Of Legends, Leaders and a Change in Philosophy

Originally posted April 29, 2013, on IndySportsLegends.com.

Well, then. No more Legends and Leaders in college football.

If I had lowercased those “L’s” in the previous sentence, I think I could have been tarred and feathered, or at least considered as touched in the head. Instead, I’m among a lot of college football fans relieved to see the naming changes to the Big 10 conference.

Being a fan of the newest guy in town — that being Nebraska (I’m not counting Rutgers or Maryland as newbies until they actually start playing games in conference) — and probably because it’s how my brain is wired, I’m probably more wedded to a geographic alignment than others might be.

Having said that, I think the move makes sense from a rivalry perspective as well. The aforementioned Nebraska can still hook horns with next-door neighbor Iowa and have an annual clash with developing rival Wisconsin. Michigan, Ohio, Penn State? They can keep their rivalries without missing a year.

And allowances have been made for Indiana and Purdue, split by the new alignment, to play against each other in football each year. Other cross-division rivalries, however, won’t be played annually.

In all, there will be six division games and two cross-division games in 2014 and 2015. Come 2016, the number of cross-division contests will increase to three.

The aforementioned addition of Rutgers and Maryland has made for an interesting shift in philosophy among Big 10 leaders, or, shall we say, Commissioner Jim Delaney. When Nebraska was being wooed behind the scenes, the word was all about competitive balance. Geography was mentioned, but ultimately it wasn’t that big a factor in the finished alignment product. Now, though, it’s all about the geography. And this makes a lot of sense. There’s the rivalry aspect, but now there’s also the travel side of things both from a department budget and spectator standpoint.

There are some legitimate short-term concerns about how this impacts the conference’s in-house competitive balance, especially in football. Nebraska and Wisconsin are really the only powerhouses in the West, and you’re not sure what you will get out of teams like Iowa, Northwestern and Purdue from year to year…or game to game, for that matter. The West balance, if you can call it that, is in the middle of the pack. The East, though, is balanced at the top, with Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State all on a close-to-level playing field. Once Rutgers gets added, it could add itself to the upper echelon of division teams, skewing the competitive balance between divisions even more.

The other big question? How that competitive imbalance may affect the conference’s chances of moving forward in the new playoff system.

The answers obviously won’t come for some time yet. But you can’t argue the thought process behind the changes.

(I Wish I Could) Take a Walk on The Far Side

We’re now nearly 20 years down the road from when Gary Larson finally put his sketch pad aside, stored his pencils and stopped giving us his daily insight into his unique look at our world.

We are much worse off as a result.

It was an amazing 15-year run for The Far Side, the mainly one- or two-panel cartoon that featured weird, sometimes offhand, occasionally controversial meld of human behavior seen through the eyes of animals, aliens, the supernatural or even other humans. In some cases, it was the animals doing the very things we as humans (normally) despise in our own behavior.

I’m guessing nobody really thought of it when Larson’s new comic debuted, and I’m not sure Larson processed it until much later, but his cartoon was the perfect way to capture the foibles, hypocrisies and out-and-out strangeness of human existence.

There haven’t been a lot of comics in my life where I absolutely, positively had to read them every day. Dilbert was one, especially when I worked in a cubicle environment at the Lincoln Journal Star. Heathcliff was one when I was really young. And The Far Side was the other.

What does that say about my sense of humor? Probably that I’m weird and warped…and have been since I was a teenager. Being in media the past 17 years is no excuse for my immediate connection with Larson and his New World View. However, looking back simply adds another perspective why Larson was so relevant and so frickin’ funny at the same time.

The other thing I noticed very early on (and I’m not alone in this) was Larson’s columns may not have been connected from day to day, but the humor impact was cumulative. Eventually, you had your breaking point, that point where you curled up under a desk and howled with laughter until your sides cramped into place. Or you puked. Whatever your limit, it was only like hitting a reset button for Larson’s comic to infect your sense of self.

Man. I’m not sure what prompted me to write this. But I really miss The Far Side. It was an absolute original whose time was gone far too soon.

Lights

The Christmas lights are down at my house.

