A Happy New Year Blog 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES!

MAY 2012 BE A MUCH IMPROVED HOPE-FILLED YEAR FOR US ON MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS.

Thanks for reading the blog through the last twelve topsy-turvy months. There has been no shortage of issues to blog about in this increasingly complex world we live in.

It's been a total blast to blog for another year. Your varied responses have all been provocative.

So, "Auld Lang Syne" to you. Go hug and kiss somebody special tonight. Have fun.

Enjoy the games this weekend.

Go Tebow. Go Broncos!!

Cheers,

Dan

Merry Christmas 2011

May the Christmas time of peace and joy be yours today and forever.

Christmas is many thing to many people. Around our home, one of our traditions is listening to almost non-stop Christmas music being played. Our favorites are: O Come All Ye Faithful, First Noel and Silent Night.

The Number 1 Christmas song of all time for me is, Joy to the World, played with strings, horns, brass, piano and full chorus. Nothing stirs the soul at Christmas time like the playing and singing of Joy to the World by the fireplace or at the conclusion of Midnight Mass. Here are those timeless singalong words of the first verse:

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
let ev-'ry heart prepare him room,
and heav'n and nature sing and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n and heav'n and nature sing."

Those words pretty much do it for me and why I love Christmas.

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Merry Christmas to you and and to all a good night.

A Christmas Card Plea.

BEWARE: THE FOLLOWING IS MY ANNUAL SHOUT OUT TO SCROOGE.

Dear Writers of Christmas Card Family Yearly Enclosures,

Amidst all the joy of the Season, for some strange reason, I have a few Scrooge-like impulses. This is one of those impulses. Sorry.

I consider myself to be lucky. Great family. Great friends. We all share and acknowledge that friendship abundantly during the Christmas Season with the annual Christmas card and message. However, some enclosed messages are bordering on the excessive triumphing of your kids successes through the year. Some of these "kids" are in their late twenties. Do you really need to know that the budding capitalist, Johnny, Jr., is killing them at Harvard Business School; that your ecologist daughter, Mary Catherine, is saving the native Hickman's onion from extinction; and, that Buck, the family dog, is still flushing out the pheasants in the brush at age 13. I beg you to give it a rest. A family picture, a message, a few words is quite enough to bridge the gap of time distance.

So, If I were to be chemically-influenced enough to write a Christmas letter enclosure, for which I abhor the thought, for what it's worth, this is what I would write:

Merry Christmas.

Hope this card finds you in good health and good spirits. And if otherwise, then, that's OK too! We understand.

Dan, Marian and the kids are getting by and that life continues to challenge and reward us on a daily basis. Relationships come and go. Joys arrive and depart. Faith wavers. Meals missed. Work challenges. Sleep interrupted. Successes embraced. Money short. Health improves. Faith restored. Opportunities lost. Failures endured. Suprises...and so on.

However, clothed in that daily reality, we all wake up, report, earn, help, love and go home to our respective domiciles alone or towards someone. Hopefully, we realize faith, tenderness, respect, trust and purpose in each gift of day.

We pray for each other that God will guide, protect and direct us in the way that HE wants us to go. We look for opportunities to help those who can't help themselves. And that we remain open to that spirit.

We pray for all of you. For your families. For your health. For your livelihoods. For your peace of mind.

Merry Christmas and if the holidays are terrible and lonely that's OK. Know you're not alone for whatever solace that may give you.

May God bless you all and to all who help us throughout the year.

Love,

The Corrigans

The Magnificent Seven? Hardly.

At long last, the debating season is over...for now. Thank God for minor miracles.

Last night was the finale of the seemingly endless Republican debates. I was beginning to think it was another weekly reality series on television. Only difference, the audience was the "survivor".

Last night's debate scene in Sioux Falls, Iowa, brought the seven Republican candidates to the fore once again as a final prelude to the January 3 Iowa caucuses. The caucuses signals the official start of the true race for the Republican nomination for President of the United States that will be confirmed on the stage at the Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida near the end of August. The winner in Iowa in January usually but not always, goes on to win the nomination of their party.

In eight months time, hopefully, the Republicans will choose THE party nominee that will defeat the incumbent President, Barack Obama. In collegial unison, the Republican candidates on stage last night stated repeatedly, "any one of us can beat Obama at this time." That may be true but never underestimate the other side. The ruling party will be vicious and unrelenting in their brickbats and unsavory smears on the appointed nominee. So, which Republican candidate can measure up to what is surely coming from the Democratic "scorched earth" Chicago-style brass knuckles do anything say anything offensive to retain White House power? The envelope please...

First, let's dismiss the wannabes:
Ron Paul. Never trust a man with two first names. This guy is your kooky, brilliant, whining, ancient Uncle Fester who rarely changes his clothes and always appears at the front door with a full appetite and thirst at all family functions. Last to leave too! Have you seen his "followers"? Remember '70s Laugh-in television show with Arte Johnson, Ruth Buzzi and company? You get the picture.
Rick Santorum. A true conservative but way too nice. Really too decent of a man for this post. This is war with these liberals not a Marriage Encounter. You don't want this job, anyway. Go home to your family and get a real job.
Rick Perry. Please, no more Texans for a while. Flunked debating class in high school. That is, if he went to high school.
John Huntsman. Another nice man. A family man. Knows China. Looks like a game show host with a voice to match. He witters on while his audience changes channels.

So who's left, oops, left is a bad word, who remains?
Newt Gingrich.First of all what kind of name is Newt? Wasn't Newt the bastard kid of Texas Ranger Woodrow Call in Lonesome Dove? I thought this Newt was banished to the island of the "please go far far away forever" group along with the Bushes, Clintons, Kennedys and Cuomos. Guess he turned down the invitation, like the others did. Sure, the distended polemicist would destroy Obama in a debate, but, God forbid, as President, he'd destroy any good will this country has left with anybody on the planet. Newt would even make the Martians mad at us.
Mitt Romney. Looks Presidential. Sounds Presidential. Handsome family. Smart. Business-minded. Successful. Wealthy as Croesus. Pedigree. But he flip flops more on the issues than an overweight, over-caffeinated, sleep-apneated flip flopper on an extra firm mattress. He bruises like a gardenia petal. Also, I really worry about a guy who spends millions of his own money, eg. Meg Whitman in California, to pursue elected office. His overzealous desire for this office makes me uncomfortable.

One remains, if you care.
Michele Bachmann. Before you cut me off and surf over to ESPN.com, question: did you see the final debate? If not, go to YouTube and cue it up. Strangely, as the only woman candidate, Bachmann demonstrated to me that she has the 'manjigglies' to take the fight to Obama and his cronies.

Bachmann took on Newt and emasculated him on his weather-changing stances on abortion and influence peddling for huge fees with the disgraced Freddie Mac (GSE) and she eviscerated the zany Paul on his dangerously goofy gobsmacking ideas on what to do with the world's bugbear, Iran.

