Bowled over...
Out of all the bowl games played over New Year's weekend, two stand out: the Rose and Fiesta Bowls. The Trojans of USC proved that there was no debate on whether Michigan deserved another shot at Ohio State in the BCS championship game, one week from today. Two Jersey boys named Jarrett and Cushing took care of that along with QB John David Booty - all 3 dominating play in a 32-18 whipping of the Wolverines...
In the Fiesta Bowl, #9 Boise State proved it belonged in the BCS with a dramatic display of trick plays that gave the Broncos an exciting 43-42 win in overtime over #7 Oklahoma. They called it one of the most dramatic finishes in BCS history as the Broncos and Sooners combined for 22 points in the final 86 seconds of regulation. Boise State is one of two unbeaten teams at 13-0. The other is Ohio State (12-0). While you can't compare the strength of schedules between the 2 teams, should Ohio State lose to Florida in the BCS championship game, look for Boise State to finish in the top 5. Hey, you might even get some arguments that Boise State should have been in the championship game. All this for a team that plays its home games on a blue field which should carry a TV warning of "Do not adjust your sets, this game is being played on a blue field, it's not your television"...
More on football and the Bob Knight record in my commentary. Today's video link is in glorious black and white and features Larry Williams who was in the news on this date in 1980: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpoVabX3ukE
Timeline Memories...
- [1870] Construction begins on the Brooklyn Bridge (the bridge took over a decade to complete, opening in May of 1883. If there's a prettier bridge in the world, I don't know where it is)...
- [1960] Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination...
"Happy Trails": 1980] Larry Williams of "Short Fat Fannie" and "Bony Maronie" fame is found dead in his Los Angeles home (the gunshot wound to his head is never confirmed to be the result of suicide. Our video link shows Larry doing "Short Fat Fannie" live on an unknown TV show. He was an incredible showman as evidenced by his moves in the video)...
"Busted": 1872] Brigham Young, 71-year old leader of the Mormon Church is arrested on a charge of bigamy for having 25 wives (24 was the limit at the time)...1968] Newark (NJ) police confiscate an entire shipment of John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Two Virgins" LP, which showed a full frontal nude photo of the couple. The albums are then wrapped in plain brown paper and placed at retail (how much could you fetch for the original album art on ebay today?)...
"Guilty as Charged": 1935] Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby. Hauptmann is found guilty and executed in New Jersey...1979] The trial of ex-Sex Pistol Sid Vicious for the October 1978 murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen opens in Manhattan. Vicious will die from a heroin overdose and not live to hear the verdict...
The Final Curtain: 1983] The musical "Annie" closes on Broadway after 2,377 performances (no worries, the show always returns)...same year] The final edition of Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" becomes "Doomsbury" but will return in 1984...
Debuted on this date: 1938] Simon and Schuster is founded (Simon and Garfunkel are not born yet)...1948] Channel 13 (WNDT) begins broadcasting in the New York metropolitan area (call letters will change to WNET and then finally Wsendusallyourmoney-TV...
| Premiered on this date: 1962] The nighttime version of "Password" with Allen Ludden premieres on CBS-TV (Ludden was married to Betty White)... Cha-Ching: 1965] Alabama QB Joe Namath signs a 3-year, $427,000 contract with the New York Jets (standing under the goalpost of the Orange Bowl where his team lost to Texas one day earlier)... #1 on this date: 1984] The Bernie Kosar-led Miami Hurricanes beat Nebraska 31-30 for the national title as coach Tom Osborne's attempt at a 2-point conversion fails...1987] Penn State (which also won a bowl game yesterday) intercepts Miami's Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde 5 times on their way to a Fiesta Bowl win (14-10) to give coach Joe Paterno his 2nd national title in 5 seasons. Testaverde threw a TD pass in Sunday's Patriots win over Tennessee for a record-breaking 20th season in a row, which is pretty remarkable... [To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in each timeline]... Commentary... Yesterday was a big day for coaches. Congratulations to Bobby Knight for setting a new record for most victories by a college basketball coach with his 880th win when Texas Tech beat New Mexico by a basket. In the understatement of all-time, Knight said "I don't expect you people to have agreed with what I've done and if I did care, I would have asked your opinion". Okay, let's look at what he's done: hit a policeman, threw a chair across the court, wrapped his hands around the necks of more than one player, yet never gets in trouble for breaking NCAA rules. On the plus side: his school's always have a high graduation rate, he gave his salary back a few years ago because he didn't think he'd earned it and...ya know what?, that might be it. He does win games as a coach though... |
More coaches in the news: Dennis Green (Arizona) and Jim Mora (Atlanta) lost their jobs. Still on the hot seat are: Art Shell (Oakland) and Romeo Crennel (Cleveland) and one coach, Nick Saban (Miami) who's been offered the Alabama job for big bucks ($40 mil for 7-years) and one coach (Bill Cower of Pittsburgh) who may call it quits...
The worst news coming out of football is the death of Denver cornerback, 24-year old Darrent Williams killed after attending a party at a Denver club at 2 a.m. I heard a quote just this morning and I wish I could remember who said it, but to paraphrase: "no good can come from being out on the streets after midnight". Let's not be mistaken, Williams didn't deserve to lose his life but that sounds like good advise to me. I hope it inspires athletes to think twice before doing it...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
(Oh) Taye Diggs (36), Christy Turlington (38), Cuba Gooding Jr. (39), Tia Carrere (40), Lynn Suzanne Phillips Brough (43), Jim Bakker (68) and Julius LaRosa (77)...
Timeline Countdown: 4 days until the NFL playoffs, 6 days until the BCS championship game, 33 days until Super Bowl XLI and 44 days until 'pitchers and catchers'...
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