#i think that scott was probably the announcer for season 27 as well

[pyrriax]

listening to this on loop bc it makes my silly brain happy

on that note: i'm making very slow progress on chapter 21 :3

[papermoonloveslucy]

VACATION TIME

April 29, 1949

“Vacation Time” (aka “Trailer Vacation to Goosegrease Lake”) is episode #41 of the radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND broadcast on April 29, 1949 on the CBS radio network.

Synopsis ~ It's vacation time, and Liz and George have decidedly different plans. He wants to go camping with a trailer he borrowed from a friend, while she's set on a glamorous vacation at Moosehead Lodge.

This episode later partly inspired the premise of “Liz Learns To Swim” aired on June 11, 1950. 

“My Favorite Husband” was based on the novels Mr. and Mrs. Cugat, the Record of a Happy Marriage (1940) and Outside Eden (1945) by Isabel Scott Rorick, which had previously been adapted into the film Are Husbands Necessary? (1942). “My Favorite Husband” was first broadcast as a one-time special on July 5, 1948. Lucille Ball and Lee Bowman played the characters of Liz and George Cugat, and a positive response to this broadcast convinced CBS to launch “My Favorite Husband” as a series. Bowman was not available Richard Denning was cast as George. On January 7, 1949, confusion with bandleader Xavier Cugat prompted a name change to Cooper. On this same episode Jell-O became its sponsor. A total of 124 episodes of the program aired from July 23, 1948 through March 31, 1951. After about ten episodes had been written, writers Fox and Davenport departed and three new writers took over – Bob Carroll, Jr., Madelyn Pugh, and head writer/producer Jess Oppenheimer. In March 1949 Gale Gordon took over the existing role of George’s boss, Rudolph Atterbury, and Bea Benaderet was added as his wife, Iris. CBS brought “My Favorite Husband” to television in 1953, starring Joan Caulfield and Barry Nelson as Liz and George Cooper. The television version ran two-and-a-half seasons, from September 1953 through December 1955, running concurrently with “I Love Lucy.” It was produced live at CBS Television City for most of its run, until switching to film for a truncated third season filmed (ironically) at Desilu and recasting Liz Cooper with Vanessa Brown.

MAIN CAST

Lucille Ball (Liz Cooper) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon.

Richard Denning (George Cooper) was born Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr., in Poughkeepsie, New York. When he was 18 months old, his family moved to Los Angeles. Plans called for him to take over his father’s garment manufacturing business, but he developed an interest in acting. Denning enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. He is best known for his  roles in various science fiction and horror films of the 1950s. Although he teamed with Lucille Ball on radio in “My Favorite Husband,” the two never acted together on screen. While “I Love Lucy” was on the air, he was seen on another CBS TV series, “Mr. & Mrs. North.” From 1968 to 1980 he played the Governor on “Hawaii 5-0″, his final role. He died in 1998 at age 84.

Bea Benadaret (Iris Atterbury) and Gale Gordon (Rudolph Atterbury) do not appear in this episode. 

Ruth Perrott (Katie, the Maid) was also later seen on “I Love Lucy.” She first played Mrs. Pomerantz (above right), a member of the surprise investigating committee for the Society Matrons League in “Pioneer Women” (ILL S1;E25), as one of the member of the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League in “Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress” (ILL S3;E3), and also played a nurse when “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” (ILL S2;E16). She died in 1996 at the age of 96.

Bob LeMond (Announcer) also served as the announcer for the pilot episode of “I Love Lucy”. When the long-lost pilot was finally discovered in 1990, a few moments of the opening narration were damaged and lost, so LeMond – fifty years later – recreated the narration for the CBS special and subsequent DVD release.

GUEST CAST

Frank Nelson (Policeman) was born on May 6, 1911 (three months before Lucille Ball) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He started working as a radio announcer at the age of 15. He later appeared on such popular radio shows as “The Great Gildersleeve,” “Burns and Allen,” and “Fibber McGee & Molly”. This is one of his 11 performances on “My Favorite Husband.”  On “I Love Lucy” he holds the distinction of being the only actor to play two recurring roles: Freddie Fillmore and Ralph Ramsey, as well as six one-off characters, including the frazzled train conductor in “The Great Train Robbery” (ILL S5;E5), a character he repeated on “The Lucy Show.”  Aside from Lucille Ball, Nelson is perhaps most associated with Jack Benny and was a fifteen-year regular on his radio and television programs.  

Wally Maher (Joe Risley) was born on August 4, 1908 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was known for Mystery Street (1950), The Reformer and the Redhead (1950) and Hollywood Hotel (1937). He was heard with Lucille Ball in the Lux Radio Theatre version of “The Dark Corner” (1947), taking the role originated on film by William Bendix. He died on December 27, 1951.

Milton Stark (Filling Station Attendant) was a theatre actor and director, who also appeared on radio and television, although usually in supporting roles.  He also worked as a dialogue coach and acting teacher. At UCLA a scholarship was established in his name. He lived to the age of 103. 

EPISODE

ANNOUNCER: “As we look in on the Coopers, it is a cold rainy afternoon, but Liz is in her bedroom standing in front of the mirror wearing a back-less, strapless sun dress.” 

Liz calls Katie in to show off her sun dress, but Katie is disapproving that is so revealing.  Liz has shopped for summer vacation clothes.  Liz’s bathing suit cost’s forty dollars. 

KATIE: “That’s a lot of money for two doilies and a diaper.” 

Liz says that husbands only approve of scanty swimsuits when they are on any woman but their wives. 

LIZ: “I want to look good for George. He’s going to see a lot of me this summer.” KATIE: “He’s not the only one!”  

