2003?

For whatever reason, I recently watched game 5 of the 2003 AL Playoff series between the Sox and Oakland A's. The Sox won the game, 4-3, as Derek Lowe struck out the last two batters he faced (the final one with the bases loaded) to complete Boston's comeback from an 0-2 deficit, repeating their feat of 4 years earlier against Cleveland.

An interesting game to watch, particularly to be reminded of the many players who have moved on. Todd Walker? Damian Jackson? Others, of course, were cornerstones of the 2004 team -- Manny, Mueller, Millar, Varitek, Nixon and David Ortiz. (An interesting episode occurs during the broadcast when Fox analyst Steve Lyons suggests -- with a straight face -- that the A's should walk Manny to get to Ortiz).

Naturally, I knew who won the game and (pretty much) recalled how it had ended, but over five years most of the details had escaped me. I had forgotten completely about the Damon - Jackson collision in center field, for example. Most ironic, however, was the decision of He Who Must Not Be Named to leave Pedro Martinez in the game to start the eighth inning with a 4-2 lead. Two batters later, it was 4-3, and the Sox turned to Alan Embree and then Mike Timlin to finish out the inning with no further damage. Ironic (and all the more confounding) in terms of what would happen about ten days later. I may never forgive Grady Little...

The Original Uncle Jesse (1921-2008)

Jesse Helms, who represented North Carolina in the US Senate for 30 years, died on July 4th. Much has (and will) be written about him. For me, the timing is somewhat ironic --

You may have recently read about the rescue of FARC hostages by the Columbian Army, a group of 15 that included 3 Americans. Some of you may recall the New Tribes Missionaries who were kidnapped in 1993 by the FARC and, after more than eight painful years of waiting by their wives and families, were determined in 2001 to have been martyred in the late 1990's (more details here).

Not knowing this at the time, of course, their story was of some interest to me on a variety of levels, and as I developed my first website circa 1997 (no links exist -- thankfully), I added a page with information and links on this story, encouraging visitors first of all to pray, and also to contact government and media officials.

The likelihood of their safe release seemed remote, but I was more discouraged by the lack of attention the story was receiving (part of this, I later learned, was due to the wishes of the families themselves; it wasn't until later in the decade that they became more proactive, including an appearance by all three wives on Larry King Live).

In any case, I sent e-mails to various parties, including leaders of the House and Senate, the US State Department, and media organizations. I received exactly one reply -- from Jesse Helms, then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The letter -- which I probably have around here somewhere -- didn't say much, and, in truth, Helms couldn't really do much. But the fact is that he took the time to write, or have one of his staffers, write a reply to a person who wasn't even a constituent who had contacted him about a relatively obscure issue.

When you are principled, you are bound to be controversial, and Helms certainly was both. But, naive though it may be, I can't but help that Jesse Helms actually cared about his country and the people he represented both as a North Carolina senator and a national figure. Thanks, Jesse. Rest in peace.

Off the Wall

Here's a link to that bizarre play on 7/4/08 that left Kevin Youkilis' fly ball resting atop the outfield fence at Yankee Stadium.

Thirty Years Ago

Hard to believe it's been thirty years since the death of Bob Crane (nice plug, Brenda -- where'd you get that picture, anyway?)

A lot has been written, blogged and filmed about the way he lived his life and, of course, how he died. I prefer to remember him as the wise-cracking, unflappable and inventive leader of a talented band of POW's fighting their own battles of WWII behind enemy lines. This, as has been written, is his legacy.

During my convalescence I worked through a few seasons of Hogan's Heroes in my DVD collection. I've seen every episode countless times, but I never cease to be amazed at the degree of creativity and originality of the series and its individual episodes. A few production flaws creep in from time to time, but even a "low-grade" episode of HH is 100 times better than most of the garbage that's in prime time today. Oh, and remember when TV shows actually ran a full 25 minutes instead of 18?

Crane, as Col. Hogan, was the centerpiece of one of the most inspired casting calls in TV history. Now, of the original core group, only the Frenchman and the Englishman are left (see here), but their most notable and public achievement will run forever (or at least until DVD's become obsolete).

Bob Crane would be a few weeks shy of turning 80 if he were alive today. I think this afternoon I'll crack open another season in his honor...

Home of Champions

A photo of the famous T-shirt (referenced below) from 1986. I still miss that old Patriots logo...

I have no idea what happened to the handsome young gentleman who's wearing it; he hasn't been heard from in awhile.

For that matter, I couldn't tell you where the shirt is, either. Last seen it was adorning somebody's college dorm room:

Biking to Work

K-Lo at The Corner brought this to my attention. Reminds me of what I did myself for ten years, when I was young, energetic and had two functional legs...

Ah, memories...

George Carlin (1937-2008)

In 1985, on a flight from Dulles to O'Hare, I was tuning through the "pipe music" (when headsets were still free) when I first encountered the comedy of George Carlin. The material obviously had to be moderated due to open access, yet it was no less enjoyable. It is this earlier, PG-rated Carlin that I remembered most. Over the next few years, old friend JB fed me a steady diet of equally-moderated material, which I in turn passed on to long-suffering classmates and associates, to the point where I included a quote from Al Sleet (The Hippie-Dippie Weather Man) on my high school yearbook page, and even downright plagiarized some of his material in a newspaper mock-up for a tenth grade English project.

On the legendary trip to Botswana a short time later, Wethead had brought his boombox along and hooked up a microphone so he and the Hose could narrate and sing along as they felt inclined. At one point, Hose shoved the mic in my face and asked me announce what station we were listening to. Without missing a beat, I announced that "you're listening to W-I-N-O, the Big Sound in the Big City -- WONDERFUL WINO RADIO!"

Then, as a freshman in college, I was sitting in a Bioscience Lab one Tuesday evening when a classmate started talking about his experience in Catholic school vis-a-vis Carlin's reminisces in routines such as "I used to be Irish-Catholic." I think I can get along with this guy, I surmised. We would be in each other's weddings, and we are still friends today, twenty years later.

Ah, yes -- plenty of good stuff. Son of WINO -- Class Clown -- The 11 O'Clock News -- Baseball & Football -- The Hair Piece -- A Place for My Stuff! -- People I Can Do Without -- and more...

But it was around this time (mid- to late-1980's) that Carlin's comical cynicism evolved (or deteriorated) into unambiguous nihilism, the ultimate (and natural) outgrowth of his atheism.

