I thought it was brilliant.

I used this word as I walked through the office today talking to our admin about last night’s Soprano’s finale. I haven’t been a religious fan – it has been tough to follow with all of the scheduling irregularities, and I can barely make out the good mobsters from the bad, but we all knew the family - and I was looking forward to how one of the many excellent HBO scripted series (and it was the first) would end. And having spent some formative years in New Jersey I felt some kinship to the clan. My parents are both New Yorkers – and while not Italian (we’re Irish) – there was a bit of this series that felt like home. Not my home – but the general feel of Jersey I felt while living there. Gritty and real and home. Not a Texas feel and certainly not a California feel. Guys in Jersey have something to prove.

There’s another story to tell there – but let’s get on with the show. I went on a MSNBC blog about the show’s ending and couldn’t believe some of the vitriol – it was almost split between people using the same word “brilliant” (almost like the Guiness beer ad cartoonish guys) and others who felt greatly cheated by the ending – or non-ending. It was almost bipolar. Either you thought it was the greatest ending for a very cerebral show that always kept you guessing or it was a total let down for people who somehow wanted a Godfather-like bloodbath.

What the creator and final edition writer David Chase left us with was a rich tableau of a final saying good bye to many characters with a firm wink of the eye to many long-time followers of the show. After being scattered into safe houses because many characters got whacked, Tony called for a meeting and got permission to whack Phil which many fans wanted to see. And since Phil went down they all move back into their safe environments (back home) and life is apparently the same. But as we know indictments are going down and Tony will have a heavy future coming to him anyway you look at it.

And I’m not even going to talk about the cat.

So now on to the restaurant. A typical eastern seaboard eatery that I do remember from my childhood. Ones with jukeboxes right at the tables. And very simple but good. The family is all meeting there – and frankly this show was all about family – both of them.

As a rock and roll child of the seventies I’m not even going to tell you how I loved that one of my favorite songs of all time (Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”) was the song Tony picked as he sat down to await his family to join him for dinner. And all of the lyrics worked perfectly for the ending – “just a small town girl, living in a lonely world” had its focus on Carmella as she sat down, then moves to Tony (Just a city boy...took a midnight train going anywhere') – “the movie never ends” as AJ comes in – “streetlight people” as Meadow crosses the street (and there is ton more here - listen to the song!) – really, how perfect is this?

The final three minutes are gripping in sheer depth as you know something has to be going on – they have to do it now – and the “shadows searching in the middle of the night" coming into the diner. And the Godfather-like move of the guy going to the bathroom to get his gun. Strangers waiting, looking on the boulevard.

Being on the west coast I had the opportunity to witness this a couple of times. I was watching college baseball when I realized I could catch the east coast feed of the show before it aired normally at nine out here. I switched to it and saw that I was in the final five minutes and they were in the restaurant. Should I watch now or wait – oh hell I said – check it out. So I saw the end – and like many said “hmmmm”.

So then I waited to see the nine o’clock to see it all the way through and the ending was even much better. To those who thought their cable went out – well I’m sorry but you’re just idiots – and to those who thought they needed to “see” much more – well you were watching the wrong show. What they did is let you think – as the show always did – and if you don’t like it, watch something else – but this was a smart show – not a blood an gore show – and if you didn’t get it, then that’s your problem. You're a goombah at best.

It’s fairly obvious to me that Tony got whacked – and with his whole family. As the family came to further embrace Tony’s lifestyle (AJ getting a freebie job after his bout with adolescence hubris – and Meadow, believing that representing mobsters would be a more noble calling than caring for babies, and Carmello just capitulating, albeit with a high level of status) well they all got whacked. And as said in many episodes – you don’t see it coming. It just goes to black.

And it was brilliant.

Idol Sucks

This is bullshit. Melinda was the best.

Monday Night Screw-Up

It would be interesting what you all think about this.

Joe Theisman was replaced on ESPN’s Monday Night Football with Ron Jaworski. I noted the noise on ESPN.com and the vote was fairly split on whether Joe was good or not but almost everybody said get rid of Kornhieser. Which I wholeheartedly agree with.

In fact as I read most of these comments I thought most of these commenters could not be over 30 at all. They act like they didn’t even know Joe T. The almost universal term used was “arrogant”. Well yeah, If I starred at Notre Dame and took the Redskins to the Super Bowl, dated Kathie whoever and got my leg broken on the most televised football injury of all time – and still lived to talk about it – yeah I might be also. They acted like he never announced a game before but if memory serves I think he’s been doing it now for about 15 years.