She is authentic. She is the truest conservative of the bunch. She is smart though subject to verbal faux pas every now and then. A tax attorney by trade. A mother of five by vocation. A foster parent by choice. And the first Republican woman ever to be sent to Washington DC as a Congresswoman from that liberal coldbed, Minnesota. The same state that gave us Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy, Al Franken and God forbid Jesse "The Body" Ventura. A conservative emerged out of that closed society? How in the world of the ghost of George McGovern(I know South Dakota, same frozen neighborhood) did that happen?

Bachmann is the anti-Obama on every substantive issue. Cut taxes. Reduce the size of government. Don't spend money on what you don't have. Decrease the debt. Curb the unbridled powers of the judiciary. Pro-life. Pro-Milton Friedman. Pro-Nuclear. Pro Keystone pipeline. She wants to shutter Fannie and Freddie. And repeal Dodd-Frank. She is tough. I think she is alot tougher than the other candidates in her party. She speaks with a truthfulness and a honest certitude that the others sorely lack. Her tongue is not forked. Her message is steady and firm. There are no haunting soundbites from her past. She would be refreshing for this country. A strong woman. Instead of impotent male scoundrels. Sounds good, eh?

Her baggage is Samsonite not adultery. Her skeletons in the closet only come out on Halloween.

Near the end of the debate, Bachmann summed it up this way to the voters: "are you better off now than you were four years ago?" She smartly recited and borrowed that question first asked by the last great one, Ronald Reagan, in 1980 against President Jimmy Carter. The answer, rhetorically, HELL NO. Carter lost all but six states. Reagan won in a landslide.

But, all these good vibes aside, will Michele Bachmann win her party's nomination? Sadly, no. Her authenticity and her strong beliefs on the issues will not translate well to the 20% independents who are positioned to be the deciders in November.

And who will win the Republican nomination in Tampa? Mitt Romney. His "flexible" appeal to the independent voters is too attractive for the national party elite to ignore.

So, we're stuck with Mitt. Can he win? Yes. However, an imperfect Mitt is a helluva alot better than being stuck with an inept, divisive and infantile Campaigner in Chief for four more painful years.

ABO. ANYBODY BUT OBAMA.

"WE CAN'T WAIT".

Amen.

TTT4Q

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos defense won again...8-5 on the season. Frankly, I have run out of words to describe what I just saw in Denver. This will be brief.

Down by 10 points, 10-0, to a very good and stingy Chicago Bear defense with 8 minutes to go in the game. Tebow, the Denver Bronco defense, late Chicago miscues and a kicker's big foot covered the deficit by the end of regulation time with the score tied 10-10. Another miracle for which I call "TTT-4Q". "Tim Tebow Time in the 4th Quarter". In overtime, Broncos kicked a 51 yard field goal to win the game. Comeback kid. He has done it SIX times this season in his second year as a pro. Talk about a unique gift for drama at the rarefied 5,280foot elevation of Denver.

Pundits say Tebow can't throw. He can't stay in the pocket. He makes poor decisions with the football. He'll never be a National Football League quarterback. Blah...blah....blahhhhhh! Well looky here... all this smiling humble fiery kid does is WIN. And the pundits retreat scratching their noggins for another weekly case of verbal diarrhea. Excuse yourself, please!

After each improbable win, Tebow does four things in succession: one, he gives glory to Jesus Christ his Saviour; two, he credits his teammates for the success of the day; three, he salutes his coaching staff for the game plan; and, finally, he thanks his fans for their support. If you're looking for number five forget about it. There is no #5. He will not take singular credit for anything even though he has authored alot of the success of the day. Talk about humility. Almost non-existent in this material world. In the end, all those close to him, love him. Those not close to him still revile him for whatever perverted reason. Which is truly weird and a sad mirror of how skewed our society has become.

Personally, I love the guy. I love how he plays the game. How he respects the competition. How he credits everybody around him and how unselfish he is. And, how he surrenders himself to something much bigger than himself. My boys say I have a "bro-mance" for Tebow which started when he was at the U. of Florida. Whatever "bro-mance" means. What I do know is that Tim Tebow on the field electrifies me like no other athlete has in the past. Surely, the stark reality of politics, finance, or one's job falls way short of the thrill of a sports phenomenon. Make no mistake. Tebow is a phenomenon!

To follow Tim Tebow is an exercise in patience, a virtue, which is almost an impossible trait for an Irishman. For three quarters of a Tebow football game, it's black and white. Suddenly, the 4th quarter arrives and the football field becomes color. It happened again tonight.

If you haven't already done so, I urge you all to jump on this Mile High bandwagon called Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. A word of caution, however, following TT is not for the faint of heart. He will test you. But isn't that what faith is all about? Commitment. Hardship. Forgiveness. Testing. Failure. Sacrifice. Reward. Redemption. A never ending cycle of truly living.

From Denver, I'm privileged to witness all of this firsthand.

The magic continues...

Go Broncos.

Go TT.

angels v Angels

I believe in angels. In fact, I talk to them all the time...under my breath. You may have heard the names of some of these angels: Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and the guardian angel. I talk. They listen. Good things happen.

My hunch is, I'm not alone in talking to the angels. I see public displays of gratitude from very public figures in front of the whole world saluting the angels and the heavens. Tim Tebow, QB from the Denver Broncos, comes to mind. Another public figure that I often wondered about is the now erstwhile slugger from the St. Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols, and his magnanimous gesture to the great above after hitting a home run or a big hit. Is he giving a shout-out to the angels with his signature gesture (see picture above)? I surmised yes. But as we all found out today, Albert's 'BIG A'ngels hailed from the City of Angels, Los Angeles, whereas my 'small a'ngels hail from a much loftier address. Big difference. Small 'a'ngels is spiritual. Big 'A'ngels is material.

Stunningly, today the St. Louis Cardinal great and beloved Albert Pujols accepted an offer he couldn't refuse from the cash rich big market Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County. The deal is 10 years, $254MILLION, a quarter of a billion dollars, a profane amount of cash with a no trade clause to boot. Is ANYBODY on the planet worth THAT for 10 years? I guess so. His name is Albert Pujols, a 32 year old baseball player. Let me put that number in the proper crazy context: Arte Moreno, the owner of the Angels, bought the club in 2003 for $180MILLION. And I thought our economy was in the tank! Silly me.

The Cardinal offer was "woefully" short coming in at "only" $200MILLION for nine years. Get real Birds! Throughout the history of this year-long melodramatic contract negotiation, Albert stated, two things: he wanted to retire a Cardinal alongside his idol, Stan Musial, and that his decision would not be about the money. Red flag, Nice try Albert, IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY.