And nihilism, once you get past the first uncomfortable guffaw, really isn't all that funny.

Perhaps this is evidence that comedy (like just about everything else) might cause a momentary pleasurable sensation, but when lacking any semblance of a moral foundation, it only leaves you empty and searching for meaning. This is how Carlin leaves us -- the laughter has stopped and as we catch our breath we look back only to see a desolate wasteland of nothingness. Though he would never admit it publicly, he was undoubtedly having the same vision as the curtains -- both literal and figurative -- fell.

The Schill is Gone

If indeed this is the end for Curt Schilling, it marks the end of a colorful and eventful career that provided plenty of material for hometown (and national) journalists to cover. Boston scribes were delighted this past off-season when "The Big Lug" re-upped with the Sox for another season -- not (necessarily) because the Sox needed another starting pitcher, but because they knew they'd always have something to write about.

The question of Schill's HOF chances is something else altogether. Were the BBWAA to have a sudden jolt of sanity and allow me to vote on such matters, I honestly don't know how I'd decide. Sentiment aside, his statistics initially don't impress me. However, if you factor in his phenomenal postseason record and the fact that he compiled his records (apparently) free of any performance-enhancers and during an era during when hitters prospered, a fairly strong case can be made.

Speculation is all over the place. We'll just have to wait and see. And, of course, he could still come back next year...

Make my day...

Fellow members of the VRWC who are also interested in movies might want to check out Dirty Harry's Place.

Recent entries include the Top 5 Gene Hackman Films, exposing a cheap-shot in the new Pixar Release "Wall-e," and pieces on Brad Garrett and Ted Nugent.

Greatest of the Green

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe -- and author of several books on the Celtics -- has compiled a list of the 10 greatest Celtics teams.

I tend to agree with his ranking of the 1985-86 team as #1, followed by this year's champions. What's interesting, however, is that 3 of the 10 teams listed (including #3) did NOT win championships.

How it started...

One more thought before we close the book (for now) on 1986 --

The Sporting News described 1986 as the year "The Button was Stuck on Boston." Beginning with the Patriots' appearance in Super Bowl XX (against the 1985 Chicago Bears -- 'nuff said), continuing with the Celtics' championship in June, and concluding with the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series (and one of the greatest baseball Octobers ever). It was a great time to be a Boston-area sports fan, even at a distance. Somewhere I still have my "New England -- Home of Champions" T-shirt...

Anyway, with the Celtics having taken care of business (and the Lakers) this week, it is almost certain that this decade will be remembered in a similar fashion, but on a much greater scale -- six titles and counting, not to mention several additional championship-level appearances (ie Red Sox in 2003, Celtics in 2002), and a pretty good Boston College football team.

Just like 1986, however, the first decade of the 21st Century -- the decade that will be dominated by Boston-area sports -- it began with the team from Foxboro. Not having the tradition of the Celtics or the feverish, nation-wide, maniacal devotion of the Red Sox, it was the Patriots that kicked things off (so to speak) on February 3, 2002. And the decade's not over yet...

Back-to-Back to Glory

Around 20 years ago (probably 1987), old Salad friend JB mailed me a copy of a "Profile" he had prepared on himself for publication over an early version of the Internet that allowed him to communicate ("chat") with people on other college campuses. It included stuff like nicknames, interests, favorite foods, hobbies, musical tastes, etc. So, one day, having nothing better to do, I sat down at my word processor and pounded one out for myself.

Emulating as always the great JB, one of the topics was "Goal in Life." I answered something like my Goal in Life was to see the Red Sox win the World Series, the Patriots win the SuperBowl, and the Celtics win back-to-back NBA titles.

Bear in mind the following -- Larry Bird was still playing and the Celtics had captured a recent title in 1986, so the mere act of winning a single title wasn't much to get overly excited about. But winning Back-to-Back titles -- well, that hadn't happened since 1969, and as of 1987 only the Celtics and the Minneapolis Lakers had accomplished such a feat.

Also bear in mind that this was (slightly) before the Lakers (now LA), Pistons, Bulls, and even the Houston Rockets made winning back-to-back titles (even "Three-Peating") relatively routine (see the list of champions here).

Finally, bear in mind (please) that my Goal(s) in Life have evolved (hopefully, matured) in the past twenty years.

Still, it's interesting to reflect that the Celtics are now halfway towards achieving that last piece of the Goal that I held dearly as a teenager. Not too many people get this lucky. If they stay healthy, I'm not sure who can stop them next year. Then again, there could be a team out there somewhere that will make a similar series of off-season moves to come out of nowhere. Enjoy it while you can -- you never know when the next one is coming around...

Back to Glory

For whatever reason, I remember this SI cover from 1986 depicting the Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup that year after a mere 7-year absence (Les Habs won the Cup again in '93 -- again, 7 years later).

This cover has been on my mind in recent months and now, finally, another professional sports franchise, also rich in tradition and titles, has won the championship in its league for a record 17th time.

I wonder if SI is planning anything similar for its next cover?

2-3-2 vs. 2-2-1-1-1

One thought as we sit here a few hours from Game 5 of the NBA finals, with the Celtics holding a 3-1 lead -- the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the Finals (only) in 1985 in the name of reducing travel. The Celtics protested, both before and after they lost the finals to the Lakers that year in 6 games. (The Celtics were largely done in by their failure to win Game 2 at home earlier in the series, after performing the Memorial Day Massacre in Game 1).

The Celtics objected in the past (philosophically or otherwise) that Game 5 was of equal or greater significance than Game 6, and thus the higher-seeded team should host Games 5 and 7 instead of 6 and 7. Anyway, I find it interesting that the Celtics could win the Finals tonight in Game 5, but under the 2-3-2 format that game is in LA instead of Boston.

Bob Ryan wrote an article on this subject in 2005.

Just some idle speculation I wanted to throw out before tipoff. You never know...

In Memoriam

B103, the Washington Monument, 1994, Psalm 63, Sometimes by Step, Traditions of Christmas, New Year's Day, Flag Day and Father's Day will always belong to you.

And, of course, number 186 (#203 for those of you scoring at home).

Always missed, never forgotten, forever a part of our lives.

We'll see you soon!

Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Many people have mentioned Tim Russert's use of a whiteboard to calculate potential Electoral Vote outcomes during the first night of the 2000 Presidential Election. Few, however, probably know that Russert appeared on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show a short time before Election Day and speculated that the polling was so close that the media might have to resort to this type of device when the returns started coming in. Russert was in a way nostalgic, almost salivating over the possibility that he might get to observe and report on an election that would require old-fashioned techniques.

