While Wanks (and I) laments the death of the 45 and 70s TV themes breaking the Top 10, a fun little 1970s football coach pictorial from SportsIllustrated.com, something to wile away the summer minutes. For the ‘bama fans here, I’d like to point out that you know I have the utmost respect for “Bear” when [...]]]>

While Wanks (and I) laments the death of the 45 and 70s TV themes breaking the Top 10, a fun little 1970s football coach pictorial from SportsIllustrated.com, something to wile away the summer minutes. For the ‘bama fans here, I’d like to point out that you know I have the utmost respect for “Bear” when I chose to let this slide-show start with him, and not linking to JoePa or the genius above to get it rolling.

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Jack Tatum, Safety for the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s has died at age 61 from complications of diabetes. Tatum is one of the figures that cements 1970s NFL Football as a quintessential American experience. He was ferocious… the only guy I ever saw who put the hurt on Earl Campbell one on [...]]]>

Jack Tatum, Safety for the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s has died at age 61 from complications of diabetes. Tatum is one of the figures that cements 1970s NFL Football as a quintessential American experience. He was ferocious… the only guy I ever saw who put the hurt on Earl Campbell one on one. Earl still scored but more so because he fell into the end zone than he ran in. Tatum knocked himself out in the hit also. That hit is covered in the above clip from NFL Network. I also remember his book, They Call Me Assassin, which I read when I was starting out playing football… it was a great read then. Let’s just say he didn’t like Lynn Swann and Franco Harris very much. He is probably best known for the hit that paralyzed New England receiver Darryl Stingley in 1978

He also played for Woody Hayes at Ohio State and was a key player in The Immaculate Reception as his hit on Frenchy Fuqua sent the ball back to Franco Harris.

Anyway… a too early demise and my condolences to his family, friends, and teammates and shame on the Hall of Fame for not inducting him in.

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It’s too bad I had to be up at the crack of dawn Saturday to get rocking on the family fun down in Encinitas, because I really wanted to comment on the whole storyline, notably Becky’s mom damning the abortion doctor as a “right-wing” nut-job just for mentioning it’s [...]]]> Spring-boarding out of the Monday Open Thread…

It’s too bad I had to be up at the crack of dawn Saturday to get rocking on the family fun down in Encinitas, because I really wanted to comment on the whole storyline, notably Becky’s mom damning the abortion doctor as a “right-wing” nut-job just for mentioning it’s his state duty to let the girl know about her options in the non-abortion route. That’s honestly the first time I’ve felt “gut-punched” as The Columnist Formerly Known as Dirty Harry would put it, by FNL, the “right-wing” slam. Never mind the doc was going to perform the abortion. Simply stating he had to let the girl know her other options makes him a conservative loon. The mom was in hysterics over her daughter’s pregnancy, though, so I quickly unclenched and enjoyed the rest of the show.

Also doesn’t hurt, as Outlaw very excellently mentions in the Open Thread, how the subject was handled — very balanced, with Tammy (the principal) heavily leaning her presentation of Becky’s choices towards life, and it never seemed “out of touch.” Additionally, Luke, the fling’s father, appeared shaken, disappointed and upset with Becky’s decision. Should be interesting where that goes (fingers crossed it will).

I also take a little umbrage with Newsbusters’ verbiage about FNL, which has taken it upon itself to not shy away from normally taboo subjects, especially this season. As I posted last month, how they handled one of the character’s father dying in Iraq was with the highest of grace and respect towards the military (Outlaw’s rightful dissatisfaction with the Army’s uniforms aside ). Minor quibble about FNL’s alleged reluctance, but a pick of a nit nonetheless.

If anything, FNL goes out of its way, and almost always has, to positively portray the importance of family, community and religion in its characters’ very Texan lives. Redemption a key component, too, whether it’s the philandering Buddy Garrity or steroid cheater “Smash” Williams in past seasons, to Matt Ceracen’s dealing with his distant Army dad’s death to Vince trying to better his thug life this season. More conservatives need to watch this show and applaud it just as loudly as the left has piggybacked itself to the abortion thread.

H/T Mighty Skip and Outlaw13

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Name your favorite local sports guys (or gals).  Because the WFive is all about taking you to Homer!Town.

5.  Tom Watson: An elegant golfer and man.  I love the fact that he’s still out there threatening, in his dotage.

4.  Len Dawson: Lenny the Cool stayed on [...]]]> This topic just came to me…out of a dream…or, uh, something.

Name your favorite local sports guys (or gals).  Because the WFive is all about taking you to Homer!Town.