So, who wins and loses after all of this. Here's my list, let's start with the winners:
1. Dan Lozano. Albert's sleazy agent. He'll make a 10% fee on $254 million. Increases his profile hugely. Scott Boras, who?
2. State of California Franchise Tax Board. 11% state income tax and growing. Jerry Brown thanks you, Albert.
3. Deidre Pujols aka Albert's wife. Her tetchy mood will be more stable in warm pleasant weather year round.
4. Albert's heirs. Set for generations. 50% tax coming. Who cares.
5. American League. Fans, TV rights and deals all are winners.
6. Orange County and a realtor. The OC trumps LA County and the Dodgers once again. And the Pujols will be looking for a very big palace on the Newport Coast. SoCal hasn't been this news relevant since the last earthquake or gas shortage.
7. NL Central. Cubs, Brewers, Reds will be sending Arte Moreno hugs and kisses for a long time.
8. Cardinal Minor Leaguers. New opening at first base.
9. Angels. Short term benefits while Albert is still in prime years.
10. Cardinals. Long term payroll benefits while Albert is long past his functional utility. The DeWitts, Owners of the Cardinals, are breathing again.

The losers are:
1. Cardinal Fans. Not seeing #5 at first base will be traumatic. How do you explain Albert's departure to a young adoring kid in STL? Broken-hearted. Innocence lost. Welcome to the big leagues kid. Sorry.
2. Small Markets. Baseball's non-cap salary reality strikes again at a mid-market team.
3. National Media. Nobody scooped this deal. Arte Moreno should head the CIA. He accomplished more in three hours furtively than the Cardinals accomplished overtly in 2 years.
4. National League. Just lost its Most Valuable Asset to the designated hitter league.
5. City of St. Louis. City continues to lose another icon to outsiders (see Anheuser-Busch).
6. American League West. Texas Rangers has to sign the officially-designated Pujols salary beneficiary, Prince Fielder, just to keep up with the Angels. Manager Ron Washington just dropped another m-fer bomb. Nolan Ryan is ready to punch somebody out!
7. Dominican Republic. Albert's beloved home country. Miami Marlins made geographic sense. Anaheim is four time zones and 4,000 miles away. I guess you just can't go home again.
8. The DeWitts. No matter how you look at this, they lost a sure first ballot future Hall of Famer on their watch. They will catch hell if the Cardinals languish for 10 years.
9. The Angels. Back end of the deal, about 5 years down the road when Albert can't tie his shoes and is still owed $125mil. "How bout batting instructor, Arte?"
10. The Cardinals. Front end of the deal when the Angels are in the World Series next year.

So, thanks for the memories, Albert. 11 years. Three World Series. Abundant good will spread throughout St. Louis. Hope you will be happy in Cali. And when you give that upstairs salute after future home runs, I'll now know what that means. Go Angel$$$$ of Anaheim. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Go Cards in 2012.

"The same ole sorry-ass Rams."

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS A SHAMELESS PROMOTION FOR ONE OF MY OWN.


RE: An Open Letter with a personal twist to the Owner of the St. Louis Rams, a National Football League Team.


Dear Mr. Stan Kroenke:

Your St. Louis Rams team, as you are well aware, is one of the consistently 'sorriest' teams in the National Football League. Since 2004, the Rams are 37-87. Blatant scoreboard facts never lie. That is eight years of autumn Sunday embarrassments. It's not all your fault. You've only been the majority owner of the team for the last 18 plus months. The Rams have been 'sorry' a long time before and after their surprising Super Bowl years of 1999 and 2001.

The above headline quote, "The same ole sorry-ass Rams" was proclaimed in 1995 by a victorious Rams opponent, San Francisco 49er lineman Dana Stubblefield, when asked after another dominating win against the hapless Rams, "Why do the 49ers have their way with the Rams?" Stubblefield, without missing a beat, spouted that now infamous and indelible revealing truth line about the Rams. A loser label is a hard one to shake. Just ask your current players.

This past Sunday, the 49ers again had their way with the Rams. The Niners won 26-0. A humiliating shut-out. Another dismal performance by the Rams against their division rival. After week 13, the Niners are 10-2 and clinched the Western Division of the National Football Conference. Rams are 2-10 and clinched the cellar of the same Division. Two teams going in totally different directions. Yet, last year both the Rams and the Niners missed the playoffs. Both stunk. So, it begs the question, Sir, if both teams stunk last year why are Niners so much better than the Rams this year? Simple answer: leadership. The Niners have "it" in the front office and in rookie Head Coach Jim Harbaugh (see above bottom photo). Capable leadership equates to wins. The Rams don't have "it" anywhere in their management house. Absence of capable leadership equates to losses.

So, Mr. Kroenke, going forward, how do the Rams become and stay competitive year to year? Please excuse my forthrightness but here's my ten point management manifesto to you on how to fix the Rams:

1. Mr. Kroenke, you, must take over full control of his team ala Bob Kraft with the New England Patriots. You're a smart man. You know what works and, more importantly, what doesn't.
2. Head Coach Spagnuola. Defensive coordinators do not make good Head Coaches. Cue up Wade Phillips, Jim Haslett, Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan. Sorry Spags. Time to move on.
3. Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. Prior to his current position with the Rams, he almost single-handedly destroyed the venerable football power the Denver Broncos as their two year Head Coach. His 'scorced earth' style of managing is similar to General William Tecumseh Sherman in his "March to the Sea". He leaves total destruction in his wake wherever he goes. Will QB Sam Bradford ever recover from his one year with Josh? Time for him to move on.
4. General Manager Billy Devaney. The Boston Marathon is looking for a new GM. Goodbye.
5. Director College Scouting John Mancini. Better suited to follow Uncle Henry into music.
6. Hire Offensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, Pete Carmichael, Jr., as Head Coach. Or, U of Oregon Head Coach, Chip Kelly. Another brilliant offensive mind!
7. No need to hire an Offensive Coordinator for now, see #6.
8. Hire Tedi Bruschi as General Manager. A business major at U. of Arizona, three Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, one of the smartest players ever in the NFL and a musician who has played with the Boston Pops. When times gets tough, Tedi can blow on his sax and mellow things out.
9. Hire Mike Mayock as Director of College Scouting. A graduate of Boston College, ex-NFL'er and THE nonpareil scouting combine guru on the planet.

10. Drumbeat, this is the shameless part of this blog, Mr. Kroenke, hire my son, Danny Corrigan, pictured above while scouting at an OU game, as Mike Mayock's research analyst for finding the very best talent in the draft. Danny is a full time techie in Silicon Valley and a part-time analyst of all things NFL, particularly, the draft. His approach to all things that matter is analytical, algorithmic and cybermetric. He has an uncanny Bill James-like talent for reducing the 'abstruse to apercus', the esoteric to immediate understanding. His contributions to your future success would be instant. You need this technical modern intelligent young man in your organization!

Sir, there are four games left in this season. Your Rams will be lucky to win another game on their schedule. The Rams finish their season at home on January 1 against the same Niners who demolished them this past weekend at Candlestick. The Rams could be 2-14 by season end and assured of yet another top three pick in next year's draft. You cannot afford another crummy draft. If you continue to squander high draft picks which the Rams have done 3 of the last 4 years, whatever remaining fans you retain in the Edward D. Jones Dome in St. Louis will resemble the garbage bag wearing over their heads "Aints" of the 1980 New Orleans Saints fans whose chant was: "Who dat gunna beat dem Saints? How 'bout everybody!"