People also called for Al Michaels and Madden to come back. Better be careful what you wish for. Madden’s shtick has worn thin. He talks for minutes and minutes saying nothing. Michaels has the unfortunate penchant for putting the emphasis on odd words in a sentence. You know what I mean.

I saw a vintage ESPN Classic baseball game with Curt Gowdy and Al Garagiola. I thought it would be great because I have so great memories of Curt Gowdy. But it was horrible – not Curt as much but Joe. It was just a mess.

I have always thought Joe Thiesman was a very good analyst. He had good energy, HE COULD TALK, he could adlb, he could connect with folks, he played the game – he understood what coaches thought. Was he right all the time? Hell no – but its good to have an educated opinion. Tony Kornheiser was dreadful last year – just completely pathetic (and believe me I love PTI). Dennis Miller looked more comfortable in that booth. And Mike Tirico, who I think does a great job in other venues, just tried to fit too much information into the broadcast. While someone was running for an 80 yard touchdown he was talking about his out-of-work dad and cancer stricken mother.

It was obvious from the first broadcast that Joe thought it was unbelievably stupid to have Tony in the booth. Some said they didn’t get along – but Tony didn’t belong there at all to begin with. Everybody is trying to find another Howard Cosell – and there will be none. That worked because no one at that time knew what should work. The idea of football on Monday Night was so foreign they could have had Bozo the Clown on and it would have worked.

I’m sure there are some Joe T. haters our there – and I’m not waving the flag for him – but he was not the on-air problem – it was Tony and Mike. Boo ESPN.

I went to Texas A&M. I guess everyone must know that by now. I even stayed around to get two degrees and actually teach there (the greatest job I ever had). While not going into all of the things that make A&M one of the most unique college experiences ever – let’s just say – I made the right choice. Every day I think ‘man I really did go to the best school”.

Of course anybody could say that about the infinite fine institutions around this land. And that’s just fine to. But mine is colored maroon. My favorite color.

Having said that I have never been one to advertise my college. Many Aggies have stickers and flags and dress up. I never had. I feel it best to be an underground Aggie. In Texas its pretty much painted on your face. Out here in LA I like to keep it close to the vest.

Yes, I do fly the flag from the house during football season but in reality on one knows what it is. And I don’t regularly parade around in in A&M hats or t-shirts because basically people will want to track you down and talk shit – either good or bad – and I don’t need that.

Years ago Deborah and I went to the Farmers Market on Fairfax and Third right in the heart of LA which is usually filled with old Jewish folks and yuppies and there was this guys with A&M hat, t-shirt and shorts. We had to approach him and he told us he was a lawyer who just moved to the city. That’s great I thought – but man you look like a NASCAR vehicle. Keep it down a notch. You might let on to people that we’re uppity about ourselves.

I don’t really represent well in the area because frankly if you do you attract attention. I wore an A&M hat after a softball game once and this guy in a bar just wanted to know too much about me. Another time I was in a biker bar in Sunset Beach with an A&M hat on and in strode this guy all in back leather with Texas Longhorn insignias on it. After a few cautious moments we both agreed that our rivalry was in reality one of the most friendliest of all time (thank god for that).

Well as of this writing Texas A&M has reviatalized its basketpball program (back to where it was when I was a student) and we are smack dab in the tournament with a Saturday tilt agains Louisville which unfortunately is in their backyard in Lexington, Kentucky (very near to my in-state birthplace).

So on Friday I decided to wear an IZOD type shirt that is maroon and has “Texas A&M” embroidered” on the left breast – don’t get excited now – I’m just painting a picture. After work I go to my neighborhood grocery store to buy provisions for the weekend.

At the deli counter this woman goes :

“I like that shirt!”
“Why – because it says Texas?”
“Yeah – I had a guy come up to me one time who had a t-shirt that said ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ and I said I like that – and you know what? He took it off and gave it to me and I said No No No – but he said ‘No you like Texas and I’m from Texas and so here”.

I was quite surprised to hear this soliloquy just because I had a fairly benign golf shirt that had Texas A&M in small letters on my breast – but that’s what you get at the deli counter.