The topic of revealing bathing suits was later also mined for comedy on “I Love Lucy.”  In “Off To Florida” (ILL S6;E6) Ricky thinks Lucy’s new skimpy new swimsuit is for Little Ricky!  Lucy also buys a swimsuit that Ricky feels is too skimpy when shopping for their California trip in “Getting Ready” (ILL S4;E11)

Liz says they are going to Moosehead Lodge on Lake Okeechobee. Liz calls it a real swanky place.  Katie reminds Liz that George prefers more rugged vacations.  Liz says she will suggest it to George at dinner. 

Lake Okeechobee is a real place, located in central Florida, although it is far more conducive to George’s type of vacation than Liz’s, highlighting nature through fishing and nature.  

Although there are places called Moosehead Lodge in America, it unlikely that a moose would be associated with central Florida and that it would be an upscale resort of the type Liz is describing. 

At the bank, George talks to his co-worker Joe about scheduling vacations.  Joe says that his ideal vacation is in a trailer.  If George likes the idea, he will lend the Coopers his trailer.  George will suggest it to Liz at dinner. 

After dinner, both Liz and George get cozy with the idea of easing the other into going on their dream destination.  Liz ‘just happened’ to hear about a place that she vaguely remembers. 

LIZ: “I did hear of some place called Moosehead Lodge. It’s probably situated in groves of stately pines, on the shores of an emerald green lake, its rustic beauty enhanced by lawns and flower beds. Each luxurious room is furnished with clean, comfortable box spring beds, modern bathroom and shower. Ten dollars a day, American plan. Oh, George, let’s go there. We can relax and enjoy a continual round of  glorious entertainment, sports, good food, and true fellowship, see your travel agent for details.”

George realizes that Liz has been plotting a vacation.  George says he has a better idea - two weeks in a trailer.  Liz is less than keen. George says that they can borrow Joe Risley’s trailer!

LIZ: “Keen with mud on it.”

Liz is worried that nobody will see her new vacation wardrobe if they are cooped up in a trailer.  They are at an impasse.  Liz suggests they go on separate vacations.  When George reluctantly agrees, she breaks down in tears.  

Liz moans to Katie that she already misses George, and the vacation doesn’t begin for two months.  George phones from work to talk to Liz.  George offers a compromise.  They will take a trial weekend trip in the trailer, and if she doesn’t like it, he will go to Moosehead Lodge!

Vacationing in a trailer was explored by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in their 1953 comedy MGM’s The Long Long Trailer.  The film mines a lot of physical comedy from the trailer’s unwieldy movement and how Lucy’s character Tacy Bolton copes with it. 

ANNOUNCER: “George is just driving up with the trailer hooked up to the back of the car.”

Liz remarks how small the trailer is.  

GEORGE: “Keep an open mind.” LIZ: “I’ll have to close it or it won’t fit in that trailer.” 

They tour the inside, which is smaller than Liz thought.  Just then, a knock at the trailer door and there’s a policeman (Frank Nelson) issuing them a parking ticket! Forty bucks for parking illegally!

The next morning George and Liz get an early start on their trial trailer trip.  Liz has brought along a little light reading for the trip: “Inside Moosehead Lodge” by Liz Gunther. 

Motoring along the highway, George is enjoying the drive. 

LIZ: “Travel is great. I wouldn’t go anywhere without it.”

George says it is so smooth, you wouldn’t even know the trailer is back there.  Liz notices that it isn’t!  George forgot to hook it on!   Finally, they are off (again) to Goosegrease Lake. Liz reads one of those sequential signs along the roadside: “If Your Whiskers...  Won’t Behave... Take a Tip Use....”  Liz goes silent. 

GEORGE: “Use what?”  LIZ: “The last sign’s torn down. Now we’ll never know.” 

Almost everyone in the audience knew it was Burma-Shave.  From 1926 until 1963 the ‘brushless’ shaving cream company dotted the American highways with small red signs, each containing a line of a short rhyme that the driver could read without slowing down as they drove by.  At one time, there were over 600 different rhymes on signs!  

The idea was given a nod on a 1955 “I Love Lucy” episode “First Stop” (ILL S4;E14) with the roadside signs for Aunt Polly’s Pecan Pralines. 

LUCY: Fifty miles to Aunt Sally’s Pecan Pralines. later... LUCY: 300 yards to Aunt Sally’s! ETHEL: 200 yards! FRED: 100 yards! RICKY: Just around the bend! LUCY: You have just passed Aunt Sally’s. 

Liz is quite sure that George’s shortcut has gotten them lost. They stop to ask directions from a laid back filling station attendant (Milton Stark) who tells them they don’t want to go to Goosegrease Lake.  He suggests they go to the hot springs, instead. 

Oops! Milton Stark has trouble pronouncing ‘Goosegrease’ and  the audience is aware of his flub. When he asks Lucille Ball “What ya gonna do there?” She deliberately says “We’re gonna goose a grease”, instead of “grease a goose”, which causes more giggles from the cast and gales of laughter from the audience. 

FILLING STATION ATTENDANT: “You can’t get there from here!”

Next morning Liz wakes up and looks around.  She sees beautiful green grass and a little flag with the number 18 on it!  A golf ball comes crashing through the window. The policeman from who ticketed them earlier knocks on the trailer door. They have illegally camped out on the 18th green of the municipal golf course - only two miles from home!  Liz said they didn’t know where they were going. 

POLICEMAN: “Do you know where you’re going now?” LIZ: “Yes!  To Moosehead Lodge!” POLICEMAN: “No, to the city jail! Come on!”