Mr. Kroenke, you don't win games with "Xs and Os but with Jimmys and Joes". Draft smart, manage better and wins will come.

So clean house, hire the right people and give Danny a chance. Really what do you have to lose? You'll gain everything and will lose that terrible derisive label coined by Mr. Stubblefield in due time.

Please, give me a reason to be a Rams fan again.

Danny's email address is: danielj.corrigan@gmail.com

Thank you.

Gratefully,


Danny's Dad, a St. Louis native son and long suffering Rams follower from afar


In the meantime, Go Cards!


If anybody out there has a forwarding address for Mr. Kroenke, please share this self-serving blog with him. Thanks alot.

The same ole sorry-ass Cubs...

The Chicago Cubs baseball team. A model of mediocrity. The lovable loser. The fountainhead of futility. The sorry schmemiel. The absolute worst franchise in the history of professional sports. The last time they won anything was 1908.

To historically place 1908 in the proper context, Henry Ford produced his first Model T automobile in 1908. WWI started 6 years later. And dos hermansos bandidos Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a shootout with the Bolivian federales. OMG, here's the topper, in 1908, America only had 46 states.

1908, what a year...Cubs won the World Series while present day Arizona was still owned by the Mexicans. Talk about a drought! Winning a championship on the North Side of Chicago is like 'Waiting for Godot'. For you math and science types, Godot never arrives.

103 years ago, a plus century is a long long time to be a loser! If you were a loser for that long a time and you owned the team wouldn't you try almost anything to raise the Cubs from the dead. Well, that is exactly what the current Cubs' brass is trying to do by attempting to lure top free agent baseball players to Waveland Avenue and to that joke of a little league bandbox called Wrigley Field. They figure all they need is high priced talent to turn their franchise around. Hey owners of the Cubs raising the Cubs from last place is about as doable as raising the Titantic from the bottom of the North Atlantic.

This past week, the Cub brain trust, an oxymoron if there ever was one, expressed interest and contacted El Hombre, the future Hall of Famer St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols, who is a free agent and available to sign with any team who has three things: cash, more cash and alot more cash. The cash-strapped? Pujols is listening to all offers. But the Cubs? Let's be serious. Supposedly, Albert likes to win. Cubs lose. Or, does Albert like the cash more than winning?

Albert signing with the sorry-ass Cubs has as much chance as Obama converting to Christianity. About as much chance as Iran holding a birthday party for the the nation of Israel. About as much chance as Warren Buffett retiring. And about as much chance as Jerry Sandusky admitting to his intimate frontal shower rubs with 10 year old boys. Why would the best want to be the worst? Albert a Cub? A winner going to a loser. Why would Hermes want to be Gap? Why would BMW want to be Kia? And, why would New York City want to be Detroit? Sorry Motor City. You get the point.

But if Albert does sign with the perennially pathetic Cubs, that would give clear credence to the fact that Albert is alot older than his alleged 31 years. In fact, if he signs with the cuddly cubbies, it will prove proof positive that Albert is losing it upstairs. And will confirm the suspicions for many skeptics that Albert's true age is more grandfatherly than fatherly.

So, Albert can do one of three things: one, he can run for the cash to wherever, Chicago, Texas, god forbid the cultural wasteland known as Miami, or timbukto; two, he can retire from the game and take up golf; or, three, the most logical, he can re-sign a big contract with the winningest team in the National League and the reigning World Series champs, the St. Louis Cardinals, and continue to play for consistent winners in baseball heaven...in front of fans who adore him.

My hunch on Option #1 is he'll tell the Cubs "I can't wear that baby blue Winnie the Pooh uniform for whatever you offer". Regarding Option #2, Albert's a terrible golfer which would require years of practice and patience for which he has neither, so that's not particularly appealing. Which leaves option three of Albert re-signing with the Cardinals on their terms which should include a 2% ownership of the club for the rest of his life for his 11 years of exceptional loyalty, leadership and service to the STL. Talk about a healthy annuity for the rest of his life.

Over the years, Chicago took STL's railroads. Chicago took STL's commerce. Chicago took STL's population. But, Chicago will never take our Albert.

Nice try Cubs but a loser is always a loser. Just look at the scoreboard. 103 years of losing history doesn't lie. It's in the books.

Go Cards in 2012 win #12 with or without Albert...hopefully with.

Postscript: Cardinal Nation trust the DeWitts. They are very smart owners! They make those dunderheads to the North look like Fagan-esque devious street urchins in an adult professional world.

The Great Debates, a dream match-up

Here's my dreamy, puny and never going to happen idea for reducing the country's $15 trillion debt:

Pay-per-view for a series of debates between President Barack Obama and the current leading Republican challenger former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Seriously? And who would watch it? Hopefully, citizens of the United States and the nationals abroad who are even remotely concerned about the future of the USA. It's not hyperbole to say that the political decisions made in 2012 will be a watershed year for our future of this country. There is a helluva lot at stake come November. We better be interested in the candidates.

So, what's the plan? The Congressional Budget Office, CBO, acting as the promoter, signs a deal with HBO in the same manner as Bob Arum with Top Rank Boxing would promote a Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao v Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr., championship fight.

The details of the Obama v Gingrich debate deal are as follows: $55 for each debate or $400 package deal for a number of seven scheduled debates; estimate 3 million people subscribe of which 50% opt for the package while the other 50% watch three debates; HBO sells commercial time (which is a radical departure for HBO) to advertisers of which 50% goes to the CBO budget relief fund; HBO's fee for the debates is 25% of gross pay-per-view proceeds and the remainder goes towards relieving debt balance in the hands of the CBO. Monies collected by the CBO would then be applied to the debtors accounts, namely, China.

The payout for the great debates could contribute about $600million to debt relief. Which is equivalent to about a week of interest payments on Chinese-owned US debt or 4 days of our troops in Afghanistan. Mind you, I said my budget relief idea was puny earlier. A drop in the debt bucket for sure but what great clarity we would be getting in return as citizens, the electorate and as viewers. Obama v. Newt. Nice ring to it, right? Surely, viewers would get their money's worth...for better or for worse.

The idea of a great debate between the two polar opposites has great appeal. Obama, the quintessential liberal tax and spend big government ideologue who has not had one original thought on what to do to fix this broken country in three years, who truly believes that "America has been a bit lazy over the last couple of decades" versus Gingrich, the disputatious conservative anti-tax, anti-big government, anti-union wonk who has ten new ideas per minute, who stated recently that "it is time to get rid of unionized janitors and have one master janitor and pay the local students to take care of the school." Remember, all ideas are not necessarily good. You could not create two more diametrically-opposed politicians from Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory than these two.