I never saw much of Meet the Press, but I always found Russert to be a highly informed, entertaining and, most importantly, nearly prejudice-free commentator on a subject which he clearly enjoyed greatly. He is one of the last of his kind, and he will be missed, particularly this election year. RIP.

Thank you -- again

Here we are between Memorial Day, D-Day and Flag Day, so an appropriate time to again say THANK YOU to all who served, and all who continue to serve around the world. We will never forget your commitment, effort and sacrifice.

Turning Point

A few days late, but I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the 64th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. Do yourself a favor and (1) Take some time to view a movie or documentary on the subject (The Longest Day is a personal favorite; also a pretty good book); (2) Read this article by Dave Kopel (late of NRO) on the outlook if Normandy had failed.


Finally, it's worth speculating how those that pass themselves off as "journalists" in the mainstream media would have reacted had they been reporting on June 6, 1944. Roger Kimball at Pajamas Media provides us with one interesting piece; the comments which follow are also worth reviewing.

Achilles in Albany

One final hoops-related note before I log off for the night --

I was at a conference in Puerto Rico earlier this week. My wheelchair was the spark to several conversations, including one with a product specialist. What followed were several layers of irony --

1. His specialty is Disability Insurance.
2. He himself had ruptured his right Achilles Tendon 25 years ago.
3. At the time of the injury he was approximately the same age I am now.
4. It occurred during a pick-up basketball game (check).
5. ...in Albany NY (near the home of Mrs. Salad and near where we lived in our first year of marriage).
6. The pick-up game was highlighted by the regular participation of the young head coach of the Albany Patroons, Mr. Phil Jackson (again, about the same age at the time) who is now coaching a team in California or somewhere out west...I know it's been in the news...

Hopefully, the similarities end there. Not only did he re-rupture the same tendon several months later, but his leg has never fully recovered. We'll see...

Finally

I never really hated the Lakers, at least when I was following pro basketball back in the Bird-Magic days. Perhaps I was too far removed geographically to get sucked into the vitriol. I was, after all, in Kruger National Park in South Africa when I received word via shortwave that the Lakers had won game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals, winning the trophy at the expense of the Celtics.

Or perhaps it was because my best friend at the time was a Californian who, naturally, favored the dominant West Coast team. My memories of twenty years ago might be a little hazy, but I only recall having (albeit grudgingly) respect for them, and even rooting for them when they faced off against the Pistons and Bulls in later years. It's hard to believe, but perhaps I was prescient enough to realize in the 80's that the Bird-Magic / Celtics-Lakers rivalry was pretty special.

Again, just consider the amount of talent on both teams. And the coaches. And the front offices. And the die-hard fans, including multiple celebrities, in two cities that were about as far removed geographically and demographically as you could imagine. The balance sheet of the Bird-Magic era might give the edge to the Lakers (5-3 in championships, 2-1 head-to-head), but a missed shot here or an avoided injury there could have easily turned that around, and fans of both teams should realize that by now. One final twist is how it's interesting that the centerpieces of both teams were natives of neither Coast, but heralded from the Midwest.

It really was a special time, and while the current incarnations of these teams have plenty of talent and should give us a competitive series, we're nowhere close to where we were 20 years ago. Ah, nostalgia...

Sweet Sixteen

I dug out this picture of the 1985-1986 Celtics, referenced below. The amount of talent in this picture is ridiculous. At least six are in the Hall of Fame (Red Auerbach, KC Jones, Bird, McHale, Parrish & Walton), and the fact that the late Dennis Johnson is still kept out of Springfield is downright embarrassing. Think about it for a minute -- Larry Bird and (a healthy) Bill Walton on the same team. Good grief.

Had Walton not suffered a fluke injury the next season, and tragedy not intervened with the Celtics' #1 draft pick that offseason, I feel confident speculating that they would have not only won the '87 and perhaps '88 championships, but several more along the way until Larry retired.

Sixteen going on Seventeen

In the early 1990's, when the NY Yankees were abysmal, I heard a broadcaster (who, like yours truly, had been raised in Maine as a Red Sox fan) point out that "baseball needs the Yankees." His implication was that a strong, competitive team in the Bronx would go a long way towards drawing fans back to a game that was awash in its own mediocrity. Does anybody even remember that the Toronto Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series during that time?

I was sixteen when the Boston Celtics won their last NBA Title, with arguably the greatest team of all time (certainly in the top 5 on any thinking fan's list). The next year, the made it back to the finals but fell to the LA Lakers in six games. With the Celtics (and, for a time, the Lakers) falling out of the championship picture for twenty years, I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I haven't watched an NBA game with any seriousness during that time -- certainly since Larry Bird retired. Regardless of what happens over the next two weeks or so, it's good to have them back.

1992 Flashback

Just a brief thought as I sit here in Puerto Rico during the waning days of the (apparently) endless Democratic primary season. Am I the only one who finds it ironic that the leaders of the late Clintonista regime are upset with the media for (according to them) favoring a young, relatively unknown, and inexperienced candidate whose resume would fit on the back of a business card, whose only asset is his charisma and youthfulness -- over (again, according to them) a seasoned, experienced senior veteran of a previous presidential administration and eight-year member of the US Senate?

Not that I'm picking sides here (I'd rather move to France): The irony comes from my 1992, when one could argue with some credibility that the roles were somewhat reversed.

I haven't heard anybody else make this observation yet, although I can't be the first. The Clintons' predecessor has to be enjoying this on some level.

Oh well -- back to the beach...

Welcome Back, Kapler

One of the heroes of the 2004 Red Sox, Gabe Kapler (#19) returned to Boston this weekend as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. I came across this article from the Boston Globe. I had forgotten that Kapler ruptured his Achilles tendon in September 2005 (on a home run by Tony Graffanino) and returned to play in June 2006, roughly nine months later. My prognosis to full recovery is 9-12 months, but I lack (somewhat) Kapler's overall fitness, so it might take me a little bit longer than him...

His Wikipedia biography makes interesting reading. He and his wife Lisa have also founded the Gabe Kapler Foundation to fight domestic violence.