Later in the produce section as I am evaluating the difference between Roma and Red Vine tomatoes, some guy asks me in passing:

“Are you an alumnus of Texas A&M?”
“Yes I am” I said with my chest thrust forward.
“You guys just won a big game the other day”
“Well we beat Penn – the big game is Louisville in Lexington and if we can get past that we have the regionals in San Antonio where we will rule”
“Really?”
“Really”

Later he asked me if we hated Oklahoma or not – he actually came back to me in the meat department to ask me since his sister was from there. I said no – it was those evil Longhorn people who hated Oklahoma. Ags don’t give a shit about Indian Territory.

I’d like to tell you that the checkout girl said something but she was just clueless – but a guy outside the supermarket asked me for change so he must have thought if you were an AG you had a ton of money on you.

I gave him a buck – and told him to watch on Saturday.

The Riv

We went to Los Angeles’s Riveria Golf Club this past Sunday for the closing round of the Nissan Open. While I have been to more impressive golf events with respect to sponsor tents, great buffets and free beer et al, I love this event solely due to the fact that it is held in a narrow canyon nestled in one of LA’s most modernly developed and respectable communities – Pacific Palisades. Seriously the golf course lies below ridges of multi-million dollar homes in a beautiful sliver of the community. Throw in the fact that this was/is the golf course of choice of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and er, OJ Simpson and you have some hallowed and interesting ground to walk upon.

I mean, it is really a cool deal – a distinguished golf tournament, that has gone on a long time, held smack dab in the middle of swanky LA. This is quite the logistical deal.

In Houston we went to the Shell Open at the Woodlands all of the time. It is located about 35 miles north of town in the wide open spaces – there is lot of land, go out there and park and have a good time.

LA is one of the most urban-ly dense, but green places (outside of the Wilshire Corridor) that you want to see. And to hold a fairly hallowed golf event in (for Houstonians I will say River Oaks) or any other tony place is unbelievable. And that’s why I get a great kick out of it.

You can’t really drive to it. You have to drive to the sprawling Veteran Administration’s complex at the intersection of the vaunted 405 and Wilshire Boulevard to park and take buses through Brentwood into the Palisades such that you get dropped right off into a residential neighborhood that frankly looks fairly surburbian. As soon as you get out of the bus there are little kids all set up along the one Leave It to Beaver-like block selling you lemonade and muffins an whatever. After you get through that gauntlet you go thorough a series of tents and find yourself in the ravine that is the golf course – and then you are in heaven. You are in a canyo surrounded by homes on top of hills - fairly SoCal - but unbelievably beautiful anyway.

For $25 bucks this is one of the best values in LA entertainment than anyone can imagine. At this particular event everyone’s anti-Tiger Woods hero Phil Mickleson has been leading and/or tied for the lead since the start. And while I know he has that following (and I will have to admit myself included) I was amazed at how overall pervasive it was. The entire golf course rooted for this guy. We see it, hear it on TV – but we don’t really know. But it is REAL. They are all rooting him on.

Now I have Deoborah in tow and, while not an ardent sports fan, she inexplicallby loves golf tournaments. But in any instance I'm basically dragging her around the golf course. We watch everyone tee off for about an hour and make a beeline for the for the fourth hole - the hole that Ben Hogan said was his favorite par three of all time and one that was lionized in the LA Times this week.

That was a great hole - we set up right in front of the green and next to a bunker and I told Deoborah we would see some action there. Next we see nice guy Jim Furyk coming out of the bunker. As the gallery now starts to follow everybody it won't be that easy to see the action.

And now it starts to get flinty. A certain group of people start to be annoying. They jump in front of you on several holes. For the record I will not go there. I'm basically standing on a slope of 45 degrees trying to see stuff as everyone crowds around. I see Phil three-put.

From there -it is mostly dashing around from hole to hole. Ernie Ells is the only othe golfer who has a major following. But the deal was that the tournament was Phil's to lose - and he had the entiere gallery behind him.

And of course he blew it on the final hole, went into a playoff and lost. I was left with the feeling of how a guy could have all of this emotional goodwill and just waste it.

But then that’s golf. We had a good time anyway.

An event.

The Real Beverly Hillbillies

First of all I’m tired of everyone saying the Super Bowl sucked. I thought it was rather a much more unique sporting moment than generally we can imagine. While a 30% chance of rain was forecast, they wound up playing the majority of the game in a monsoon – sheets of rain and wind winding around the stadium – so strong that the majority of fans did not even go back to their $5,000 seats after halftime.

