Starting Five

1. The Associated Press announces its college football All-America teams, Nos. 1-3. The first-teamers will be appearing on the Bob Hope Christmas Special along with Elke Sommer and Engelbert Humperdink — or as MH fave Archie Bunker once said, “Engelbert What’s-his-dink?”.

A childhood Christmas tradition for us at MH…

2. Number of Big 12 representatives on the three AP All-America teams: nine. Number of those nine who play for either Oklahoma or Texas: one, Sooner safety Tony Jefferson, who made the second team. The complete list of 2012 AP All-Americans.

3. Bryan’s Song: At the American Country Music Awards –not to be confused with the Country Music Awards or, for that matter, the Panamanian Country Music Awards — Luke Bryan both opened and stole the show. The Georgia native won — inhale — Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Single of the Year by a Male Artist and Music Video of the Year by a Male Artist…exhale. He also demonstrated how you rock a purple crushed velvet blazer.

Here’s a clip of Bryan’s hit single, “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”

4. Missed this yesterday, but Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona broke the single-year record for goals scored with his 86th over the weekend. The Argentine broke the record of Germany’s Gerd Muller, who scored 85 goals in 1972. You can see all 86 of Messi’s goals here.

Eighty-six Muller’s record

5. An NFL player, driving while intoxicated, is responsible for the death of his very best friend following a wee hours crash in Texas. An NFL player kills himself by firearm after being responsible for someone’s death. The last two weekends in the NFL? Yes, but also the tragic and still somewhat cryptic tale of former Houston Oiler and Notre Dame defensive lineman Jeff Alm. A starter on the 1988 Fighting Irish national championship team, the six-foot-six, 285-pound Alm lost control of his vehicle on December 14, 1993.  It was about 2:45 a.m. Alm and his passenger, Sean Lynch, a high school football teammate who was also his best  friend, were driving southbound on Intrastate 610 when Alm lost control of his 1993 Cadillac Eldorado on the exit ramp.

Alm with the Oilers

Alm making a tackle in the Catholics vs Convicts classic, 1988

When Alm discovered his friend’s lifeless body, he returned to the vehicle, pulled out a shotgun grip pistol, and fired one round into his own head. Jeff Alm was 25. 

Reserves

After 126 years of excellent print work, The Sporting News will go the way of Newseek and publish only a digital version starting January 1. This news was NOT “Caught on the Fly.”

We’re still not sure why the threshold for the highest tax rate needs to be as LOW as $250,000 er annum income nor are we sure why the rate for everyone at that threshold (personally, we’d put it at $400,000 for anyone living in NYC, San Francisco or Los Angeles) and above would or should be the same. Is Congress discussing this? And is it time to phone Mr. Wolfe? He’s 30 minutes away, but he’ll be there in ten.

Winston Wolfe: He solves problems

Saturday Night Live spoofs Obama and Boehner on the cliff of fiscality…