Ice-Cold Battle

My current state of incapacitation limits my activities, so I've been working through my book and movie collection and recently watched Miracle for the fifth or sixth time. Knowing the ultimate outcome, one might expect that the conclusion could not help but be at least a little disappointing. However, it's interesting how this film "grows" on you. Most signifcantly is how the actors seemlessly become the real-life characters they're portraying. Kurt Russell is Herb Brooks. Patrick O'Brien Demsey is Mike Eruzione. While there are remarkable action sequences and a (more or less) true-to-life script, this is probably the film's greatest achievement.

Also notable is how the filmmakers succeed in placing the event in its proper context. The opening title sequence is nothing short of brillant -- almost certainly the best I've ever seen (the error about the 26th Amendment not withstanding). This is an inseparable part of the story. Miracle on Ice, the made-for-TV movie produced within a year of Lake Placid, wasn't nearly as weak as some have characterized it, but nonetheless came too soon on the heels of the event for its consequences to be fully understood. Thus, the earlier film (with the great Karl Malden as Herb Brooks) could talk about how exceptional it was for the US to beat the USSR in hockey (whoops -- gave away the ending), but was not far enough removed to properly juxtapose the event amongs the despair of the 1970's and the depths of the cold war. Not only did the teams represent countries that hated each other, but the team that emerged victorious won not only a hockey game, but broke a decades-long socio- and political losing streak. Those of us who lived through the 70's, and then the 80's, can understand this a little better, and Miracle -- set a quarter-century later -- succeeds in capturing both the mood and then the momentum change.

Enough of the soapbox. Watch the film. It's good.

Re-Martz-able

For those of us wishing that Matt Walsh would just go away (his Warholian 15 minutes are long expired), this statement by Mike Martz was refreshing, which says in part -- "Let me make this clear – we lost to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl because we turned the ball over three times."

A classy move by a coach that I never thought I'd be quoting. Of course, I never thought I'd be rooting for Ted Kennedy over Arlen Specter, either.

While looking for images of Coach Martz, I stumbled across this article, a preview of Super Bowl XXXVI. Ah, memories. The happiest day of my life...

Comparing scars

Yes, there's a little bit of LBJ in each and every one of us...

Not for the squeamish...

For those of you that might care -- some recent pictures of my right lower leg (FYI, the heel is to the left) in the picture.`

Hoosier Hysteria

An interesting website for fans of The Greatest Movie Ever Made:

http://www.thehoosiergym.com/

I never realized that the gym was in Knightstown, fairly close to I-70. I regret that I never took a detour on one of my trips through the Hoosier state. Maybe someday...

"Mistakes in my personal life"

Am I the only one who finds the remarks of a once-future Hall-of-famer eerily similar to that of a prominent politician almost exactly 10 years ago?

HINT -- Both had the first name "William."

Somewhere Dan Duquette is smiling...maybe he was right in '96 after all...

Nightmare in the Bronx '03

I stumbled across this picture (reference the end of my 4/13/08 post on Bill Buckner, below).

Three solid professionals, one Hall-of-Famer, and the reincarnation of Forrest Gump. Actually, that's not fair -- Forrest Gump would have been smart enough to make the move.

One of these days I'm going to do a post on dreadful Red Sox managers through the years. As a sample -- between Butch Hobson, Jimy Williams, Dave Kerrigan and He Who Must Not Be Named, the Red Sox were basically without a field manager for 10 out of 12 seasons (1992-2003). I'll give Kevin Kennedy a pass -- for now.

The Heeling of Achilles

Two links that I found helpful in my present situation:

http://www.achillestendonblog.com/ -- a fellow Blogger who found himself in the same predicament not too long ago
http://www.achillestendon.com/ -- a summary of injuries, prevention, treatment & recovery

John Marzano (1963-2008)

John Marzano, 1984 Olympian and Red Sox backup catcher 1987-1992 has died, apparently from falling down stairs after a heart attack.

Notes from the Boston Globe.

Obituary on MLB.com (Marzano's current employer).

A marginal player who might have blossomed had he not played behind the likes of Rich Gedman and Tony Pena, he was nonetheless well-liked by his teammates. He was also a member of the 1990 Boston Red Sox, which remains one of my favorite teams of all time. He didn't get to play much behind Tony Pena, but he was with the club almost the entire season. The Red Sox will observe a moment of silence at tonight's game. He was only 45.

Get the Picture

The picture I refer to below appears here -- for some reason blogger wouldn't let me insert it into the applicable post.

Bouncing Back

The highlight of Boston's home opener earlier this week was the Sox' invitation to have Bill Buckner throw out the first pitch. Video is available here.

I was too remote from the 1986 World Series to feel a strong negative impact from games 6 & 7. In the 22 years since I have spoken to several people who were so devestated that they swear they stopped following the team after "Nineteen Eight-Six." From my distant perspective, the '86 Sox were quite the opposite -- the team that revitalized my interest in baseball in general and the Red Sox in particular.

Buckner's fielding miscue that ended Game 6 became the focal point of Boston's painful loss that year, but any serious or semi-serious student of the game will tell you that there was more than enough blame to go around in that game and in that series, most of which this reporter places on the manager in the Boston dugout. While Buckner received the loudest "boos" at Fenway in subsequent years, public opinion started to turn in his favor when (after having been released in 1987) he signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in 1990 and made the team out of spring training. He received a standing ovation on opening day of that memorable season, and was applauded warmly at every home at-bat thereafter, one of which resulted in about the most improbable inside-the-park homerun in Boston history.

Hopefully, with the 2008 opener, the rehabilitation of his name is complete, at least as much as possible. He was an excellent hitter and, believe it or not, a good fielding first-baseman whose injuries have kept him out of the Hall of Fame. Nonetheless, there is part of me that wonders what would have happened if Buckner had made that play in game 6 -- the score was tied, and the Mets were out of pitchers. Due to some horrifically poor management by Davey Johnson, they only had the immortals Doug Sisk and Randy Niemann, or would have had to have gone to a starter to retire the Red Sox in the top of the 11th. For that matter, what if Bob Stanley had heard Marty Barrett yelling at him and had turned to pick Ray Knight off second with the score tied? We shall never know.

One other thing -- years ago I saw a picture similar to the one above on display in a memorabilia store in Cooperstown, New York. I wasn't sure if the fact that Buckner had signed it was indicative of his ability to put the mistake behind him, or make a profit off the pain he had caused countless others. I'm still not sure, but it troubles me. I can say that if I ever see an autographed picture of Grady Little on the mound with Pedro Martinez in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, I may require the services of a criminal defense team.