Of course I was rather quite comfortable in the West LA home of Deborah’s boss watching the game on three plasma panels on their living room wall and listening to the most bizarre renditions of surround sound coming off their new built-in speakers. And this was after I prepared my famous 4-meat chili while having mojitos and beer and home-made pizza. Tamales came later.

This was the third time we had been at a “major” event at Kathy and Robert’s house. Deoborah works as Kathy’s assistant at an investment bank in downtown LA. Robert is her newish husband – also an investment banker. They just spent the last year renovating her Cheviot Hills home and developing the rather comfy kitchen, bar living room all–in-one effect that made for a nice cozy – and dry – Super Bowl experience.

Previously we had made the 25-mile trip from San Pedro to West LA for Thanksgiving and shortly thereafter, their company’s Christmas party. In just a short period of time we became known as the fun party guests (especially at Thanksgiving when we were the only non-family people at a gathering of about 25) – so more opportunities have been arising to attend events. And it’s sort of cool because they live in the area right adjacent to Beverlywood where I had leased two houses before moving to the South Bay area. And Cheviot Hills was always the dream place to potentially buy a house – so for us its like coming back to the Big City and seeing how those “real” LA’ers are doing.

The other cool thing that occurred is that I got to know Robert a little better and realize he had Jersey roots. At Thanksgiving I heard him cranking up his new stereo system throughout the house but it had the video going upstairs of Bruce Springsteen’s famous concert at the Hammersmith in London in 1975. Robert was on the top porch with his brother who was working on the scotch. Hmm, Jersey, Bruce and single-malt? Turns out Robert’s other passion is cooking.

Such that when the Super Bowl idea had come around Deborah had sold them that I would make our chili for them. In reality this is something that we have developed over the years on lazy Saturdays – hey let’s make some chili, have some ‘ritas and cook this thing for five hours. And in doing so we just have gotten in the habit of adding stuff and adjusting to taste such that I could not even really give you much of a real recipe (well I could for $19.95 and a self-addressed stamped envelope) – but it’s more of a process and you just stop when you think its done – or can’t stand anymore. A question for the party however was "should we cook it at home and bring it or get there early and do it there?" – well Robert pretty much cooked Thanksgiving dinner with his father and brother by himself (Kathy really doesn’t cook) so he’s got the fully stocked kitchen. So we loaded up the truck and drove to Beverly.

Hills that is (close enough). Swimming pools. Moviestars. Chilimakers.

Upon arrival it was a little weird because for the first time their house wasn’t crowded with family or employees - just them. And apparently no one was sure of who would show for the gathering and who they were. I had about five pounds of meat product and it would have been sort of good to know an approcximate number of attendees – but I was really only prepared to make as much as the pot we brought would hold. I promptly set up in the kitchen and started asking for kitchen implements – cutting board and knife please.

Now they have a mix of an old country kitchen with hi-tech gadgetry. They’ve got the island stove with a hood over it (with halogen lights just illuminating everything below it) and cutting areas on either side – and then flat panel TV’s and even a Macintosh computer over to the side already displaying recipes for other snacks. Seriously I thought I was on the Today Show.

Al Roker: “And now to our cooking segment and we have Rock and Deborah all the way from Texas to make their famous 4-meat chili. Why do you call it 4-meat Rock?’

Rock: It’s got four meats in it Al.

Anyway it was sort of a different experience. I don’t know if any of you cookers out there have ever gone to someone’s house and have had to prepare, let’s say, one of your favorite dishes for an unknown quantity of people, but it’s both fun and a little nerve-racking. I really had less than 100 minutes to get the show on the road so that it could cook all down before halftime. I had previously told Robert that while our chili was a food group in itself we would need more food. He e-mailed me previously that its was okay he would have "plenty of other victuals available”. I e-mailed to Deborah – what does this mean? Is this investment banking cooking lingo?

No – it actually is the proper spelling of what any 1960’s sitcom viewer knew as “vittles” – just like Granny used to make on the Beverly Hillbillies.

“Yeah,” Robert said –“ it’s ‘vittles’”
“But it’s spelled “vick-shu-als”, I clamored.

Go ahead look it up – the pronunciation is “vit’l”. Probably made it up over by the ce-ment pond.

Well anyway the chili was all complete by the time the first people arrived and we ‘let it set a spell” until halftime before people tore into it – and it was a hit. Turns out each couple didn’t really know the other so we had an interesting mix of, as always, some entertainment people and regular folks. When I say entertainment people I mean folks who maybe work as a lawyer for one of the movie studios – but you can always tell them because they say things like – “we got those tickets from Fox TV” or something like that. I only comment on that because that is probably the only difference from a casual suburban LA thing and a South Bay coastal thing is periodic references to the industry. Otherwise its all the same.