End of Episode

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

In California, a member of Congress was indicted this year on charges that he used a quarter-million dollars in campaign donations to purchase family vacations and an airplane ticket for his pet rabbit, among other things. In New York, another member of the House was arrested on insider-trading charges. In New Jersey, a senator whose corruption trial ended with a deadlocked jury was rebuked by his peers for violating standards of conduct.

All these things happened this year to incumbents who will be on the ballot come November. They are also all currently favorites to win re-election, according to FiveThirtyEight’s forecasts. And they aren’t alone. But while it may feel like we’re becoming immune to scandal, incumbency and partisanship have long held sway in the U.S., even in the face of bad headlines.

Several candidates seem to be banking on it. The investigation into the campaign finances of Republican California Rep. Duncan Hunter predates this year’s primaries, but he declined to bow out despite knowing that the charges could come out before Election Day (which they did). After New York Rep. Chris Collins, also a Republican, was arrested, the GOP tried to get him off the ballot. When it realized that would be all but impossible, he simply returned to campaigning. And despite heavy criticism, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has forged ahead with his re-election bid in New Jersey. All three have denied the charges against them.

Scandals in Washington are nothing new, and they definitely hurt an incumbent candidate’s chances of winning re-election (which is why they are a line item in the FiveThirtyEight midterm forecasts). FiveThirtyEight and other analysts have found that in recent decades, scandals have taken a toll on candidates’ support, to the tune of 6 to 9 percentage points.

And that’s just among incumbents who decide to stay in the game. FiveThirtyEight’s Nathaniel Rakich maintains a database of statewide and federal elected officials accused of scandals, which he defines as a credible accusation of objective criminal or ethical wrongdoing, such as embezzlement or adultery. (Mere controversies, such as when a candidate makes an offensive comment, don’t count.) In that data set, 48 percent of the U.S. representatives and senators who were involved in a scandal from 2008 to 2016 resigned or retired after allegations emerged, without running for re-election. Among those who stayed the course and ran (for any office, not just the one they previously held), just shy of 50 percent won.

This election season, 10 incumbents are running for the House or Senate with clouds hanging over their heads, according to FiveThirtyEight’s database of scandal.

Scandal-plagued candidates are mostly favored

Incumbent House and Senate candidates who have been involved in a scandal in the current election cycle, by district partisan lean and 2018 FiveThirtyEight midterm forecast category as of Oct. 1

District/seat Incumbent Scandal type name Partisan Lean 2018 forecast Rod Blum (R) Ethics IA-1 D+0.7 Solid D Dana Rohrabacher (R) Election collusion CA-48 R+6.7 Lean D Scott Taylor (R) Election fraud VA-2 R+7.8 Likely R Bob Menendez (D) Corruption NJ (Sen.) D+13.3 Likely D David Schweikert (R) Campaign finance AZ-6 R+17.6 Likely R Duncan Hunter (R) Campaign finance CA-50 R+21.6 Likely R Chris Collins (R) Corruption NY-27 R+22.9 Likely R Bobby Scott (D) Sex VA-3 D+28.5 Uncontested Jim Jordan (R) Sexual harassment coverup OH-4 R+30.0 Solid R Tony Cárdenas (D) Sex CA-29 D+55.5 Solid D

A district’s “partisan lean” is FiveThirtyEight’s measurement of how much more Republican- or Democratic-leaning a district is than the nation as a whole. It is based on 2016 and 2012 presidential results within the district, plus an adjustment for state-legislative results.

But whether or not voters are more tolerant of shenanigans, many of these candidates are headed into election season with a sizable political advantage, one that most likely would be difficult for challengers to overcome by scandal alone.

Much of that is due to the incumbency advantage, which has been a master salve that can see politicians through all sorts of political ailments (though it’s increasingly less effective). In the U.S., we give a lot of priority to people who are already politicians. Combine that advantage with an electorate that doesn’t follow politics closely, and scandals aren’t always a cause for concern among voters, according to research by Marko Klašnja, a professor at Georgetown University.

That could be a boon to Hunter, who hails from a rural and suburban electorate in eastern San Diego and parts of Riverside counties that’s not particularly engaged when it comes to politics, according to a variety of Republican and Democratic leaders who work in the area.

That means that even though the Hunter indictment is nearly 50 pages long and full of details about the allegations against him, it’s likely that many in the area have not heard of the charges against him. But they might be familiar with his name: Before Duncan Duane Hunter, there was Duncan Lee Hunter, his father, who represented the area for many years. “Older people sometimes think they are voting for his dad,” said Shawn VanDiver, an active Democrat in the area. Collectively, the two Hunters have represented the area for nearly four decades. Hunter also made a name for himself by being a strong, and early, supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential bid (as did Collins).

Hunter’s district is among the most reliably Republican districts in California. Several other candidates who are seeking office despite scandals plaguing their campaigns are in comfortable districts as well. Collins’s congressional district — New York’s 27th — is nearly 23 percentage points more Republican-leaning than the nation as a whole, according to FiveThirtyEight’s partisan lean metric.1 And in Menendez’s home state of New Jersey, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 900,000. Not only are these areas decidedly shaded in red or blue, partisanship is generally on the rise. Even if our tolerance for scandal has stayed the same, it is possible that a more partisan electorate might be more welcoming to a politician under the magnifying glass.

While still plenty conservative at an R+18 partisan lean, Arizona’s 6th Congressional District is not quite as politically lopsided as other areas with scandal-plagued contests this year. Rep. David Schweikert is under investigation after being accused of campaign finance violations (he has said that the irregularities are the result of a clerical error), but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has not stepped in with its full force to support his opponent, Anita Malik, even though some prognosticators think the race could be competitive.