Larger than Life

Most of the obituaries about Charlton Heston note his starring roles in The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, and his political activism, most notably as a leading figure in the NRA.

Perhaps the most egregious omission is that of his civil rights activism in the early 1960's, well before it was "fashionable." He was the first prominent white actor to speak out against racial injustice, both in Hollywood and across the country.

On a more personal note, it's a shame there isn't mention of what I believe to be his best role, in The Greatest Show on Earth. I've seen most of his films, and that one remains my favorite of those in which he starred. IMDB has his complete filmography here. I also enjoyed his role as John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told, although his part wasn't enough to salvage the overall film.

He also served his country in World War II, leading to one of my favorite interview exchanges. Meeting with Robert Osborne for TCM, he was asked about his military service and noted (to the best of my recollection): "I was stationed in the Aleutian Islands. It was a quiet war. However, our outfit was designated for the invasion of Japan until they dropped the atom bomb. For myself and thousands like me, the atom bomb was a blessing."

Not only was this a succinct rejoinder to the armchair quarterbacks who questioned the decision some fifty-plus years later, but it left the loquacious Osborne speechless for a moment. Charlton Heston was a larger-than-life figure who filled larger-than-life roles both on and off the screen; he will be missed.

Ivan the Great (1931-2008)

Ivan Dixon was a great actor, a pioneer in radio, television and film, a terrific director and, above all, a true gentleman. In 1994 I had the privilege of interviewing Ivan several times for my Hogan's Heroes project (I interviewed all of the surviving cast and contributors with the exception of Richard Dawson and Leon Askin).

Ivan was living in Hawaii at the time, so it took an effort to get ahold of him, but he was very kind to give of his time to help a fledgling, no-name would-be author from Nowhere, Pennsylvania on a project that, despite nearly everyone's best efforts, ended up going nowhere, also.

Of course, he's best known for his portrayal of Sgt. James Kinchloe (mistakenedly referred to as "Ivan" by a guest star in one episode), Col. Hogan's steady sidekick and de facto second-in-command. He also delivers one of my favorite lines of the series:

NEWKIRK: Well, the first thing we must do is not panic.

KINCHLOE: I already have -- what's the second thing?

Ivan went on to have continued success as an actor, a director and the owner / operator of a KONI FM in Hawaii. IMDB has his complete credits here.

His death on 3/16/08 leaves only a handful of survivors from that great show -- by my count, Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Cynthia Lynn and Kenneth Washington among the regulars and semi-regulars (the latter two having only appeared in one season apiece), along with co-creator Al Ruddy, and directors Bruce Bilson, Robert Butler and Gene Reynolds, all of whom are in their 70's and 80's.

Founding Father (1925-2008)

For my birthday in 1992, my mother-in-law bought me a gift subscription to National Review. The magazines started coming in January 1993, coinciding with the opening days of the Clintonista Administration. They continue today, roughly every two weeks, including the latest, glossy-covered issue as a tribute to their founder, Wm. F. Buckley Jr.

Always reasoned, never shrill, NR was the perfect antidote to an overtly left-leaning media (in the days before the Internet and before Talk Radio became populated beyond Rush Limbaugh), and the unmitigated chaos, vacuity, bean-counting and mendacity of the early Clinton years (not that the later years were much better). On top of that, it played a major role in pulling me out of the four years of left-leaning academic from which I had recently emerged. My only regret is that nobody, including me, thought to begin the subscription four or five years earlier.

Fifteen years later, I still have nearly every issue (a few having perished in various moves along the way), and look forward to my twilight years in the near future when I'm able to peruse them at my leisure. The tributes to Mr. Buckley have been numerous, but his courage in starting a serious journal of conservative thought in the early 1950's had a major impact on my life forty years later, not to mention to millions of people all over the world. Thanks, Bill.

Rocket is Grounded

Forgetting for a moment that George Mitchell, former lapdog of the Clinton Administration, was perhaps the least original thinker ever to serve under the constitution (I'd still like to know what happened to Louis Sullivan's health care proposal in 1991), and left a series of disparities in his report (which, in full disclosure, I have not read), the allegations against Roger Clemens are nonetheless pretty serious.

Dan Shaughnessy writes about it here.

As I've noted previously in this space (not that any of you read it), true Red Sox fans were somewhat disgruntled that Clemens "mailed in" his last four seasons in Boston, then burned up the league in 1997-1998 while with Toronto. I had previously attributed his success there to a combination of Dan Duquette's misjudgement and Clemens' personal motivation to prove he wasn't done yet. His success later in Houston could easily be attributed to pitching in a pitcher-friendly park against National League lineups that run 5- or 6-deep. On top of that, Clemens' teammates through the years have always attested to his intense work ethic and drive to keep himself in shape.

But his Yankee years are somewhat intriging. I hadn't forgotten that Clemens was a little better than ordinary during his first year in New York (1999), before having strong years in 2000 and 2001.

Now, with steroids et al in the mix, one can't help but see a pattern there. Maybe Dan Duquette was right after all. Stay tuned...

"No Dolphins were harmed in the harvesting of this Tuna"

Bill Parcells has taken a job with the hapless Miami Dolphins. This is his last football job. Really. He means it this time. Seriously. As soon as he wins another playoff game...

Aiming at the Jets

The Boston Globe has two articles / columns on Sunday's upcoming clash between the Patriots and the Jets that capture the backlash of "Spygate" as well as the rapid rise and equally rapid immolation of Jets coach Eric Mangini:

Christopher Gasper's Article

Eric Wilbur's Blog (I found this one absolutely hysterical)

Predictions are something I avoid in the NFL ("any given Sunday" and all that), and I don't even believe that the 0-and-whatever Dolphins are a sure thing next week. It's hard to believe that Belichick's boys will struggle against a team they already destroyed once this season on the road, and that was before the added motivation alluded to above. I suspect BB will pull out all the stops on this one, just to make a point. We'll see...

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

The Baltimore Browns, er, Ravens are a very bad team who played a pretty good game Monday night against the undefeated New England Patriots. That being said:

(1) Complaining about the penalties? PUH-LEEZE! The Browns are the second-most penalized team in the NFL. If there were 13 penalties against them, there could have been 40. They are a dirty team that make up for their lack of talent and discipline by breaking the rules. The plays that were flagged weren't even debatable, and that's not counting the ones that were missed.