This is not a cause for celebration or a hey-look-at-me moment. But I’m realizing my thoughts about holiday decorations is changing as I get older.

Back in the day — some would say the prehistoric day — I wanted lights up all over the joint. We had several families in a five- or six-block stretch who literally lit up the night sky with lights, wall decorations, displays — you name it, right down to the holiday pink flamingos pulling Santa Claus, some of those folks had it.

I wanted something like that badly at our house. Badly. However, as my parents repeatedly told us once Thanksgivings went past and we actually felt unfull enough to go shop, a display like those would likely result in us having a new house…and not because we wanted one. On top of that, a yard display was effectively inviting the lower forms of humanity to pay a visit.

So I grumbled and shut up. Until the following Thanksgiving. And I resolved when I owned my home, I’d light up the night.

I also resolved to have a much better cash flow situation, but that’s for another blog.

Fast forward to this morning, when the 2012 Christmas lights were finally tugged down and thrown out. I kept thinking back to a conversation I had with a friend of mine last year, last residence, when he jokingly said I was shooting for Fourth of July lights. That made me think — a lot.

Why not have Fourth of July lights?

Heck, why not have all-season lights you can just leave up all year? Tape them in place, staple them in place, whatever. Just set ’em and forget ’em…until it’s time for a special occasion.

Laziness? Yes, there’s some of that involved. Available time factor? Absolutely. I love Christmas, and I still love decorating for it. As  a matter of fact, Christmas and July 4 are really the only holidays I don’t mind spending some time making the dwelling look festive.  But even though it really doesn’t take a long time to hang lights, if you’re having a 90-hour work week, well, work tends to bleed into your available prep time. It’s just the way life works. And for that reason alone, for the realization there are other individuals in my same boat, there should be a groundswell of support very soon for the all-season holiday lights.

Lighting companies, take note: It shouldn’t take that much to restructure the current light stands for this purpose (and make a fortune in the process).  Give us the option of strands: Christmas only or Christmas plus a combination of Halloween, Easter and July 4. Charge us extra for the deluxe package. Design the lights so we can flip a switch and thus have the desired lighting combination at our residences.

See? A money-making, time-saving idea all in one shot.

And at the end of the day, I can have my home lit up like a Christmas tree. All year long — or whenever I want it.

Frozen in YouTube: Sports Moments to Remember

Sports fans have games — and sometimes moments — that they remember vividly until they can’t remember anything. Here’s my list:

Baseball

1983: The O’s Finally Get It Done

The Orioles were giants of the 1970s — basically everywhere except in the title column. The Pirates denied them in 1971 and 1979 (the year I just about woke up crying because Game 7 went well past my bedtime…and, well, Baltimore lost). They were stuck fighting the Red Sox and Yankees (where have we heard that before?) for primacy throughout the decade. The 1983 team wasn’t supposed to be a contender, at least not that I can remember, but it got sultry steamy summery hot at the end of the regular season before steamrolling Tony La Russa’s White Sox and then Philadelphia. That wry grin of relief on Scotty McGregor’s face at the end of the World Series Game 5? Likely a result of the torture of losing the Pirates in Game 7 four years earlier.

1983: Pine Tar

I really wish I could find the Royals broadcast of this. By 1983, our family religiously listened to the Royals radio broadcasts — simply because, well, we could get three or four TV broadcasts every year. All I remember was pandemonium. Basically what you saw when George Brett was called out. Good thing the umps herded together like musk oxen. Otherwise things could have gotten really ugly.

1985: One Call

I missed the last few innings of the 1979 World Series. That didn’t happen this time. Dad never pushed his love of the Cardinals or Reds onto us, which made it convenient for the rest of us to root wholeheartedly for the Royals. And, matter of fact, Dad may well have cheered for the underdog KC because we all have a special place in our hearts for underdogs — unless they are a hated rivals. Any way you look at it, Don Denkinger will go to his grave as persona non grata in StL, but it didn’t help matters that Jack Clark misjudged Steve Balboni’s foul pop and a wild pitch pushed runners to second and third with one out. And once the Royals’ comeback was complete in Game 6, of course the underdogs flattened an unraveling Cardinals team in Game 7.