It probably helps Schweikert (Collins and Hunter, too) that they are accused of financial crimes. While the FiveThirtyEight model doesn’t distinguish between types of scandals, there’s some evidence that what an incumbent is accused of might matter. Morality-related scandals, including sexual indiscretions, (usually) seem to hurt incumbents slightly more than financial scandals (though not always), according to a 2011 study by Nicholas Chad Long,2 a professor at St. Edward’s University. That may be because financial crimes are more difficult to understand, and complexity matters when determining whether or not voters punish politicians, according to Klašnja.

But even though incumbents enjoy these big advantages, a win isn’t a foregone conclusion. In Hunter’s case, his opponent in the general election, Ammar Campa-Najjar, wasn’t expected to have much of a chance until the indictment was announced, even though he beat out five other Democrats and Republicans in California’s top-two primary. Campa-Najjar was born and largely raised in the district, and he worked for the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce before launching his own business. He’s the toughest opponent the younger Hunter has faced, VanDiver said.

And the Hunter campaign seems to feel threatened. It has made false statements about Campa-Najjar’s religion (he is Christian) and upbringing. Most recently, it has been conflating Campa-Najjar’s Palestinian heritage and the growth of the Muslim population in the U.S. Hunter has described his opponent as trying to “infiltrate Congress.” It’s not clear how well that tactic will sit with the district’s immigrant population, which includes a concentration of Iraqi Chaldeans, a Christian sect associated with the Catholic Church. They have expressed mixed reactions to President Trump’s anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies.

Tony Krvaric, chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County, is banking on the fact that voters will stick to their partisan ideologies and trust in the justice system to take care of Hunter on its own. He said that he’s been spending time reminding voters of three things: First, the names on the ballot aren’t changing — Hunter is who the GOP has on offer. Second, if the House were to move to impeach Trump, Campa-Najjar would only hurt the president. And, third, the authorities will handle the charges against Hunter.

Krvaric, who is an immigrant from Sweden and says he fell in love with Ronald Reagan’s politics as a teenager, thinks the bad air around Hunter has largely cleared. He said he’ll also be reminding San Diegans that the most important thing is to get a Republican in office.

As the old saying goes, he may be a scoundrel, but at least he’s their scoundrel.

[dailyaudiobible]

07/11/2018 DAB Transcript

1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18, Acts 28:1-31, Psalms 9:1-12, Proverbs 19:1-3

Today is the 11th day of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It's a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today and every day. And I'm excited to see where the Bible leads us today as we take the next step. We're reading from the New International Version this week. 1 Chronicles 11:1- 12:18 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, Paul's shipwreck turned out to be on the island of Malta. And they were way off course. Had they missed the island of Malta and survived, had the ship held together, then the next place that they could have hit would have been on the continent of Africa. So, this shipwreck’s on the island of Malta about seven hundred miles south of Rome. And to this very day, Paul is revered as the person who brought the good news to the island of Malta.

I remember back, I don't remember how many years but many years ago, we had a brother on the island of Malta who was a Daily Audio Bible listener every day, would call in often, sent me a book on Malta. Fascinating, fascinating, beautiful place. We're seeing a fascinating, really interesting thing happen in Paul's ministry because when he first began to travel around and he did a lot of traveling and establishing churches everywhere, he was free. And then he went into captivity. He was arrested and under guard. And he's able to speak freely the gospel to very, very powerful and influential people from that time forward. And then we have the serendipity of a shipwreck that brings the gospel to a completely different place than Paul had ever been before. And we just read the story, right? Paul's gathering firewood, they're building a fire to dry off, warm up, get out of the ocean. And this snake bites Paul and he throws it into the fire and everybody's expecting him to die because this is a ship with prisoners on board. But when Paul doesn't die then they think he's a god. This has happened to Paul before. And it's amazing what the anointing, the presence of God, in any situation will do to change hearts and minds, which is what we saw happening on Malta. And then they sailed away. And Paul eventually made it to Rome. And we'll pick up that story as we continue forward.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the examples of people like the Apostle Paul that demonstrate for us what it looks like to be completely abandoned to the mission that You've called them to. Father, we know that You have purpose for each one of us. It may look very different and does look very different than that of the Apostle Paul, but the posture of heart that is demonstrated is something that we all seek. So, come Holy Spirit. Let us spend this day in awe of You, knowing we are in Your hands and that You are aware of us and that You are leading and guiding us by the power of Your Holy Spirit. And that You will send us into situations that You need us to go into. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link that just lives on the homepage. And I am profoundly grateful for those of you who have clicked that link and allowed the global campfire that we share each and every day to continue to burn on. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. To Be A Blessing in California. I’m requesting prayer for my work situation. It’s changing significantly and there are a lot of details that are not known. I ask that you would pray for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding on my behalf as well as working with people that I don’t know in a situation where I’ve been working for quite some time. I’ll just be moving into a new department. Also asking that you would pray for me as I am learning how to live life now that I have lost my mother. I was living with her and life is changed and now I have to figure out, have God tell me what I need to do in terms of making a new life without her. My brain is foggy, I’m scattered, I’m just in the midst of great sorrow and grief. And, so, this change with work in addition to the change without having mom is pretty big. I’m praying for jubilant perseverance. I’m praying for the woman whose son was just killed and her other son is facing cancer. I pray for all of you as it comes through. Thank you for praying for me. God bless you. Bye-bye.