And the Colts won. I had actually set out to comment more on the game – but heck you all saw it and I thought it was fun and exciting. It was, however, the first time I had actually witnessed the game at someplace other than my own house for about 20 years and that was sort of interesting. I had to explain to my new LA friends various concepts of football as they kept saying how sloppy it was – it’s a friggin’ rainstorm people. But otherwise it was fine. And Prince just absolutely rocked.

We took what was left of the chili home. Good thing about West Coast time is that you can leave the Super Bowl party and still get home at a reasonable time. We’ll break the rest of it out for our own Grammy party this Sunday where we can take our shoes off, set a spell.

Y'all come back now. Y' hear?

Golden Globes

As has been posted here before I am sort of a sucker for awards season. It helps if I am in to the movies and stuff like I was a few years ago - but being in LA you sort of get sucked into it anyway. Many times I have passed by the Shrine Auditorium during Oscar afternoon and have seen the throngs around the USC adjacent site - but not once have we gone or acted like total groupies.

When I lived in West LA near Century City however you could almost participate in these awards withour going anywhere. In Beverlywood, many of the neighbors held some type of position with many of the studios whether it was music exec or key grip. One of our neighbors had a sort of noisy family style Oscar viewing party one afternoon and when Marcia Gay Harden got announced as a winner the house basically erupted. That nice older couple must have known her somehow.

There's many stories like that one - but the biggest connection to award season is that we lived rather close by to the Beverly Hilton on Santa Monica Boulevard -where most people would expect "Hollywood" to be. And of course this is where the Golden Globes is held every year. Probably a realy swanky hotel in the fifties it still holds its "retro but not over the top" charm with a famous poolside with striped canopies and a smoking porch where celebs can go to. The rooms are rather non-descript but they are convenient to anyone who wants to crash there.

And of course the famous Trader Vic's is there as well. And as famous as it is - you know " I saw Lon Cheney drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's - and his hair was perfect" (well it was famous before that) it really just comes off as a pretty nromal tiki lounge - but hey doesn't eveything?

The first connection with the Beverly Hilton was that Deborah worked there in the Continental Airlines ticket office (they have five airline offices there - a sign of the old times). so I used to drive that entrance and drop her off and pick her up all the time - and witness all sorts of posh lunches and events et al.

More importantly the hotel was the sight for many business meetings that I attended from my nearby office in Century City. Drinks, lunch, coinventions - you name it. It is known for its mid-size meeting rooms in center of West LA - so it has become a popular place for many events.

In fact, I have sat three times in the "ball room" they have the Golden Globes event having rubber chicken lunches. One time we were there to receive local business awards and I actually represented my company at the time. I had to think there for one second that year that I could have been sitting where Meryll Streep was hanging out that time she won right off the bat at the start of the show and she got up at the mike and said "I was just settling in for a night of good drinks and here you go and call my name!" Or something like that.

You see - one of the great things about the Globes is that it is pretty loose - I mean only 75 foreign correspondants vote for this stuff so its not like do or die - but then also they serve food and drink - an that can make for fun.

So enjoy. Hope Scarlett Johansen is sitting in my seat.

Death in San Pedro

Saturday afternoon I was standing at the Miami’s Car Wash on Gaffey and 18th street down the hill from our house in lower San Pedro when I heard the sirens. And then, racing west, were fire trucks that, frankly, you don’t see much of out here. Even with all the press of fires in California you really don’t see many out here ( and I say this when a bunch of houses just burned down in Malibu tonight but nevertheless – you don’t see fires much along the coast).

I looked to the skyline to see if a smoke plume would appear but there was nothing. My car got cleaned and I went home.

Deborah was in art class at Angel’s Gate – where barracks from the converted Fort McArthur were turned into classrooms for art, yoga and who knows what else. It sits on a bluff near the Korean Bell which overlooks the cliffs of Point Fermin and its park. Basically the Pacific Ocean.

You’ve seen Fermin Park on TV and in the movies. It’s usually where a picnic breaks out. It was also the cliff scene in Chinatown when Jack Nicholson discovered that potable water was being dunked in the Pacific Ocean to make it more profitable in the desert rising out of nothing which was Los Angeles. It is also the home of many San Pedro functions and local festivals – Shakespeare in the Park, Taste of San Pedro et al. Really nice place with spectacular views and cliffs that have a 90 degree drop off. We walk/run there all of the time. It’s a mile from the house.