(2) The Gaffney TD that put the Pats ahead might be open to discussion, but the replays weren't conclusive. However, let's say it was overturned. Then you have double unsportsman-like conduct penalties against the Ravens (Bart Scott, check your voicemail) that would have given the Patriots 1st-and-goal at the 2-yard-line. I somehow think the Brady Bunch would have found a way to score from there.

(3) What exactly possesses Brian Billick to blow kisses at Rodney Harrison? I don't care if Harrison insulted his mother (or his quarterback) -- coaches should be above that kind of stuff, even those that are overpaid and underperforming. That a head coach would act that way with national TV cameras rolling leads one to wonder what other nefarious deeds are taking place on and off the field.

(4) And then there was the Baltimore timeout called on the 4th-and-1 play at the end of the game that saved the Patriots' season.

(5) Finally, I personally thought it was rather tasteless for ESPN to have Don Shula in their broadcast booth for nearly the entire second half. Yeah, I know all about his connection to the original Colts, and of couse that other team in the early 70's that is on the verge of having its record tied, so go ahead and ask him a few questions. But he was in the booth for close to an hour, for crying out loud. Fortunately, I didn't have to listen to him, so I have no idea what he said (and I doubt he said anything too controversial, or we'd be hearing about it today), but the length of the appearance seemed to overstep the lines of objective journalism.

Penalties notwithstanding, I wasn't surprised that the Ravens defense gave the Patriots fits through most of the game. After all, there is some talent there. It was more surprising -- and troubling -- that the Ravens offense was able to move the ball with some consistency, marking the second week in a row that the New England defense has been exposed by a mediocre offense. Perhaps the loss of Roosevelt Colvin is being felt? In any case, it should make for another fun week of practice in Foxboro with the Steelers coming to town on Sunday.

In your spare time...

A few interesting links I discovered between Turkey and leftovers last week:

Story of Snoopy's Christmas Brilliant editing creating animation to accompany an oft-overlooked Christmas Classic

24 in 1994 for you Kiefer Sutherland fans (warning -- mild language)

Eight Letters in Search of a Word Scrabble-like timewaster

Happy Thanksgiving!

Best regards to all six of you who actually read this blog, and a special shout-out to George Soule for hanging tough that first year.

The Day After the Movie Before

Taking a break a few days ago, I caught a few minutes of the broadcast of The Day After Tomorrow. Leaving aside the debatable scientific allegations for a moment, I was struck by two things:

(1) Good grief, the acting was awful. Did anybody actually want to be in this picture? Did they all work for free or something? I know Dennis Quaid isn't exactly Mr. Kinetic Energy, but a little bit of enthusiasm in his role might have been called for.

(2) I wonder if the filmmakers chose the title to intentionally follow 1983's The Day After. After all, the fear of nuclear holocaust in the 1980's has been succeeded by the perceived threat of global climate self-immolation in the 2000's. I saw The Day After in 1983, and saw it again (or at least enough of it) a few years ago to find its premises and prognostications almost laughable. One has to wonder if we'll see The Day After Tomorrow twenty years hence an crack a similarly wry smile when we realize that all this "global warming" nonsense was exactly that. I guess we'll find out one way or another...

Noises

Just some stray thoughts I had on the controversy surrounding the Indianapolis Irsays pumping additional noise into their stadium, specifically during their recent game against the 3-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots --

I'm not really a conspiracy theorist, and I find it hard to believe that the Irsays -- even the aforementioned Bill Polian -- would do something so idiotic and, for that matter, unnecessary. Of course, it's also alleged that they pumped up the heat in the RCA Dome during last season's AFC Championship game between the same two teams, so you never know.

I watched the game and noticed the glitch at the beginning of the fourth quarter. It was something I had never heard before on a live network broadcast. The only time I've heard anything like that at all is when a damaged or scratched CD skips in a (usually subpar) CD player.

Later, CBS explained that it was a problem the had "in the truck" -- presumably, some technician was looping through a recording, perhaps endeavoring to find a specific highlight to replay or something.

This makes sense to a point, but thinking about it a little further I still couldn't quite believe it. In order for this to happen --

1. The technician would have to be looking at something that only had crowd noise.

2. He (or she) would have to have left the life sound feed to the broadcast "open," enabling the feedback to be heard over the air.

3. The master recording (or the equipment) would have to damanged in some way in order to facilitate the skipping.

4. All this would have to occur precisely at a time during the game when the crowd noise was rising, the falling after the conclusion of a live play (by the opposing team).

Since I highly doubt CBS uses CD / DVD technology to generate replays or highlights during a live broadcast (rendering #3, above, moot), I have to admit I'm rather skeptical. Again, not to go Oliver Stone on this, but it seems like there's too many coincidences to believe that CBS was responsible -- at least totally responsible -- for this problem. Not to allege any malice on the part of the Irsays necessarily, but I just can't believe CBS's explanation.

That being said, my biggest problem with Super Bowl 41.5 wasn't the Irsays or their fans or any alleged competitive infractions behind the scenes, but the fact that the officiating was absolutely dreadful. The "offensive pass interference" call on Randy Moss was incomprehensively bad. One has to wonder why the NFL assigned a rookie crew to a game of such magnitude.

21st Century World Series Scoreboard

Boston Red Sox 2

New York Yankees 0



Somewhere in the Bronx there's a 7-year-old kid wondering if the Yankees will ever win the World Series in his lifetime...

Where have I been?

Or does anybody really care? Well, it's been a busy couple of months. The licensure requirements for my job are changing next February, so I decided to focus on getting those tests completed before the big rush next year. This included the FINRA (formerly NASD) Series 7 and, just this past week, the Series 66. Preparation for those two monsters consumed what little free time I had, but I was fortunate to pass both on the first attempt. It's also been suggested I take the Series 24, but I haven't decided if I want to take that step or not. Right now, my brain is in recovery mode.

Oh, yeah, and there's been a few sporting events that have provided some diversion (some would say distraction. I'd write more about them but right now I'm distracted by the additional noise Bill Polian is pumping into my house. Stay tuned...

Memorable Quotes

In the 7 minutes it takes me to get from home to office, with the radio tuned to Mike & Mike in the Morning, I heard two memorable quotes:

"The only thing that will make Roger Clemens retire is his age." -- Mike Golic. At this point, what else could it be?

"They won't settle for mediocracy." -- Mike Ditka, referring to Chicago Cubs fans. Kinda like a meritocracy, but governed by those of only average intelligence.