5.  Tom Watson: An elegant golfer and man.  I love the fact that he’s still out there threatening, in his dotage.

4.  Len Dawson: Lenny the Cool stayed on as the local ABC sportscaster after he hung up his cleats.  He’s pretty much the Oracle at Delphi in my hometown.

3.  Kevin Harlan:  For years, the radio play-by-play voice of the Chiefs.  His signature line: “Oh BABY! what a play!!!” I sent him a letter when he left for Fox Sports, saying that the noise he was hearing was thousands of Kansas City fans throwing their headphones into the Missouri River.  He wrote me back! that note is still one of my most treasured possessions.

2.  George Brett:  Grown men wept the day he retired.  I still can’t watch that news conference without bawling like a baby.

1.  Tim Grunhard:  Who would ever have guessed — not me — that a center would be my football god?  A gritty, gutsy, ordinary joe who often literally bled for his team.  Now Grunny coaches high school boys: Zen and the Art of Leaving it All on the Field.

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and of course let’s not forget 10 cent beer night:

Ah hell… this is too much fun:

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While you’re busy watching your program rot from the Northwest, here’s a reminder that some coaches hang out with a better crowd than Snoop Dogg (nothing against the Dogg, however). Texas’ Mack Brown and Ohio State’s Jim Tressel have made several trips to Iraq together, usually making it a summer event. As you can tell, [...]]]>

While you’re busy watching your program rot from the Northwest, here’s a reminder that some coaches hang out with a better crowd than Snoop Dogg (nothing against the Dogg, however). Texas’ Mack Brown and Ohio State’s Jim Tressel have made several trips to Iraq together, usually making it a summer event. As you can tell, both are quite cordial.

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You’ll hear plenty of stories today about the “unprecedented” punishment handed to USC. You’ll hear Reggie Bush’s assertions that he did nothing wrong. You’ll hear the view that the NCAA is coming down hard and meaning business.

All of it will be wrong. USC was allowed to skate for years because the programs resurgence was too [...]]]>

You’ll hear plenty of stories today about the “unprecedented” punishment handed to USC. You’ll hear Reggie Bush’s assertions that he did nothing wrong. You’ll hear the view that the NCAA is coming down hard and meaning business.

All of it will be wrong. USC was allowed to skate for years because the programs resurgence was too good for the media and too good for college football. Rumors about Reggie Bush were circulating while he was still playing at USC. Almost immediately after his senior season, Yahoo Sports ran a report that Bush had been supplied with cars and that his family was living in a luxury apartment they couldn’t afford, nor had to, because they weren’t paying for it. Why did this investigation take six years to complete, when the basic details were known almost immediately after they happened?

Contrast this to the media and NCAA treatment of the Maurice Clarett allegations against Ohio State. Clarett impugned the whole program, which led to an almost immediate investigation, in which the program was completely cleared and what little sordid details found were actually reported by Jim Tressel and his staff at Ohio State. ESPN ran night and day coverage of Clarett, contrast that to USC, which stayed off the headlines until a punishment was imminent.

For months on end, there was treatment of Tressel as a renegade coach. They brought up his past quarterback at Youngstown State losing his eligibility. Never was it reported that this was another self-reported violation by Tressel, and that 10 years later the quarterback was finally finishing school – at Ohio State, where Tressel helped him into school and get an education.

Much different then the treatment Penn State took, where the media overnight nashed teeth over the new Nittany Lions and how a few risky kids had supposedly ruined Joe Paterno’s reputation. But Penn State and Ohio State aren’t glamor schools in L.A., a huge base for ratings.

Six years afterward, the NCAA’s punishment is meaningless. Bush is a millionaire, dating a celebrity, while playing back-up and still raking in huge endorsement deals. Pete Carroll is in the NFL, and USC’s horde of steroid-abusing linebackers are now getting DUIs and flunking drug tests in the NFL. If the NCAA, ESPN, the New York Times and everyone outside of Yahoo had done its job, Bush would have been a toiling mid-round pick where he belonged, he wouldn’t have disgraced the Heisman Trophy, and the NCAA would have some semblance of believability. USC would have been exposed years ago, and a group of kids who were in middle school when Reggie Bush was rolling in his Land Rover wouldn’t have to pay for his discretion.

But then, that would have cost a lot of people a lot of money, which is issue No. 1 for these so-called institutions of education. Once Texas, Oklahoma, et al join the Pac-10, or Nebraska, Notre Dame join the Big 10, look for a plethora of smaller sports like swimming and track to take the hit.

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