My name is Scott. I’m calling from North Carolina. I’m calling for prayer for my son Joel. We’ve had a very difficult season. I lost a 25-year-old son in a car wreck and shortly after that I lost my father to dementia. Very shortly after that my son Joel had emergency brain surgery because of a tumor wrapped around his brain stem. It was his eighth surgery. Unfortunately, things have not gone well. They’ve not given him very long to live. We are trying radical new surgeries right now. Radiation is probably going to be the only option. Joel is going to be 17 on his next birthday in August and I’m just asking for you to pray for the life of my son.

Hello, this is Beautiful Soul from North Carolina. I called earlier and the call got disconnected but I wanted to say that I call myself Beautiful Soul because in 1 Peter 3 verse 3 and 4 where he speaks about not living the outward appearance but God is in love with your soul. I called in because I wanted to give a little tip to some of you who are having a hard time concentrating on the Scriptures as Brian reads through the genealogy. Sometimes that gets to be a little bit tedious when you’re naming all of the descendant’s and you want to kind of just skip over it, but I found that if I repeat every name that Brian repeats it becomes fun. And because their unusual names sometimes if you try to read them on your own in Scripture, they’re hard to translate or hard to pronounce. But it’s fun when Brian pronounces the names and you say the names afterwards. And before you know it you’ve gone through that entire Scripture as he’s read through it. And, so, you know, I thought I would give that little tidbit to those who are struggling through it to not skip through it, that if you just repeat the names after Brian it becomes fun and it ends up being something that will stay on your Spirit. And I want to continue to pray for my Daily Audio Bible family and Brian. And God’s going to keep on blessing us. And have a fantastic summer. God bless.

Hi, this is Valerie calling from south of Atlanta. I just heard Mary from the UK call about her friends son, the one that just passed away and the one that is recently diagnosed with cancer and was just giving a few leaks to live. Mary, my heart breaks for this family. I have a 25-year-old son. I also have a 27-year-old son. And I just could not imagine what this mother must be going through at this moment. So, please know that I am praying for her. I am praying that she feels the comfort of God surrounding her. I pray that she has a strong support system to get her through this. Thank you so much for reaching out to us and telling us about her story so that we can surround her in prayer and uplift her and her family during this difficult time. I can only imagine the questions she must have and the sense of hopelessness and I just pray that she is able to draw on her faith and that she is able to rely on the Lord and that He’s sovereign and that He has everything in control and there’s a reason, even when we can’t understand it. But please just know Mary, that my heart hurts for her and I am praying for her and please keep us updated on any updates on her son that is fighting cancer and how we can continue to pray. And also I just want to also uplift Vince. I’m glad that he’s doing so well. And today is the 9th. And, so, tomorrow is when they’re turning on the devices and I will be praying for him and that everything goes well. Thank you guys. You all have a blessed day. Bye-bye.

[auburnfamilynews]

Some weekends, it just works out. Sometimes when you are watching games, you just have a sound track playing in your head and the game plays to the mean of those songs. Week 10 of the College Football this season hit it right on the nose for me. I have included the song choices with the games and, even though there are only two selections this week, there is plenty of content that made me giggle. So with that, lets go to our first hit, on this week’s Roasted!

HEARTBREAK IN HUSKERLAND: END OF THE ROAD

‘Member when Scott Frost was the hottest coach in the country? ‘Member when he was gonna turn things around at Nebraska and the fans were so happy a favorite son returned when Momma called? Seems so long ago! And yet, it was just 2 years ago! Well, the Huskers took their 4-4 record to West Lafayette to take on the 2-6 Purdon’t Boilermakers. And boy did they have probably the game of the weekend, and it ALMOST included a monster fat guy TD

Nebraska nose tackle Darrion Daniels perfectly intercepts a bad shovel pass against Purdue https://t.co/E4AeOWKtsepic.twitter.com/xV0cAKuz1V

— For The Win (@ForTheWin) November 2, 2019

But the game was a back and forth affair that ended like this

Purdue earned a big-time win at home against Nebraska! (Via @CFBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/cGSo7bnU7D

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 2, 2019

Nebraska would get the ball back but refused to call the timeout to talk about a play and this would happen

Clock was running, Nebraska went hurry up on 4th down and the Martinez's pass got tipped! Nebraska had a timeout left! Brutal! PURDUE WINS!!!! pic.twitter.com/3D33Bl7LKB

— I'M SEEING GHOSTS (@FTBeard11) November 2, 2019

Ouch…now that is a crushing defeat to a ruuuuul bad Purdon’t team. Sure, Nebraska isn’t going to can their Rockstar coach after 2 years, but you know that the grumbles are getting louder after that Penn State game earlier this season and now this abomination of a loss. I wonder how much Scott wishes he had stayed in Orlando…though I don’t know which is warmer, Disney or Scott’s coaching seat.

Preseason #24 Nebraska lost to 2-6 Purdue? pic.twitter.com/KV8XdLQGjb

— Steve Helwick (@s_helwick) November 2, 2019

WILLIE WATCH 2019: IT’S SO HARD…

I mean, was there any song that could finish this off?

So to catch all you Willie Watchers up from last week, the Noles circled the wagons after the huge home win against Syracuse to host the Miami Hurricanes at the Doak this weekend. And Gameday did all it could to get you fired up about this one!

Really evocative quote from @ReceDavis on the current state of FSU/Miami "... the taste of this rivalry now is like day-old cream of wheat - it's like a giant spoonful of gruel chased down with the backwash from the soda bottle that's been sitting in your car for a week... pic.twitter.com/pwyQRAqgsi

— libgator (@lib_gator) November 2, 2019

Man…when they put the tear jerker story guy to do your hype video on Gameday, man…that rough. As for the game it didn’t take long for that mighty Nole D to show off that swagger after that piece from Rinaldi.