Die Hard

My latest book on tape was the autobiography of Walter Payton, Never Die Easy. It was different than any other recorded book I've read because of the use of a variety of narrators. The format of the book was finalized shortly before Payton died in 1999, and was structured to intersperse Payton's own memories with those of his friends, family and teamates, held together with an overall narration.

While Payton's story is certainly both triumphant and tragic, and while the biography of one of football's all-time greats needs to be told, this project was a disappointment. It is relatively short -- only 7 cassettes, and the first 90 minutes or so is devoted to his final days. Again, a story worth hearing, but not exactly an inspirational way to start. Funnily enough, when I inserted the first cassette I found it was 2/3 of the way through the first side; I wonder if the previous reader gave up.

Undaunted, I slogged through and made my way into his youth and playing career, which covered the next two cassettes, and which was the main point of interest for me getting the book in the first place. The next three cassettes were almost unbearable, as we had to endure endless self-pitying accounts of the trials and travails of his retirement years, most notably his inability to latch onto an NFL expansion team in an ownership / management role. Yeah, Walter, life is hard, and sometimes things don't work out. Too many times I found myself rolling my eyes at the incessant whining of him and others about the 3 or so years he invested in that endeavor, wanting to yell "get over it!" at the tape deck. Only the story's untimate tragic ending kept me from doing so.

The final cassette held some redeeming value, capturing Payton's emphasis on the importance of organ donation, and the comments from his friends and family directly from his private memorial service in 1999. Nonetheless, I was disappointed. By all appearances, this project was rushed to publication too quickly -- some sharp editing would have eliminated the repetition of comments and several factual errors. Beyond that, the overall effect was depressing, not inspiring or uplifting. For a player from a small town in Mississippi that went to a (now) Division I-AA school and went on to set all kinds of records, win a SuperBowl, turn a franchise around and be considered perhaps the most complete player of his generation and perhaps others, I feel that "Sweetness" deserved better than this.

Midsummer Classic

These All-Star Games make me feel old. I not only remember when the National League won the game, but when they would win it every year with regularity.

Like most national broadcasts, it started too late, ran too long, and ran the commercial breaks right up to the windup. Otherwise, a fairly enjoyable game that not only saw Josh Beckett get the win, but Alex Rodriguez make a fool of himself.

Prior to the game, there was a tribute to the great Willie Mays. Richly deserved, to be sure, but I couldn't help but compare it to the thunderous ovation Ted Williams received at the 1999 All-Star Game in Boston. AT&T Park, by contrast, sounded like a cavern, at least from my vantage point in front of the television. Perhaps it was the total lack of buildup by way of introduction given by Fox's Joe Buck -- a brief sentence, nothing more. Compare that to the intro given to the Spinter in 1999, which I almost know by memory --

"Ladies and gentlmen -- he wore the uniform of the Boston Red Sox for 22 seasons. He wore the uniform of the United States Marine Corps for 4-1/2 more. He owned left field at this very ballpark. He hit 521 home runs, including one in his last at-bat. He was the last man to hit .400, and he did so 58 years ago. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome -- the greatest hitter who ever lived -- number 9 -- Hall of Famer -- Baseball Legend -- TED --- WILLIAMS!"

At this point the house on Yawkey Way was literally coming down, as the Kid himself was brought in on a golf cart. That's how you're supposed to introduce a legend, San Francisco.

Rod Beck (1968-2007)

The relief pitcher whose picture appeared in the dictionary next to the definition of mullet has died tragically at age 38 at his home in Arizona.

The Boston Globe reports that the cause of death is under investigation, so more details to follow.

Rod Beck pitched for the Red Sox from 1999-2001 and is most remembered (albeit unfairly) during that time for the home run he gave up to Bernie Williams in Game 1 of the 1999 ALCS. Ah, the Jimy Williams era in Boston. What a nightmare...

Beck had his best years with the SF Giants and one good season with the Cubs, helping them to the wild card in 1998.

Man knows not his time.

Surly Bonds of Baseball

The SF Giants came to Fenway Park for the first time since they were the NY Giants in 1912.

Dan Shaugnessy has some strong words on Barry Bonds here.

Bob Hohler has a longer article -- less vitriolic -- here. One of the people he interviews makes the interesting point that Bonds was a pretty good player (ie 3-time MVP) before he (allegedly) went on his steroid binge in the late 1990's.

In the view of this reporter, it's a shame that a supremely talented player has besmirched his image both by a lifelong surliness and then by the steroids. The former offense could be forgiven (after all, not everyone can be expected to be Cal Ripken). The latter, however, not only violates the integrity of the game, but -- as found in Hohler's article -- really was unnecessary. It's conceivable, at least, that Bonds could have approached Hank Aaron's HR record without the juice.

Meanwhile, the ever-creative Fenway Faithful greeted Bonds with signs distributed by WEEI saying "756*" (note the asterisk), and also displayed a bedsheet with an asterisk in the outfield.

Over and Out

About two years ago, there was a part of me that wanted to see Roger Clemens join the Red Sox for (what I thought would be) his final season(s). It was largely sentimental -- Clemens was, of course, the pivotal player on that magical 1986 team, and it would have completed a circle of sorts to see him finish out his career twenty years later in the same uniform. The "generational" aspect of having him pitch alongside Curt Schilling (who had admired Clemens as a youngster in the Red Sox farm system) and Josh Beckett (who had, in turn, admired Schilling), was also intriging.

Instead, Clemens spent 2005 with the pennant-winning Astros, then part of 2006 with a vastly depleted Astros team. Free again, media talk heated up again this winter that as to whether or not he'd retire, and, failing that, which team would sign him -- either his hometown Astros, the Red Sox, or the Yankees, where he had won a World Series ring.

But to sign the Rocket, you'd have to play by his rules -- he won't consent to being required to travel with the team unless he's scheduled to pitch; he wants to travel back home between starts; and he wants to pretty much do his own thing. Some who have played with Clemens have called him a great teammate. That may be -- but this attitude sounds more like a prima donna.

So, to learn today that Clemens has signed with the Yankees for the duration of the season, my only reaction is ***yawn***. If he wants to spend the twilight of his career with a last-place team, and if Big George wants to invest untold millions in a 45-year-old pitcher who plays by his own set of rules, I really don't care. The novelty of Clemens finishing his career in Boston ended for me a while ago. I have plenty of memories of 1986-1991 that will comfort me at night, and I haven't quite forgotten how he mailed in his last few seasons in the Hub. This reporter is tired of his act and, at this point, really wishes he would just go away.