The voluble Gingrich relishes the idea of a series of Lincoln-Douglas style debates with the President. The confident Newt smells a massacre against the disengaged sitting President. The unctuous Obama has no comment or interest on any type of debate with the former Speaker until it's time to do so. And when and if that event happens, it will be on his terms.

In any event, the Lincoln-Douglas debate style is fashioned after an old tried and true high school/college debate format on critical issues of the day. Face to face. Mano to mano. No panel questioners. Only a moderator present to police the time element.

Both would open with a 30 minute statement regarding a certain debate topic affirming and/or attacking a certain position. It would follow with a 30 minute "rejoinder" from each party. The incumbent would be first up followed by the challenger.

After two hours including time for commercials breaks, the debate concludes and the viewer is left with solid intelligence on what each man's logical, ethical, philosophical values are and what approaches and solutions would be employed by both parties on real world problems. No spin. No "got you" questions from biased reporters. Just the facts of who you are and what do you believe in.

These are very troubled and highly flammable times, we the American people deserve the truth for once from our President and from those who wish to be President. A debate of this type would flush out the truth and those who are not fit to govern. Talk about transparency. There would be no place to hide in front of the American people. This format would help all of us immeasurably as we look towards November's election.

One small detail in the fine print of the HBO deal which both parties would be signatory to, no teleprompters are allowed. Due to the seriousness of the times, it is duly expected that their firm grasp of the issues should render a teleprompter or any other artificial device unnecessary.

But, if the President did not agree on this detail, Speaker Gingrich said of Obama, "if he wants to use a teleprompter, it would be OK with me. It has to be fair. If you were to defend ObamaCare wouldn't you want a teleprompter."

This type of debate on the issues is just what this country needs amidst all the background noise. Will it happen? 100:1 odds against. It has about as much chance as a Pacquiao v Mayweather fight.

But...sometimes dreams do come true.

La Altaithe shona dhuit 2011

To spice things up a little bit this fine holiday morning, "La Altaithe shona dhuit" is Gaelic for Happy Thanksgiving. It seems our national holiday of thanksgiving knows no geographic boundaries.

So enjoy this wonderful day of gratitude for all we have and pray in earnest for what we don't have at the moment.

And as the 14th Century German theologian/mystic, Meister Eckhart, said, "If the only prayer you said in your whole life was 'thank you', that would suffice." And to whom and for what you give thanks, that is entirely up to you.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011.

"TTT" Denver's Triple Threat

I can't believe what I just witnessed.

After watching 55 minutes of the most inept offense in the National Football League, the last five minutes became "TTT" Tim Tebow Time in Denver.

The Tebow-led Denver Broncos did nothing for most of the night and then when it mattered the most, the Broncos marched 95 yards down the field for an improbable winning touchdown against the visiting favored New York Jets in Mile High Stadium. Tebow led the way; not with his arm but with his feet and, frankly, his soul. It was the greatest display of a sheer "will to win" that I have ever witnessed in sports.

With a minute left in the game and the Broncos trailing the Jets by three, Tebow took the ball from the Jet twenty yard and scampered into the end zone for another incredible WIN. Tebow did it again. Al Davis, bless his soul, would love this kid because he "just wins baby". He's not pretty but boy is he effective!

After being there and feeling the energy this kid gives off I can only surmise that Jesus is truly the Denver Broncos 12th man. And Tebow is His motor. How else do you explain the inexplicable?

While Mile High continues to buzz from what just happened, what's Tebow doing now? Giving an interview while praising the Lord.

Unbelievable in Denver tonight.

I'm spent.

Goodnight.

"Who's got it better than us? Nooooo-body."

Before and after every game that the resurgent San Francisco 49ers play, their first year head football coach, Jim Harbaugh, huddles up his players and leads them into a unified frenzy with a question from Harbaugh, "Who's got it better than us?" The lathered-up Niners reply thunderously, "Nooooooo-body." Kinda like the choir master using the pitch pipe in front of the chorus before the first note is sung.

In week one, asking the question "who's got it better than us?" to a dispirited team going on 8 straight losing seasons was a stretch for the Niners. The players in toto didn't believe in Harbaugh's perceived collegiate naivete. However, miraculously, after week ten, the answer to the question "Noooooo-body" (except for maybe the Green Bay Packers) is not only gaining more traction in the 8-1 49ers locker room but the rest of the National Football League is quickly taking notice.

The 49er pasties of the past are long gone and there is a new tone in the City by the Bay. Lots of bass and less treble. More drums. Less violins. Thanks to their hard-core coach and unique maestro, Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers are winning again and replacing the iconic City love song I Left My Heart In San Francisco with an updated heavy metal ear-blaster for all NFL teams to considerWe Kicked Your Ass in San Francisco.

And just who is this new national NFL figure Jim Harbaugh? Jim is the son of a career football coach, Jack Harbaugh, and Jackie, his mother. Jim was the star quarterback and scholastic All-American at the University of Michigan under Coach Bo Schembechler in the mid-'80s, first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987, 14 year pro in the NFL, assistant coach for Western Kentucky University and the Oakland Raiders, head coach at University of San Diego and Stanford University, a father of five kids and now the head football coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

Professionally, Jim Harbaugh has transformed somnolent football programs into winners in short order wherever he plied his trade. His upbringing in a football-oriented family culture, his Dad, and, his brother, John, head football coach of the Baltimore Ravens, has prepared him well for success in his chosen field. He believes mightily in himself and of the lessons he's learned along the way to the point of obnoxious self-assuredness. But in this harsh sports world measured only by wins and losses, he wins more than he loses and his sins and shortcomings are easily ameliorated by his employer to the delight of his growing legion of fans.

While Jim was a young boy, he and his family moved around the country alot for his Dad's work. In a span of 20 years, Coach Jack Harbaugh labored at seven different geographic posts in the football world. Moving a family hither thither and yon for work is part of the coach's job description. You either embrace that or you find another calling. For family Harbaugh there was no other calling. Football was the lifeblood for the family. They embraced football, therefore, they embraced moving.

Everytime the Harbaugh's would leave one post and head to the next, paterfamilias Jack stationed behind the wheel of his roomy Oldsmobile, would scream at his enraptured three kids in the back seat, "Who's got it better than us?" On cue, the adoring kids would scream back, "Nooooo-body", to the glee of the father, mother Harbaugh. Little did young Jimmy know that this routine "q and a" from his revered Dad would become the battle cry for every stop along the way in his own coaching journey. Or, just maybe he knew all the while...and filed this priceless memory of his youth in his playbook for what lay ahead.

Next week on Thanksgiving Day, football history will be made. On Thursday, Jim's 49ers play big brother John's Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. In the NFL's storied 90 year history, two brothers have never faced each other in an a game as opposing head coaches. It will be a historic game for us to witness as fans, for them to experience as brothers and for Jack and Jackie to fret and anguish over.

It certainly appears that the little 'h'arbaugh apples do not fall far from the aging 'H'arbaugh tree. Simply, they continue to answer their own repetitive generational family question, "who's got it better than us? Noooooo-body."