Alright #Miami! @CanesFootball lead #FSU 7-0. #UMvsFSU #CanesFam @MiamiHurricanes #CanesCartel #BigORadioShow pic.twitter.com/gE0Oy3OdQp

— Orlando Alzugaray Jr (@BigOShow) November 2, 2019

Well, I’m sure the offense had their game face ready then…

Those cut blocks + quick passes FSU ran got figured out quickly. Miami takes away all of Hornibrook’s options and that leaves him as a sitting duck. Silvera and Hill are more than happy to clean it up and let the crowd know. pic.twitter.com/5brXFWptLA

— Canes Legacy (@CanesLegacy) November 3, 2019

Oh…that’s…no good…

When FSU is losing big to Miami pic.twitter.com/dLIpLbcaX4

— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 2, 2019

I think it was at this point, Home Boy realized that this just wasn’t their year.

The game did have the normal chippiness that we are use to from this rivalry though, which was nice.

It’s been chippy all day between #FSU and #Miami. #FSUvsMIA pic.twitter.com/V3fESpU5iH

— Conner Pack (@CPack12) November 2, 2019

However, in the end Miami would hold on by the skin of their teeth with a 27-10 road victory…

Miami Hurricanes smashing FSU and sending Willie Taggart to unemployment pic.twitter.com/Uuxpn8lNqQ

— Los (@RichHomieChapo) November 2, 2019

Meaning that the Canes have won three in a row over FSU…meaning…

It’s been 1,122 days since FSU beat Miami pic.twitter.com/yZE0IQV6kD

— illUMinati (@FL0so) November 3, 2019

So if the story stopped there, that would be a pretty solid Willie Watch update…however…

Breaking: Florida State announced head coach Willie Taggart's contract has been terminated effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/RAVIqBl9ao

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 3, 2019

Yeah…so that freaking happened. And yeah

#willietaggart fired by FSU. His contract stipulates he has to be paid 85% of his remaining salary. FSU is paying somewhere between $17-20 million to have him go away. Bonus points it cost them $4.4 million to bring him in from Oregon (which include his USF buyout). pic.twitter.com/0yY3nVeyAn

— SigiLK (@SigiLK) November 3, 2019

I mean, there’s not much more I can say that what that guy just said. And, for an athletic department that doesn’t like to spend money, they suuuuuuuuuuuure did it yesterday. Don’t forget that at the completion of this train wreck, there is a possible bowl game (they need two wins out of Boston College, Alabama State and/or Florida) to go to AND THEN! You have to pay off the previous staff BEFORE you go out and hire a new head guy (whoever that poor bastard is) and his entire staff!

OOOOFA! Though after reading all that, I do know what one man is thinking.

Willie Taggart right now: pic.twitter.com/V28btWxCo9

— MΩW II (@Michael2Wallace) November 3, 2019

And with this, my Willie Watch has ended.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2019/11/4/20947007/boom-roasted-boyz-ii-men-edition

[mizbabygirl]

Blackhawks Player Nicknames (according to Second City Hockey.com) [03\23\2017]

Andrew Desjardins #11 (currently free agent) Desi, Dijon, Colonel Mustard. Not Ben Smith, but was traded for him. Depth forward.

Artem Anisimov #15 Arty, Arty Party, Ani. Our long-awaited 2C. Friend of Annette Frontpresence.

Artemi Panarin #72 (now with Columbus Blue Jackets) Pan, Bread Man, Panera Bread, Snake. No one is quite sure how to spell his first name. Undrafted, caused much salt among fans of other teams when he won the Calder Trophy for best NHL rookie at the age of 24.

Brent Seabrook #7 Seabs, Biscuit (a reference to Seabiscuit), The Captain Whisperer (after he stepped into the box to comfort Toews after his third crappy penalty in the process of losing to Detroit in Game 4 in the 2013 playoffs). Nacho Seabre (admitted weakness for nachos and pizza).  Affectionately known as "(my) Seabsie boy" to his teammates. If he looks slow on the ice it's probably because he ate too many nachos. Gave his son Carter the middle name of "Seven,” but alleges it was his wife's idea.

Brian Campbell #51 (now retired) Soupy (like Campbell's soup, generic nickname for anyone with this last name), Soup Dogg, Ginger (the hair), 51 Phantom.

Corey Crawford #50 Crow, Watcher (the Watcher on the Wall from Game of Thrones), Crawful (generally used sarcastically), Crawsome. As this is Chicago, the victim of a perpetual goalie controversy despite performing as an elite NHL starter for the last four seasons. His glove hand/blocker/five-hole sucks and we'll never win anything with him in net. He's a fucking beauty (quote from his Cup parade speech where he was totally non-sober and dropped two f-bombs).

Dennis Rasmussen #70 (now with Anaheim Ducks) Moose, Raz. Swedish defensive forward.

Duncan Keith #2 Duncs, Jigsaw (reference to character from Saw, because his teammates claim he's kind of psycho scary and methodical), Teeth, in reference to his heroism in the 2010 WCF, losing 7 teeth in Game 4 and only missing a few shifts, Bambi because of how fast he skates (he has crazy good conditioning and routinely has the highest TOI of the team). Inspired the phrase 'Chicago Runs on Duncan'.

John Hayden #40 Hayds, Hayder.

Johnny Oduya #27 Odie, Oh do ya? eg, "I think his last name has a lot of pun-potential." "Oh, do ya?" Jeremy Roenick is jealous now because Oduya's wearing his old number, but Roenick thinks it should be retired.

