by John Walters
Happy 47th to Michael Vartan, the guy who played the dreamy dude in a TV show that also had Bradley Cooper
Starting Five
1. Monmouth That Roared
Right along the Jersey Shore, not far from my (and Bruce’s) hometown, is Monmouth University. The men’s basketball team is now 3-1, with wins this month against UCLA and Notre Dame. Man, if only it were 1974 that would be awesome. Still pretty awesome, though, for the West Long Branch school.
The Hawks won at UCLA earlier this month. Last night they created their now Thanksgiving Day Massacree by taking down the No. 17 Irish, 70-68. The coach is King Rice, former UNC point guard in the ’80s.
2. Everybody’s Hurt….Sometimes
This is what a Tony Romo statue should actually look like
Wherefore art thou, Romo?
Back on the injured list.
Is it not easy being Green…Bay?
No, it isn’t. Not if you’re Aaron Rodgers and you hurt your left wrist being sacked.
Every quarterback in the NFL seems to get hurt except Tom Brady, and when you do hurt him, the Shield creates a new rule to make sure you never hit anyone that way again.
3. Mahomes on the Range
The son of a former MLB player, Mahomes has been a stud in his first full season as a starter
After Texas Tech defeated Texas last night, 48-45, I tweeted, “Texas Tech finishes 7-5. Imagine what their record would be if Kliff Kingsbury had offered Baker Mayfield a scholarship.”
The correct answer, as many Guns Up! aficionados replied, is, “Probably 7-5.”
As dumb as it may have seemed to not offer the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, Mayfield, a scholly, after he walked on and wowed in 2013, and as good as Mayfield is now — a legit Heisman candidate– the Red Raiders have a pretty decent QB of their own. Pat Mahomes, a sophomore, is 3rd in the nation in passing yardage per game (357 ypg) while TT is No. 2 nationally in Scoring Offense at 46.6 points per game.
Mayfield has led the Sooners to a 10-1 record while also being a whole lot of fun to watch
The problem, of course, is that the Lubbock lugs play no D: they’re 122nd in the nation in Scoring Defense, allowing 42 ppg. How does that happen?
I’m not sure if TT would be better off with Mayfield than with Mahomes. They’d be far better off with even a decent defense. So, yes, I messed that one up.
4. Bye, Guy
Farewell to one of the legendary college hoops coaches, Guy Lewis. In 30 seasons of coaching at his alma mater, Houston, Lewis compiled a 592-279 record. But that is why he may never be forgotten. No, he was a coach in two of the most memorable games in hoops history: He was on the court on January 20, 1968 in the Houston Astrodome for the “Game of the Century” with UCLA, the first college hoops game broadcast nationwide in prime time. Houston and Elvin Hayes prevailed over UCLA and Lew Alcindor.
Fifteen years later, he was on the losing end of the greatest upset in NCAA championship game history, as N.C. State upset his Phi Slama Jama squad of Akeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Michael Young (and don’t forget Reid Gettys).
Lewis also loved towels, though not quite as much as Jerry Tarkanian. He was 93.
5. Stormtroopers: B4 Star Wars
Notice the helmets. They have that same shell design as Lord Vader’s
Before there was the Death Star, there was Nazi Germany. Before there was Darth Vader (“Dark Father”), there was Adolf Hitler. And before there were the Stormtroopers, there were…Stormtroopers.
In German, the term is “Stermabteilung” (I would’ve flunked German), but the translation is “stormtroopers.” This group of soldiers were the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, using any and all tactics to enforce and intimidate. It’s probably not a coincidence that George Lucas gave Lord Vader’s henchmen this name, though it’s a reference that may be lost on a lot of people these days.
Music 101
912 Greens
This tune, by folk progenitor Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, tells the story of the author’s first visit to New Orleans. Elliott was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn — born in 1931, and still alive today– who ran away to join the rodeo and eventually became a cohort of Woody Guthrie’s. He is credited with having a tremendous influence on a young guitarist from Minnesota named Bob Dylan, whom he refers to as his “adopted son.”
Remote Patrol
Iowa at Nebraska
ABC 3:30 p.m.
Baylor at TCU was supposed to be the “Game of the Year,” but as each game will feature third-string QBs and neither team will make the playoff, I’m going with Lincoln and the B1G. The Hawkeyes are undefeated, but Nebraska has already taken down the B1G East champs this season. Why not the B1G West champs as well?
Did you watch either of the Pilgrim shows I mentioned? I was able to watch all of the PBS doc (far too much on Bradford but still good) but fell asleep AGAIN during the mini-series, in the EXACT SAME SPOT! Not once, but twice more! Can’t believe it; ‘something’ is trying to prevent me from seeing the last 1.5 hours of that mini-series. Weird.
Anyhoo, besides having my fill of, er, “filling” (as we call it back home) & Pilgrims yesterday, I learned quite a few things. Mostly about the Pilgrims but also that the Boston settlement had nothing to do with the Plymouth group (how did I not know this?!). AND, that if I ever suffer from insomnia, all I need to do is record & play the late Roger Rees’ reading of Bradford’s Plymouth journal & I am out within 2 minutes, tops. I don’t yet know what exactly in the drama series put me to sleep (not once, not twice, but 3 separate times), but it’s right after they cut the one Indian’s head off. (The PBS doc said they put it on a spike at their place & kept it there for YEARS – those Puritans may have been ‘religious’ but had NO qualms about killing “savages” & then showing all their handiwork. Of course, this was done back in England for centuries, not of “savages” but of criminals; it was an early version of a crime/invasion deterrent & no one asked if it “worked” back then). Also, there is some “mystery” how Bradford’s 1st wife died on the ship (anchored in the bay at the time & Bradford was onshore with the other men, scouting out a possible settlement site). The deck was icy that rainy night & she supposedly “slipped overboard”. Hmm, how does one slip OVER a 4 ft railing? She’d been having a “difficult time” so it seems she may have been America’s 1st suicide.
Moving on to tomorrow’s big CFB day, another day to “stuff” one’s self, not of food but “rivalry games”. Whoo-hoo! I know I’m jumping ahead one holiday but I have a Wish List! I will be hoping/rooting for the following to take place over the next 2 weeks : Clemson loses to UNC in the ACC championship, Bama loses either to Auburn tomorrow or FLA in the SEC championship, Iowa loses to Nebraska, Mich State either loses to Penn State tomorrow or loses to now-beaten Iowa in the Big 10 championship, & Okl St beats Oklahoma. And of course, the Buckeyes & the Irish defeat their foes tomorrow by flinging said foes overhead & stomping on their innards (i.e. total beat downs). If all but the Bama loss (not betting the house on that one) occur, I think the way back to the Playoffs has been re-paved for both Ohio State & Notre Dame! Don’t you think? Hm, don’cha, hm, don’cha? (Yes, I’m like the irritating kid in the back seat repeatedly asking “are we THERE YET?”)