Revenge of the Jerks

"Can we all just get along?" Rodney King

Sorry, Rodney, in the case of Tiger Woods and his ex-caddie of 12 years, Stevie Williams, I assure you these two tortured souls will never "get along" any time soon. The two pictures above tell the cover story: the bottom picture was taken in the happy past between the two W's and the top picture is the unhappy present. If looks could kill right? What happened to these two brothers who were so close and now who hold such enmity for one another?

For 12 years, the team of Woods and Williams dominated professional golf. With Stevie on Tiger's bag, Tiger won 13 of his 14 Majors, 64 worldwide tournaments, was the #1 golfer in the world most of the time, was the PGA top money winner for 8 of 12 years and earned over $90million on the golf course alone. Stevie's take for these bountiful years together is reported to be in the $12million range. Not bad dough for a professional caddy. Off the course, their relationship was even tighter. Best friends. Attended each others weddings. Traveled the world together for business and for fun. They had each others backs. Simply, they loved each other.

Suddenly, their friendship imploded. Tiger's early morning escapade with a fire hydrant outside his home in Florida changed not only Tiger's world but all who worked for him and were closest to him. Due to Tiger's public dalliances with blonde big-boobed brainless cocktail waitresses while married to a gorgeous Swede and mother of his two children, he lost the three closest people in his life: his wife Elin of seven years, his swing coach Hank Haney and Stevie Williams. The first two left Tiger voluntarily. In Stevie's case, Tiger dumped him unceremoniously without cause by phone. Predictably, his enabling agent, Mark Steinberg, remained with Tiger...one of the few who did. Tiger was king one day, the next day he was still a king...of jerkdom.

Since Tiger fired Stevie earlier this year, Stevie has taken to the public stage to tell the world how much a true ass Tiger is and in doing so crudely revealed how much of an ass he himself is. Maybe these two were made for each other. The best golfer in the world. The best caddy in the world. A perfect marriage. Setting aside their unique golf talents, what quickly appears is that they are both jerks at their basic core. One is a career philanderer. The other is a career ungrateful schmoe.

Recently, Stevie fortified his lofty position as king fool for the moment by saying of Tiger in front of a large audience that "it is my aim to shove it up his black arsehole." Exactly what he wants to shove did not make much sense but supposedly the "in their cups" audience howled. Tells you what kind of audience that was. Nice, Stevie. You're not only a jerk but a racist. A two for oner.

So, this week the biennial President's Cup takes place in Melbourne, Australia. Americans versus the world (not including Europe). And guess who was reunited on the first tee? As fate would have it, the first day of competition pitted Tiger and Aussie Adam Scott, Stevie's new employer, in the same pairing. Not surprisingly, tension filled the tee and the subsequent holes that first day. To make matters even worse, Scott and his partner thumped Woods and his partner in match play 7 and 6. It was Tiger's worst beat down in his match play career. The elephant on the course, Stevie Williams, glowed at the result. Tiger steamed.

It's fair to speculate that Tiger and Stevie are no longer exchanging Christmas cards. What they are exchanging these days is seen in the above picture taken after Thursday's round. And that doesn't look nice.

Why can't they just get along? Because both of them are jerks. And jerks don't know how to be nice.

Veterans Day 11-11-11

"They may take away our lives, but they'll never take away our freedom." William Wallace

May God bless the 2.3 million living veterans of the United States of America on this Veterans Day who have defended this country in war and in peace and preserved the freedom we all share and enjoy this moment.

Without their courageous service to our beloved country, we would have no freedom.

There is no greater honor than to serve for something bigger than oneself.

We are eternally in your debt.

Thank you.

JoePa"thetic"

Jerry Sandusky, on the left in the above picture in happier times and in the below picture in handcuffs, and Joe Paterno, on the right in the above picture, have been inextricably linked together for over 48 years in the Penn State University Football program. That's almost half a century of knowing someone well, one would think. Sandusky, 67, was a player and defensive line coach under Paterno at "Linebacker U", the other, Paterno, 84, is the grandfatherly assistant then head coach of 61 years Penn State in the insular and isolated college football kingdom in Central Pennsylvania known affectionately as "Happy Valley".

In the last five days, sadly, they are now linked not by football but by scandal, cover-up and abject indifference. 48 years of good will and great success together have been ruined by the allegations of gross and deviant sexual abuse by Sandusky against young boys under Sandusky's control. This all happened under Paterno's watch. The Valley of Penn State is no longer happy. Welcome to Sad Valley.

First up Sandusky. He is a married man with 6 adopted kids. In addition, he had several foster children in his care. Presently, in a grand jury indictment, he is facing 40 known felony counts of sexual abuse against 8 minors spanning 15 years of sexual misconduct. That number may grow as this story develops. 20 of those alleged incidents occurred while he was employed by Penn State. It has been reported that "in 2002, Mike McQuery, Penn State graduate assistant walked in on Sandusky having anal intercourse with a ten year old boy in the Penn State shower room. The next day, McQuery reported this incident to Paterno who informed Penn State Athletic Director, Tim Curley of the incident." The reporting of the incident traveled as high as the President of the University, Graham Spanier. The ludicrous punishment meted out by President Spanier for such an offense: Sandusky was ordered not to bring any children from his charity, Second Mile, on campus in the future. Incredibly, the local police authorities were never informed of the incident at the time. The University criminally kept the incident, as the Italians say "nella famiglia" or "omerta" in the family under a cone of silence. If found guilty, he will serve several life sentences.

Next up Joe Paterno. He and his wife are parents of 5 kids. 17 grandchildren. He is a head college football coach. He is Penn State University. Really, what else is out there besides the Amish, their horse-drawn black carriages and Penn State Football. His program made millions of dollars for Penn State University. His program was the gift that kept giving year after year. The school's coffers brimmed from football revenues. Football income ran that university. And it was Joe's world to rule. He ruled this fiefdom with an iron fist, ultimate control, secrecy, and all with impunity and without scrutiny or question from anybody of authority...until now. It is alleged that after Joe received a first hand account of Sandusky's sodomizing a youngster in the shower room, he kicked the can down the road to the AD to deal with it. The defenseless kid was 10 years old. A caring responsible adult should have protected that boy from that monster. Joe abdicated his role as supreme leader right then and there. Why? Because he did not want his program to suffer and the University agreed...tacitly. Suddenly, because of his lack of moral leadership, the revered JoePa has morphed into a disgraced JoePa"thetic."

So as this story unfolds by the hour, the casualty list increases. The AD and the Vice President were fired. The President will be fired soon. The Board of Trustees is trying to figure out what to do with Joe. He made a teary self-serving statement that he will retire at the end of the season. The compliant Board may let him coach the final games of the season. Which begs the questions: one, why would the Board allow Paterno to coach another game ever, is it because he's still in charge or is is payback time, and two, who is in charge of that University? Moe, Larry and Curly. Very soon, it will be the plaintiff's lawyers who rules Penn State. (See Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America for reference.)