Deborah came back from art class (it got out a five) saying she watched firemen trying to save somebody from the cliffs who had fallen down. It wasn’t until later that night that we realized that person was the field goal kicker from USC who had just played in the Rose Bowl less than a week ago - Mario Danello.

A San Pedro High school guy who made it big at USC – and there have been many – met his fate at those cliffs – and so soon after the Rose Bowl – well it has bowed the San Pedro community who holds these ties so greatly and the University as well.

He was just probably playing around in his old stomping grounds after a successful season and screwed up. If you go over those fences you take you life in your hand because it is a straight drop. Nature can get you like that some times.

God bless.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16449773.htm

The Greatest?

The Greatest Game Ever?

It’s hard to really say that any game is the greatest ever – but it usually comes in a time when a team deemed unworthy does the unthinkable. The “Greatest Game Ever Played” in the NFL is when my Baltimore Colts, with ultimate legend Johnny Unitas, beat the New York Giants in 1958 (I was 7 months old) in one of the first televised NFL championships in overtime. The victory was sparked by less than traditional play calling by the great Johnny U – in a time when QB’s actually called their own games (coaches do it now). He called run when it should have been a pass. He called pass when it should have been a run. And that’s why he beat the Giants. It sparked the television revolution in NFL sports. The entire TV watching nation saw an incredible game and they got hooked.


Flash forward 48 years and you have a bowl game with WAC conference champion Boise State versus perennial dominant Division 1 team Oklahoma. Without getting in the the whole Bowl Championship Series BS ( BCS) this was the first time (well really second if you count Utah) but first time a “smaller school” could challenge a “top tier” football school in a really major bowl. This was a big deal this year for the “non-BCS schools” because they could qualify for the higher paying BCS bowls by finishing higher in the national rankings – and Boise State did. For most traditionalists it was an odd sight to see the Broncos versus the Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl.

Oklahoma was only favored by 7 – and not that really great this year – they lost their Heisman Trophy candidate running back to injury midseason and lost controversial game to Oregon who later got smoked in their bowl game. They weren’t juggernauts by any means – but they were bigger and faster and a big time program.

Boise State is probably known more for their blue astro turf field – a spectacular sight if you have ever seen it on TV. I have done bidness in Boise and have passed by this stadium many times on a fairly non-descript road that reminds me of the krappy infrastructure on Studemont in the Houston Heights – meaning it’s not the normal thoroughfare you would expect for a major football stadium. But it is there and it is known. I find Boise as a nice town that no one knows about. There’s a major infrastructure engineering company there so I might have to like it.

Regardless of the all of the pre-game analysis that spelled gloom and doom for Boise State, I thought they could take Oklahoma easy. And they broke out to a quick 14 point lead. By the start of the third quarter they intercepted a pass and had a commanding 18 point lead over the vaunted Okies. They were dominating the Sooners by playing straight up football.

After another great defensive stand late in the third quarter the heebie jeebies started creeping in. A long punt to Boise State bounced almost 10 yards backward and into a blocking lineman. Oklahoma recovered and got a cheap touchdown. While doubt started crowding in they were still up by 11.

Oklahoma got a field goal later – and after two fumbles by Boise State were charging down the field versus their prevent defense with three minutes left in the game. With a minute an half left they scored – via many questionable interference calls – OK got every break in the friggin’ book – and after three tries tied it up with a two-point conversion. The virtual bubble of blue and orange for Boise State in the stadium – which packed the place – was going numb.

That’s ok – a minute left. Boise State has a chance to get a field goal to win. Even thought they dominated the game and suffered unbelievable bad breaks and calls in the 4th quarter they could win the game or go into overtime.

First play – Boise QB Zambransky throws an interception that Okalahoma returns for a touchdown. In anybody’s book this game is OVER.

I am 48 years old and I have seen a lot of sports and a lot of football. NOBODY comes back with a minute left in the game, when you thought you had won it about a half hour ago easy - and then reclaims it. NOBODY.

I was feeling for the QB – fifth year senior – thinking how he was going to go through life throwing the worst pick in his life. Being the goat. The receiver went the other way – but still – it seemed like a little bit of gunslining – how could he be so careless? The air went out of the stadium – what was going to be a celebration of David versus Goliath was going to be an “I told you so”.