1988: Kirk Gibson

Another sports moment missed, but not because of bedtime. I was nasty sick for Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, but i made it through 8 1/2 before I finally zonked out. Of course, you know what happened. Vin Scully’s call was pretty cool, come to think of it, but Jack Buck nailed it.

2011: David Freese

I know. Wrong announcer reference. But holy cow.  And the upper-deck shot is a true YouTube moment to end an amazing baseball game.

Football

Since I really don’t have a true favorite team at the professional level, my moments surround Dear Old Nebraska U.

1970: Game of the Century I

OK, you didn’t have to be born yet (I wasn’t for another month or so) to realize this was one of the best games college football has seen. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Huskerland, Sooner Nation or anywhere. And Lyell Bremser’s call of the Johnny Rodgers punt return will stand the test of time for generations.

1984: Heartbreak in Miami

The Huskers were robbed. But they never would have been in a position to need a two-point conversion if they got off to a good start and Mike Rozier stayed unhurt.

1996: The Run

OK, find me a more impressive football run. Yeah, the game was in hand. Yeah, the Gator defense looked like it was on the boat with a Discovery Channel crew. But this…this was flat-out amazing.

Hockey

1980: I Believe in Miracles

No backstory needed.

1996: A 3-OT Cup Winner

Colorado wound up sweeping, and truly dominating, the series, but what a classic game. Regulation and four minutes into a third overtime before anyone scored. Chance after chance for both teams denied by John Vanbiesbrouck and Patrick Roy. Poo-poo the low-scoring games if you want, but this was desperation hockey on both ends by the time it finished and Stanley’s holy grail was handed off.

2006: Alexander the Great Undresses An Entire Team

I’ve seen amazing goals. I was looking for Chris Drury’s goal in the playoffs against the Kings in the 1990s for a case in point (one where he effectively sticked his way through both defensemen and scored on the backhand). Guess I’ll have to settle for this one from Alexander Ovechkin.  Just one of the most amazing feats of individual hockey ever. And, on a totally separate note, I really miss hearing Curt Keilback.

Loving Every Minute Of It…For Now

I know we haven’t closed out the first month of the major league baseball season, but right now I can look at the standings…close my eyes…and envision the early 1980s.

And you run….you run so far away…

Seriously, though, for Orioles and Royals fans (and I’m an unabashed if frustrated fan of both), this is heady stuff. The O’s, like everybody else in the AL East, are chasing the resurgent Red Sox, but they enter play today at a very respectable 13-9 through the first seven percent of regular-season games.

And the Royals? My goodness. Alex Gordon’s grand slam yesterday put the Royals atop the AL Central — atop the Central! — at 11-8.

How are they doing it? Well, for the Royals, it’s as expected. Bringing in James Shields has gone as expected as the innings-eater has gone deep in all his scheduled starts, but Wade Davis has been a pleasant shock as he returned to the starting rotation after serving as a reliever in Tampa. People keep waiting for the Jeremy Guthrie wheels to fall off, but he’s been solid. And even though Shields has been tough and Davis has surprised, the biggest rotation shocker has been Ervin Santana, who has looked mahvelous in all his starts save for the home opener.

Aside from a few hiccups, the bullpen has been strong, and now with Greg Holland stabilizing after a rocky beginning, things look pretty settled on the pitching front.

Actually, the Royals’ pitching has offset virtually all the offensive woes. Virtually, because despite a slow start from Billy Butler and an atrocious opening three weeks from Mike Moustakas, KC has done a better-than-average job of doing enough offensively to get wins.

Baltimore? The offense has come and gone, but one constant is a holdover from last year — and that’s the penchant to get extra-inning wins. Process this: the O’s won 16 straight extra-inning affairs last year until they ran into the hated, despised, loathed Yankees in the playoffs last year. The regular-season streak officially extended to 17 this year before a 6-5 loss to Toronto this week.

That’s not supposed to happen.