In my estimation, the Board must do the right thing for once at that University, the Board must fire Joe Paterno and those in authority who failed to blow the whistle must fall now. Clean break! Clean house!! There I wrote it. He and they were complicit in this sordid affair and cover-up and should pay the price for their collective insouciance and callousness. But, Joe has other plans. You see, Joe mistakenly believes he's still in charge as the University melts down around him. He wants to coach his players on Saturday and astoundingly, the Board may let him. Not suprisingly, there are ex-football jocks and jock sniffers on that Board.

And what about the innocent and weak victims who were physically and emotionally traumatized forever by the sexual monster uber-perverted Sandusky? Joe said to a throng of adoring clueless students outside his home last night, "It's hard for me to tell how much this support means to me. Kids who are the victims...say a prayer for them." Say a prayer for them? How daffy is this guy? Outrageous.

Joe, it's time for you to go. Working at 84, who does that other than Supreme Court Justices and a few loony Senators?

Lastly, as the sexual monster of Penn State hid in the shadows for years with young boys in tow, where was Sandusky's wife during all of his rapes of small children? Baking cookies?

Postscript:
What's really disturbing about this story is, just how insidious is this problem of sexual child abuse in our country? Reports are that 1 out of 6 boys are abused and 1 out of 3 girls are abused in some way. If those numbers are accurate or even half those numbers, what have we become as a society? and why??

Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, survived the Oakland Raiders, their crude fans and the infamously rowdy Black Hole this past Sunday in Oakland. In fact, that crowd looked alot like the Oakland Occupy Wall Street Clockwork Orange street thugs who closed the Port of Oakland earlier in the week. Overall, it was a bad week for Oakland. Scoreboard: Broncos 38 Raiders 24. Old-fashioned decency won. Modern age crudeness lost. There is a God! Thankfully.

Tebow, media identified as "the over zealous Christian NFL quarterback in training", performed as follows against the big, bad Raiders and their brain dead fans who yelled in unison "Tebow sucks" for most of the game: 118 yards rushing and 10 of 21 for 124 yards passing with two TDs and no interceptions. 118 yards rushing as a quarterback. The fabled quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots doesn't rush those many yards in a season.

Tebow has been pilloried by the media and the sports talking heads more than anybody in the NFL in recent memory. At times this season, even his own coaches and some players on the Broncos questioned his ability to win. Why does seemingly everybody dump on Tebow in the NFL?

Tebow proved he was winner at Florida. Two national championships. Heisman trophy. Arguably, the best collegiate player of all time. Urban Meyer, his coach at Florida, called him the greatest player he has ever coached. When Tebow graduated from Florida, Meyer retired from coaching. There will never be another Tim Tebow. Why does Tebow suffer so much abuse from those who could not carry his jock strap?

Answer: people do not approve of his overt display of his faith. Makes them uncomfortable.

The unfaithful and those who do not possess the gift of faith just don't get it. Tebow gets it. So what if he wears his faith on his sleeve or on his face paint as he did in college? Bill Romanowski, ex-Raider and confessed steroid abuser said of Tebow, "I can't put him to sleep yet because he is the only virgin in the NFL." That's a confusingly unintelligent statement from a man who went to a Catholic Jesuit school, Boston College, who frankly should know better. But do those words affect Tebow? Excuse me, Tim, hell no.

In the Raider game, Tebow was beaten silly. Roughed up. Slammed to the ground head first. Hit in the chops. Sandwiched. Hi-lowed repeatedly. Blood flowed from his cut lips and mouth. That's he walking off the field after the game in the top picture. Repeatedly he got up and said to his adversaries, "God bless you." You see, Tebow is different and a cut above and it started early, in his mother's womb.

His parents were Baptist missionaries in the Philippines. When Tim was in utero, Tim's mother developed a life threatening pathogenic amoeba. She fell into a coma. Doctors awakened her and told her that the baby will be a still birth from a severe placenta abruption and that she may lose her life if the baby is delivered. The doctors advised aborting Tim. She wanted the baby. And Tim, the youngest of five, was born. Today, Tim's mother survived and living a normal life. Tim is 6'-3" and 240 pounds of pure muscle and a warrior for his God.

So, Tim almost did not even start his life. His mother had the courage and faith to give him the gift of life. That courage and faith given by his mother to her son is imbued in Tim. Football may be his public stage on Sundays but it's his daily stage of his understanding and acceptance of life, death and resurrection that is so much bigger and more important to him than football. Sadly, Tim's primary focus and perspective for most football fans is totally incomprehensible. Again that's what having faith is all about.

The day before the Raiders game, the omniscient media were piling on Tebow again, saying: "doesn't have the tools, will never be a NFL QB, won't win a game, this is his last chance, ad infinitum, ad nauseum". So what does he do? He proves all the naysayers wrong, his team wins. He wins.

I have been thinking about Tim Tebow today fresh off his team's victory and read a passage from the Book of Matthew 5:11:
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven..."

Tim Tebow has a special way of communicating to all of us. As you can see, he is inspiring me to read the Bible again. For that is worth more than any Sunday football game. Win, lose or draw.

Amen.

Rockin' and Rollin' n Oklahoma

We traveled to Norman, Oklahoma this past weekend for the Texas A&M v. OU college football game. After a dull first half, OU got its groove on and rolled over A&M 41-25. But the visiting Aggies weren't the only folks who got rocked that night.

Oklahoma endured the most violent earthquake in its barely relevant and negligible quake history on Saturday evening. Blame it on all the recent "fracking" going on under the great Dust Bowl landscape. A 5.6 shaker on the Richter scale. Earthquakes in Oklahoma? Are you kidding me? Not. What's next, heat waves in November on the North Pole??

Head scratching earthquakes in Oklahoma aside, we were delighted to be in Oklahoma, home of the Sooners and Cowboys of Oklahoma State University. As you may know, each fall we travel to one of the tradition-blessed college football states and universities in our country to attend a game. Last year, we were in Louisiana, year before Ohio and so on.

This year we chose Oklahoma because at the time of our choosing, OU was #1 in the country and A&M was in the top 10. The match-up appeared to be a great contest...on paper. However, when we arrived in Oklahoma on Friday the college football landscape had changed dramatically in the country in a matter of weeks. In fact, it had changed so much that OU would not only slip to #10 in the country but that OU was ranked lower than their neighbor to the north in Stillwater, Oklahoma State, ranked #3. We weren't even going to see the best collegiate team in the state of Oklahoma. Now tell me, what other state in the country has two teams within 100 plus miles of each other, ranked after Saturday's games, in the top 6 teams in the country? No other state has that distinction. Talk about Oklahoma rising from its dusty past. OK rules college football...and maybe high school football as well.

We got a taste of how crazy football is to Okies on Friday when we arrived. The first three pages of the sports pages were dedicated to football. High school football, that is. There was another main section of the paper on OU and OSU. I can imagine only Ohio, Texas and Louisiana even being in the same conversation to this kind of rabid fan following.