Then the most amazing thing in college football happened. And if you weren’t watching it live then you can’t understand how amazing it was. Replays do not do it justice. ESPN snippets are just eye candy. The tension on what was to happen was thick as your grandmother’s hair. You had to watch the whole game to understand how spectacular what Boise State did.

It was just unbelievable.

With a minute left, Zambranksy and the Broncos were unbowed. From their 25 they worked the ball to the 50. And for the first of THREE do or die plays – on fourth and 18 they ran a hook and ladder (or lateral) that just froze the OK defense and somehow tied the game as the receiver of the lateral just grazed the end zone pylon with 7 seconds left to tie the game. No one has really seen this happen in such execution since the memorable Miami – San Diego playoff game back in the 70’s.

4th and 18 – I mean they were done! But they had the play in their hip pocket and anybody who saw it knows they performed to the absolute perfection of execution. AMAZING.

It was friggin’ over and - now - it was overtime. Oklahoma would surely win this battle of trying to score from each other’s 25 yard-line in a war of attritions and tired Boise State players. OK scored easily on their first play from the 25 and it looked like it was over again.

Boise State was not as spectacular in their series but somehow worked it down to the 2 yard line and had a fourth down play to potentially tie the score. But on their setup their QB went out to the left flat and lined up as a receiver and the half back took the snap and ran right and lofted a pass to the tight end for the touchdown. Again – unbelievable execution.

And now – instead of just tying the game they took the gutsiest of positions and decided to go for two. A national TV viewing audience was stunned at this thought. In a world of NFL playing it safe blah blah blah – they were going to win or lose it right now. Barry Alvarez, the former great Wisconsin coach who was serving as a broadcast commentator made one of the most astute observations I have ever heard a commentator make.

“The coach knows what play he wants. He has it all set up”

In fact that was unbelievably right – and why can’t John Madden say stuff like that? Boise coach Chris Peterson had a play in his pocket he couldn’t wait to strut out.

Oklahoma called time out. It didn’t matter. Boise was ready.

On the third do-or-die play within two minutes of game time, Bronco QB Zambransky had three receivers trot out to the right side, took the snap, looked like he threw their way and then handed off the ball – with his left hand (mind you) – to RB Ian Johnson who scampered to the left untouched – and the game was history.

No one in any football history has pulled off three finesse plays like this to pull victory from the jaws of defeat in which was a game they had already won hours ago. Anybody who was staying up late saw great college football history – and one of the great feel good wins of all time.

A great way to ring in the New Year.

I’m sorry but I have to say it. Unfucking believable.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I was sitting there in the kitchen with the laptop and I couldn't believe my eyes. I heard the piano chords and let out an ominous "oh no".

Deborah looked up and said "what? what's wrong?" And I said "Look!"

There on the TV was something that comes on every year but is always a surprise - and here, now in November (!) it was back - and it immediately takes me back laying on the rug in the family room in an old colonial house in New Jersey (or was that Baltimore?).

A Charlie Brown Christmas.

You should google the title to this wonderful animated cartoon special made back in 1965 (!) and learn how it almost did not get made. But it blows me away that it is now 41 years old and as Deborah says "makes me feel like a nine year old all over again". Because it really does. My saying "oh know" was to let her know I was going to let my mind (and hopfully my age) wander a bit as I escaped into Christmas Past.

Becasue during the '60's is when a lot of our overly nostolgic Christmass TV fare was first created (man don't even get me started on the puppet-animation of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer). A Charlie Brown Christmas was not only current popular comics turned into Xmas fare but it also breathed the innocence of a kid's early Christmas's with a decent flair of comedic and coloquial sarcasm that was just entering the TV media at the time. I get a kick that back then Lucy is trying to convince Charlie Brown that "Christmas is just a big commercial enterprise run by a major East Coast syndicate". Ah, those were the good old days.

Of course everyone remembers the school play (or should I say Christmas Pagent) scene where our hero is the director and struggles with keeping his, uh, er, cast's undivided attention. Seeing those little Peanut characters groove out to the fine piano styling's of Vince Guaraldi still makes my toe tap. And how Charlie Brown then struggles to figure out the true meaning of Christmas. And time just seems to stand still when Linus cues the lights and speaks.

Sigh.


That reminds me - need to go get a tree.

Bloggin' the Mid-Terms

I ran a long post during the night of the election coverage. Maybe you'll find it entertaining here.