Jonathan Toews #19 Jonny, Tazer, Captain, Best Captain, Captain Marvel (he wears the C and he's the best/marvelous, obviously), Captain Serious (because he is one serious motherfucker, although glimpses of him off-guard on camera suggest his off-ice personality has a large component of goofy weirdo), Captain Lardass (from an angry Twitter comment), Captain Seriously [Adjective]. Draws comparisons to Grumpy Cat (Kaner's feline equivalent is Lil Bub) and to a hockeybot who does not understand human emotions, due to his hilariously incongruous facial expressions in any given situation (see also Toewsface)

Jordin Tootoo #22 Toots, Two two and other such puns. Depth forward, here for the grit.

Marcus Kruger #16 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) Krugs, Frogger (because he likes to play in traffic, gets crunched a lot, yet has many lives), Freddy (his team nickname, from Nightmare on Elm Street), The Plan All Along (according to Stan Bowman, his call-up from Europe in late 2011 was "all part of the plan"). "Kruger is mashed, gets away with the puck" - commentary from Foley, and the story of his life. As Tracey Myers once put it, his tombstone will read, "Kruger took a hit to make a play.”

Marian Hossa #81 Hoss, Panda (originally sad panda, a name acquired during the playoffs while he playing for Detroit, shortened to Panda when he joined the Hawks), Gossamer (from autocorrect), HE IS MARIAN HOSSA AND YOU ARE NOT, because few can do what he does. Likes KitKats, as they are "good for you!"

He is a hockey demigod, a fact acknowledged by everyone including the official twitter. His name may be substituted for "God" in common phrases, eg "Oh my Hossa!"

Michal Kempny #6 Lemony, via autocorrect. Third pair dman.

Michal Rozsival #32 Rozi, Rozsi. Elderly depth dman, looks like an elf. Will still be signing 1-year deals with the Hawks when Toews and Kane have retired.

Nick Schmaltz #8 KFC (Schmaltz means chicken fat), Biggy Schmaltz. Playmaking center drafted from UND (this worked out well last time they tried it), snatched from under the noses of the St Louis Blues when Stan traded up in the draft. Brother Jordan is a Blues prospect. Chicago Mission alum.

Niklas Hjalmarsson #4 (now with Arizona Coyotes) Hjammer, Hammer, Meatball (because he was the original Swede Hawk), Jelly (his AHL nickname), Super Nintendo Chalmers (Simpsons reference), Jarbles (the LA announcers clearly mislaid the Swedish names cheatsheet in the WCF and called him Jarbleson), Swedish Viking (description by Jonny Oduya). His leg bones have been upgraded to titanium, judging by the number of shots he blocks.

Patrick Kane #88 Kaner, Lazy, Showtime, wee blond ninja, Black Magic for what he does with the puck, from a quote by former SCHer gmh - "...but the devil lives inside this kid, I swear it. It rises out of him in a mist, this baby-faced defiant wrathful version of Pat Kane, escapes his bodily confines to perform satanic miracles all over the offensive zone. The only thing more fearsome than that assist was the keep-in preceding it. The only thing more unholy than his face is his black magic."

Richard Panik #14 Visa (due to visa issues when joining the team), Panik at the UC!, or Disco for obvious reasons. His name is actually pronounced PAH-neek but hockey never lets a bad pun go to waste.

Ryan Hartman #38 Hartzy. Giving Seabrook a run for his money for "Best Hair" on the team. Another Illinois native/Chicago Mission kid.

Scott Darling #33 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) Oh My, Clem - from the song "Oh my darling Clementine.” A native of Lemont (or maybe Aurora according to one confused commentator), is very tall.

Tanner Kero #67 Depth center.

Tomas Jurco #13 Part of Stan's secret plan to collect all the Slovaks in the NHL in case any of them grow up into Hossas.

Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 (now with Carolina Hurricanes) TVR, Smiley van Smiley due to his happy demeanor in interviews. Brother of James/JVR.

Prospects/IceHogs

Tyler Motte #64 (now with Columbus Blue Jackets) Apple Sauce, Motter.

Vinnie Hinostroza #48 Cousin Vinnie. Bartlett native and ex-Chicago Mission kid.

Brandon Mashinter #53 Mash, Manshitter Here to maintain the quota of players called Brandon and occasionally punch things.

To see the rest of the article, go to: https://www.secondcityhockey.com/2017/3/23/13762402/guide-nicknames-jargon-slang-blackhawks-fans

[junker-town]

What’s the first NFL game you remember?

Was it a Super Bowl? A pivotal playoff matchup? Or just a random game during the regular season?

You probably don’t remember your first glimpse of an NFL game. You probably saw part of a random game on, or a highlight on TV — nothing that ever registered in the deep recesses of your brain, worthy of taking up precious memory space.

But you almost certainly remember the first time you really connected with the game, whenever you were struck with an “oh yes, this is football. I am enjoying this” eureka moment.

On that note, please join us on a little nostalgia trip as we here at SB Nation reminisce about the first NFL game we can vividly recall, whether it happened in the 80s, 90s, or egads, the ‘00s. (Anyone who remembers dialup internet — or life before the internet — be forewarned: We’ve got some babies on staff.)

Dec. 31, 2000: Ravens vs. Broncos, AFC Wild Card

I’m a Falcons fan now, but the first football team I ever fell in love with was the rugged, rough 2000 Ravens that went on to win Super Bowl XXXV. Their game against the Broncos in the Wild Card Round that year is the first football game I vividly remember watching, with a signature play that sold me on the team.