Game day in Norman was like a religious revival. Bands playing. Fans tailgating. Tents everywhere. "Boomer...Sooner" chants bouncing off the brick buildings. Crimson and cream coloring the landscape. Young, old, women, men representing OU pride with decency and respect. Speaking of pride, there was a special pregame ceremony honoring The King of Red, Coach Barry Switzer, winner of three national championships at OU in the '70s and '80s. They unveiled a statue of Coach Switzer to the glee of thousands of fans chanting his name. Little Sooners soon climbed up on the statue (see above) signaling to the world that the pipeline of Sooner Nation is full and ready to take on all comers, especially those Texans from the south.

What a tradition of excellence OU has enjoyed since WWII, the modern era of sports. In college football in the modern era, no team in the country has won more than OU. 567 victories. .763 winning percentage. 7 National Championships. 43 Conference Championships. 26 Bowl Championships. 5 Heisman Trophy winners. 152 All Americans. More than Penn State, Texas, Nebraska, Ohio State, USC, Michigan and Alabama. OU's football record of consistent winning spanning decades is truly remarkable.

And what about the future of this great college football powerhouse? Suffice it to say, OU is in good capable hands with Coach Bob Stoops, coach of the 2000 National Championship, at the helm. His pipeline of Oklahoma and Texas talent year after year is second to none. He is a winner just like those coaches who proceeded him, notably, Bennie Owen, Bud Wilkinson, Chuck Fairbanks and Coach Switzer. I suspect some day, 25 plus years from now, OU will be honoring Coach Stoops with his own statue in the plaza.

As we close the book on another sports adventure to a faraway land, we'll remember Oklahoma for many reasons: great football tradition, nicest people on earth, stiff winds, the boomer-sooner wagon circling every time the team scored, the 6 muskets firing throughout the game, funny hats, babe cheerleaders, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical tune "Oklahoma" echoing from the bell tower, Gaylord Family Stadium, Shiner Bock beer and, yes, that earthquake which made us Californians feel right at home.

So, it's on to Tuscaloosa or Eugene or Austin or Lincoln or Oxford or Starksville or Morgantown or Madison or Gainsville or...next year! So many places to see, people to meet and games to witness.

In closing, it's great to share these adventures with other fans of college football, namely, my family. There's nothing quite like it in sports or in life itself. Special moments are to be shared as this one was.

In the meantime, "BOOMER...SOONER!"

Sweetness

Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals are World Champions of 2011. How does that sound Cardinal Nation? Improbable? Yes. Now who would have "thunk" that 2 months ago. I'm sure "Don" Tony La Russa, the madhatter manager of the Cardinals, had serious doubts about this team in late August. The fans and the media sure did.

The baseball Cardinals had a widely perceived "no chance" in late August of getting into the post season. Their play was sloppy, uninspired and inconsistent. The Cards were 10.5 games out of the wild card race. A few trades later, winning baseball and losing baseball by others in the last six weeks of the season redeemed them. By late October, they were crowned champions after beating the three best teams in baseball in the playoffs. As Tim McCarver asked rhetorically after Game 6 of the World Series, "How did this happen?" Call it a mixture of destiny, talent and a gritty will to never give up amidst it all.

Above are seven endearing and iconic images of the just concluded World Series. Starting at the top from Game 1 to Game 7 are moments in each game which defined that particular game. Each game had high drama of excellence and stupidity. Baseball always reveals both over nine innings in front of the world.

As a fan, I'm glad it's over. It's tough being a fan in baseball because it's so unpredictable, gut-wrenching and such an interminably long season. I'm happy for the Cardinals. I'm sad for the Rangers. Manager Ron Washington and his team are first class. The Cardinals and the Rangers showed the world, and the other teams in the playoffs, how baseball should be played at the highest level, with respect for the game, their teammates and for the other team. But only one team could win and that is the screaming agony of sports.

So, as the curtain drops on another Fall Classic and winter arrives, it will give us baseball fans a few months to repair from the past season and prepare for Spring Training in February. Only 106 days until Pitchers and Catchers arrive in Jupiter, Florida. See you there with or without Albert.

#11 in 2011. UNBELIEVABLE. AMAZING. INCREDIBLE. This one was for Tony.

Congratulations to the best organization in professional baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals and to the best baseball city in America, St. Louis, Missouri. You have made us all proud.

Go Cards in 2012.

Dream Big

Every baseball-loving youngster born in St. Louis wanted to play for their beloved hometown St. Louis Cardinals, particularly in the World Series. I wanted to. My brothers wanted to. My cousins wanted to. My friends wanted to. Being born in St. Louis, it's in our DNA. We had no choice but to dream of playing for the Cardinals. It was our birthright dream. But to be the home town hero in a World Series game transcended even our wildest dreams. What happened in St. Louis tonight was pure Hollywood. Dreamlike but very real. So move over The Natural and screenwriters get ready to crank out the redemption story of David Freese and of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011.

St. Louis Cardinal and forever hometown hero, David Freese, 28, is exceeding in living the dream all of us had as kids. That is he in the above picture being mobbed by his riotous teammates after hitting the walk-off home run in the 11th inning against the Texas Rangers tonight. It is only the fifth walk-off home run in Games 6 or 7 in World Series history. He hit a 3-2 91mph change up at the knees over the center field wall with a swing as smooth as a cold Bud and as powerful as a double-single malt shot.

Freese, from Lafayette High School in St. Louis, gave up the sport in college. Too much failure. Became bored by it all. Partied at Mizzou and drifted away into a collegiate stupor. By God's divine guiding hand, he eventually returned to the sport he once loved. Spent years in the minors regaining his swing and confidence. Traded to the home town Cardinals. Had his demons with alcohol. Freakish crippling injuries stalled his progress. Prolonged batting slumps. Feeble fielding slumps. Team stood by him. Then, when it mattered most, he found his game.

With one more game left in this magical dreamlike season, stands one man above the rest, David Freese, a St. Louisan, who is living the dream that we, his kindred souls, wanted so much for ourselves.

I can assure you every baseball-loving kid or old man in St. Louis connects with Freese. Vicariously, he represents all of us wannabes. He has provided us baseball thrills for a lifetime in this post season. Thank you, David. Now go out there tomorrow and give us #11 in 2011.

Go Cards in Game 7.

Postscript: Was that the greatest Cardinal baseball game ever played? Maybe. It can only to be trumped by what happens tonight. But in the meantime, stay delirious Cardinal Nation!!!!

It's W's fault...

Tony La Russa, Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, in front of the National Media after the comedic bungling and Cardinal loss of game 5 of the World Series, 'I blame the entire game's outcome on George W. Bush, a Texas Ranger fan. Why not, he's blamed for everything else wrong in this country. Next question from you experts.' ;-)

Is TLR drinking again? A senior moment, perhaps?

Oh brother! Game Six is sure to be a dandy in the STL.

Go Cards!

Cheers.