Astronaut Actifed

Wally Schirra has died. NASA also has an obituary. He was, of course, one of the original "Mercury 7" astronauts and the only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.

His passing comes just a few days after his fellow Mercury astronaut, L. Gordon Cooper, was in the news.

Of "We Seven," now only John Glenn and Scott Carpenter remain. Ironically, John Glenn was the oldest of the Mercury astronauts.

So much for gathering no Moss...

The Patriots acquired Randy Moss on draft day. Obviously, a change in direction from an organization that has tried to build a franchise around character. We'll see how this works -- it did, after all, for Corey Dillon. My initial take is that they didn't really give up too much (a few low draft picks that would have been gambles anyway), and figured it was worth a shot. We'll see...

Several articles here.

"Brian Cashman holding on line 1..."

Don't laugh. They've called up everybody else. If your kid's in little league, keep your phone on.

There's no reason to believe the yankees will bounce back from their horrible April -- other than the fact that they always do. The season isn't over, and of course they've won the last 800 or so division titles. That being said, it was interesting listening to excerpts from Joe Torre's post-game interview today, during which he used every cliche known to man (recreated to the best of my memory).

"It's a 162-game season..."

"It's still early -- it's a marathon, not a spring..."

"I don't question the effort of my players..."

"It's all about momentum..."

"Everyone has to deal with injuries..."

etc. etc. etc.

The Future That Never Was

Here's an interesting blog brought to my attention by Jonah Goldberg:

paleo-future.blogspot.com

Of particular interest to those of us who grew up in the 1970's when talk of "The Year 2000" was rampant.

Thorne in the Flesh

You really have to be kidding me on this one.

Gary Thorne's biography is here -- I always thought he had a good voice and was a pretty good broadcaster. Although he's never worked for the Red Sox, he is a native of Maine and graduated from the University of Maine with a law degree. Although he'd been in broadcasting for several years, I first heard of him in 1990 when he was part of the broadcast team during ESPN's inaugural season of Major League Baseball. He called ESPN's final game of that season -- which happened to be the game in which the Red Sox clinched the AL East title on a miraculous catch by Tom Brunansky. I always felt that Thorne botched this call -- and ESPN botched the coverage -- but that's another story.

Thorne also called Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on 6/14/94 when the NY Rangers won their first Cup in 54 years.

All this to say that I can't believe he would say something this stupid and uninformed. Curt Schilling has his take here. I guess he doesn't like the media anymore...

The Best and the Brightest

That may be overstatement, but David Halberstam was clearly one of the best historical writers I've ever come across. I read and enjoyed The Education of a Coach (scroll down) just before football season last year and, reviewing his bibliography, read about 5 or 6 of his books in total.

Bob Ryan has a tribute here. As does the NY Times. RIP.

Imus B. Goewin

For several years Don Imus was on a local station and, if I timed it right, I was able to catch his 7:30 am interview with a notable person (politician, journalist, etc.) on my way to work in the morning.

The rest of the show occasionally had some humorous bits, which were often re-played. I was never overly impressed with Imus' ability as a host (sensing he was propped up by his broadcast partners and production team), but he certainly never took himself too seriously, and he was certainly an "equal opportunity offender." He once described his show as "Hate Radio" -- because everyone on the show hated everyone else.

As for the photograph -- I captured this at Kings Dominion last week outside the Scooby Doo & the Haunted Mansion ride. It was amongst several phony tombstones with fake names, but I couldn't resist taking a picture, particularly given the timing.

The Other Wizard

In another ironic twist, Johnny Hart's partner Brant Parker died on April 15, 2007. Parker and Hart co-created The Wizard of Id in 1964. Brant's son Jeff Parker took over the Wizard in 1997. A full obituary is here.

Off the top of my head, I believe this leaves Mort Walker as the senior American cartoonist, but I haven't researched this. His official website is here.

Salad Days friend JB sent this link of one cartoonist's tribute to Johnny Hart.

Not too long ago, I read one commentator's observation (no source available) that cartoonists like Hart, Parker and The Greatest Of All Time were worthy of the title of "genius" not because of the complexity of their work, but because of its simplicity -- noting that the simple, unadorned strip required much more creativity than the over-elaborate cartoons that populate the funny papers today. An interest point. And of course, in all three cases, you have the simple matter of longevity. As The Greatest Of All Time said at the end of his career, "We have beaten every one of them."

BC and the Wizard

The great Johnny Hart has died. I was never a huge BC fan, but I thought the Wizard of Id was pretty clever. However, I always admired him for having no fear about running an Easter-oriented strip around that time of year. Ironically, not unlike The Greatest of All Time, Johnny died the day before (what would be) his final such strip appeared.

Coach Rob

Eddie Robinson died last week -- legendary coach at Grambling State University. He was portrayed by Harry Belafonte in the otherwise forgettable Grambling's White Tiger. My favorite memory of Coach Rob, however, was his appearance for the coin toss at Super Bowl XXXII (the John Elway game), shortly after he retired, for which he wore a PEANUTS football tie showing Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.

The attached picture shows him wearing the same tie, while coaching one of his final games (if not the last) at Grambling in November 1997.

84

Darryl Stingley has died. He was the Patriots receiver paralyzed in a 1978 preseason game on a hit by Jack "They Call Me Assassin" Tatum of the Raiders.

About 15 years ago I read his autobiography, Happy to be Alive, which is hard to find but definitely worth picking up.

Bob Ryan has a nice obituary in the Boston Globe. Bob Kraft's comments (video link on the same page) are worth hearing.

He played before I was watching NFL games with any interest, but for whatever reason, my high school had a copy of a 1978 NFL Preseason Guide, which picked the Pats -- led by "Stevie Wonder" Grogan and Darryl "The Peril" Stingley to go to the SuperBowl against the Dallas Cowboys. I wish I'd smuggled that out under my graduation robe.

Oddly enough, he's not in the Patriots Hall of Fame, but I do recall them honoring him at the old Sullivan / Foxboro Stadium before a Monday Night Football Game. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for a very special player introduction . . . . number 84 . . . . Darryl Stingley!"

A class act who never displayed a shred of hatred for a promising career so unfairly cut short. Rest in peace, number 84.