And the same could be said of Baltimore in general. Everybody said the O’s were a smoke-and-mirrors team last year. Run production wasn’t where it needed to be. Starting pitching was an issue. Guess what? Those concerns were valid then, and now that they seem to be in play this year, they are valid this season as well. But sometimes you just have to ride the storm out.

Fans of these franchises are understandably happy, but they aren’t giddy just yet. First, there are enough holes with both squads where things could go south in a hurry. It’s not just the nature of the baseball beast, though. It’s both the luck and, to a degree, the mojo or karma which has followed both franchises for close to 30 years.

But dude, when it’s going good, it’s good. And who knows? Maybe O’s and Royals fans can be turned loose this postseason.

I wanna flyyyyy, baby. Turn me loose.

Things I Have Seen Recently I Thought I Never Would Witness

You know the saying, “you learn something new every day?”

Well, the same can be said for seeing something new. And some things I’ve seen recently stick out a lot more than others.

1. The Boston Anthem

I referenced this a week ago after the Tsarnayev brothers allegedly planted the pressure-cooker bombs and New Englanders responded in a way I’ve never seen at the Bruins-Sabres game. In any other context, not realizing Bostonians gladly display their patriotism under normal circumstances, I would say it’s a shame it takes a bombing to get people to respond in that manner. This isn’t a shame. It’s an example.

2. Victor Martinez (Exit 4A in 0.5 miles)

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/victor-martinez-avoids-home-plate-collision-taking-turn-093026690–mlb.html

This is an absolute classic. Framing this discussion (and the video), Martinez was an outstanding catcher in his day. That day has passed, largely because of injuries he suffered behind the plate. Salvador Perez is not only one of the best catchers in the game now, but he’s a biiiiig man. I doubt the running debate over home plate collisions really factored into the Martinez exit, but if you’re out and you know it, and you know a crash with a bigger man could end very badly for your fading career, why not go straight to the dugout?

3. Um, Help Wanted?

Physical Requirements – Must be able to sit, stand, walk, talk, crouch, crawl, stoop, and hear frequently; must be able to frequently use hands to operate, finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or office machines; must be able to frequently reach with hands and arms;

No, not something out of Craigslist. That’s from the Blue Springs, Mo., municipal job postings. For a crime analyst. And public information officer. Same job, two positions. Insert joke here.

4. Professional Bowling…cheerleaders

Ratings are that bad?

Laugh It Up, Fuzzball…If You Dare

Last weekend, much of the on-air staff at KVOE Radio had an off-the-cuff discussion which developed into some new, well, developments with the Star Wars franchise. Much has been made about Disney taking things over from LucasFilms, but little has been divulged about exactly what’s to come.

I would like to humbly expand on an idea brought up at our meeting last week: Pair Harrison Ford with Sean Connery — or at least make sure Connery has a significant role in the new movies to come over the next five years or so.

The possibilities are close to endless. Can you imagine Connery voicing a droid? Or, perhaps, serving as a Jedi master? Heck, he could even be a mentor to Admiral Ackbar….teaching him to avoid all those traps, I guess.

Personally, I think Connery would be best on the bright side of The Force, although having him as a Dark Sider makes for some interesting role opportunities.

Now, on to the other major science fiction franchise. Star Trek is just about set to roll out Into Darkness, and the hype over Chris Pine’s upcoming battle to save the universe is reaching a fever pitch.

There’s good reason for that, too. It seems Capt. Kirk’s headstrongness will get him into all kinds of trouble when the movie debuts next month. But what about what’s next for the series as it moves ever deeper into the recesses of space?

I have an answer: Put Chris Pine up…against Clint Eastwood.

Talk about the ultimate showdown.  To me, Pine is as perfect as you can get to play Kirk (especially the snarky side of Kirk as opposed to the one who gets ridiculed for his speech patterns), so why not bring the reigning ultimate cowboy to space for a universe-depends-on-the-outcome faceoff? The grinning, egotistical, devil-may-care Kirk against the sneering, laconic villain…and trust me, Eastwood would kill that role if he wants it.

Who would be good to add to the Star Wars or Star Trek movie franchises? This inquiring mind wants to know. Anyways, live long and prosper….and find a way to channel The Force while you’re at it.

