrates rock ’n’ roll and classic cars. Growing this event could bring more of the best kind of economic revenue — tourist dollars. Why are tourist dollars so good? Because tourists spend their money at local businesses and then go away. They do not require much of a burden on our social services, schools and other aspects of government supported by taxes. The more Albert Lea can bring tourists to town successfully, the better.

To NFL labor strife.

Enjoy the Super Bowl today. With a lockout still looming if a deal between the players’ union and the owners is not struck by early March, today’s game could be the last that football fans get to see of the National Football League for some time. According to USA Today on Friday, there has been no progress in talks seeking to avoid the lockout. However, the two sides did meet Saturday, so maybe there will be some uplifting news when people get to watch the Super Bowl pregame show today. Our fingers are crossed.