My Friends Knew This Was Coming (or Why My Favorite Band Belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)

“If I could wave my magic wand, I’d make everything all right.”
Rush/Presto

It finally happened. Rush is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony last week, to be honest, was a little embarrassing in that the long-disappointed Rush fans overwhelmed what was a very strong list of inductees. Look at the list. Heart, Public Enemy, Quincy Jones, Albert King, Donna Summer and others all helped to shape different music genres and broke barriers all over the place. For many on the list (and I’m thinking Heart, PE and Jones primarily), their contributions are right there for all to see.

What Rush did, how Rush got to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, how Rush became “cool” as Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl put it, was a lot different.

They toured (a lot) without widespread radio attention until much later.

They copied (hey, even I can admit that….their eponymous first CD was all Zeppelin and a lot of their 1980s stuff was completely synth pop/Police-influenced rock).

They wrote — well, Neil wrote — a lot of stuff that simply wasn’t airable on the radio (hey, you play “Cygnus X-1” during the morning drive and see what reaction you get).

They toured more. Their influences became more subtle, their sound became more their own, notably after Presto.

Heck, they frickin’ wore kimonos — almost right from the get-go — and dared you not to take them seriously.

And don’t forget Geddy Lee’s vocals, which originally sounded like a self-racked chipmunk on speed and now are in a much more agreeable range for music fans of all ages (including my daughter, who would just as soon listen to Taylor Swift).

From early on, it was apparent Rush could play with the best in the business. And as time went by, it should have become obvious Rush was finding its way towards music greatness.

For those who say Rush’s early days of copying music influences or performance styles are a reason to keep them out of the Hall, I say hogwash. That was a significant part of the band’s past, but that’s in the past. If you plan to leave out Rush strictly for that, then who gets in? It doesn’t matter if it’s the Black Keys, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin or Elvis…or Sinatra, Count Basie or Robert Johnson. Or Rush. Every band, every person, is the sum of its/his/her influences. Some are simply better at hiding those influences than others.

And to say Rush hasn’t impacted the music industry would also be incorrect, although that influence is far more evolutionary, more gradual than it has been for other music groups. Bands such as the Foo Fighters, Candlebox and Primus (to me, one of the most inventive, if also strange, bands of the last 25 years) have all pledged allegiance to the Starman family tree, although you may well have to strain to hear the musical ties.

No, Rush belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as much as any other band.

The honor comes as Rush is on tour supporting Clockwork Angels, a major nod to its roots with the sound of a band polished by road dirt, success, determination, experimentation, tragedy and perspective. It also comes with rumors flying this is indeed the last go-round for the Canadian rock trio. If that is the case, the induction will truly be a farewell to kings.

For once, the meek have inherited the music earth. And, for a short time anyways, they have assumed control.

Spring? It Ain’t Sprung Yet

Global warming? Really?

Spring hasn’t sprung yet — at least across the Midwest. It has sprouted, a few times, but then it has also frozen and died a few times already.

So far, the Flint Hills of Kansas have had four severe weather opportunities, which is probably a bit shy of normal now that we have past mid-April. Thankfully, we have missed the widespread severe weather threat. What has a lot of people grumbly, however, is our temperature roller-coaster ride. Warm, mild air one day, cold and blustery the next, stormy two days down the road, wintry mix the next morning.

This has been as messed-up an early spring weatherwise as I can remember.

Don’t believe me? Consider that Chase County, Kan., was in a severe thunderstorm warning and a winter weather advisory simultaneously two weeks ago. And Lyon County, Kan., just next door, is now preparing for storms followed by a rain-snow-thunder mix for the second time. In a week.

Eventually, Mother Nature will catch up to the calendar. Who knows when that will happen, though? It might this weekend. It might not be until late May, meaning two weeks of severe weather hell followed by our mid-July steambath.

Remember the adage, “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes?” Maybe that needs adjusting. For this year, anyways, the saying should be, “If you don’t like the weather, drive 50 miles…in any direction.”

Mother Nature, it’s OK. Let winter go. Let it go.