With just over four minutes left in the first half, Trent Dilfer threw a pass that was intended for running back Jamal Lewis. Lewis dropped the pass and the ball was eventually deflected into the hands of Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe caught the pass, ran backward for a yard or two, then turned the corner on the Broncos’ defense and scored a 58-yard touchdown.

Had it not been for Michael Vick entering the league the next year, I would probably still be a Ravens fan to this day.

The last two decades of football fandom for me would’ve been a lot less heartbreaking, that’s for damn sure. — Charles McDonald

Dec. 17, 1989: Seahawks vs. Raiders, Week 15

I grew up with a father who coached high school football.* Not well, mind you, but he was there. And in Rhode Island, the cradle of youth gridiron sports, this meant something. Mostly that my weekends were mostly spent watching subpar football — whether that was Pilgrim High School, URI, or an awful Patriots team was usually the only variable.

But I distinctly remember being drawn to one game when I was a little kid; a Seahawks-Raiders regular season contest I asked my parents to tape for me since it was a primetime game and I had to be in bed an hour before kickoff. Part of the appeal of watching these West Coast teams was the pairing of the two most badass logos (I thought) in the NFL, the gray-on-gray clash between football pirate (non-Buccaneer division) and angry bird.

The other, much more interesting part was the defense-destroying tailback lighting the turf on fire for LA. Bo Jackson was appointment viewing for me, and while I appreciated the yards-after-catch mastery of Steve Largent, watching Bo put his shoulder down and trash linebackers made something click in my 5-year-old mind.

Plus, having it on tape and watching it after school meant I could skip through commercials. And watching it before my dad got back from work also meant I could get through an entire game without hearing once how “waggle” could have worked against that blitz.

*He also coached golf, so if this question were about the first final round I’d ever watched while begging him to change the channel over to a “Hey Dude” marathon, I’d have an answer for that as well. — Christian D’Andrea

Feb. 5, 2006: Steelers vs. Seahawks, Super Bowl XL

As someone who didn’t have cable TV until 2010, I didn’t watch a lot of football games live. I would often listen on the radio and then watch the highlights either a couple of hours or the day after. NBC always showed Sunday Night Football on its website so my early football watching routine was literally “waiting all day for Sunday night.”

But the Super Bowl was different. We always went to watch the Super Bowl at someone else’s house and it was always one of my favorite nights of the year.

The first game which kicked off my interest in the sport was Super Bowl 40, It was the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Seattle Seahawks. I was 7 at the time and really didn’t know much yet. I really didn’t know who to root for either at the beginning. But slowly I found myself rooting for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers made plays all night, including Willie Parker’s 75-yard touchdown to start off the second half. I distinctly remember Antwaan Randle El’s pass to Hines Ward for a 43-yard touchdown. It was a fascinating sequence to watch. Al Michaels called it a “gadget play” and it stuck with me for the rest of the night. It was one of the best trick plays in Super Bowl history.

I decided to really get into the NFL a few years later and joined my dad in being a Bears fan. In some ways I have to thank Ken Whisenhunt for calling up that play in Detroit all those years ago, as it helped spark my football fandom. — Vijay Vemu

Jan. 31, 1988: Washington vs. Denver, Super Bowl XXII

I attended a Patriots-Rams game in LA in 1986, but this is the first game I remember a sizable chunk from. I remember because for a brief period I was a John Elway fan, and for 8-year-old me, this was the first tough loss I took as a football fan.

Growing up in Las Vegas, my Boston-born dad was more of a baseball fan than football fan, so I was not born with a team I called my own. The Broncos were good during this stretch so I hopped on the Elway bandwagon. I remember the Broncos jumping out to a 10-0 lead, and I was starting to talk some smack at a friends and family Super Bowl party. One quarter later, Washington led 35-10 and I was sitting in stunned silence. It was not an enjoyable viewing experience.

A year later, I hopped on the 49ers bandwagon and have been a fan ever since. Suck it, Elway. — David Fucillo

Jan. 21, 2007: Saints vs. Bears, NFC Championship

I was born and raised in New Orleans, and as someone who was born in 1998, a pre-Drew Brees era of Saints football is almost nonexistent to me. That being said, you would think that first game I remembered would be the Saints’ return to the Superdome against the Falcons earlier that season, but I honestly have no idea where I was that day.

But the day of the NFC Championship Game, there was a BIG party at my uncle’s house. My dad and I are huge Saints fans, but my uncle is on a different level. He has a man cave with Saints memorabilia lined along the walls, his truck is painted black and gold with a Saints fleur de lis on the side, and his Christmas tree stays up year-round with Saints ornaments. This game was the first time I was allowed to watch with the adults on the flat screen television out in the living room and the first game I remember a substantial amount of.

I remember Sean Payton wasting a challenge on a Saints fumble that was confirmed. I definitely remember a rookie Reggie Bush — bless his heart — literally flipping into the end zone on a touchdown pass from Brees. I remember Brees throwing for like 5,000 yards (it was 354 yards, but I was 8). I remember Rex Grossman tearing through the Saints’ defense as Brees attempted to keep the game close — which he did for about two and a half quarters.

But for some reason, the thing I remember most was that it was snowing at Soldier Field. My memory told me it was literally a blizzard, but after watching some highlights it was just small flurries throughout. Regardless, that 13-degree wind chill affected the Saints en route to a 39-14 loss and my first memorable sports-themed heartbreak.

And the Saints have broken my heart plenty since then. — Kennedi Landry

Jan. 27, 1991: Giants vs. Bills, Super Bowl XXV

We were driving past McDonald’s in Marquette, Michigan, when I read an advertisement in the window asking “Which team do you think will win?” The options were the Giants and the Bills, and customers voted by ordering one sandwich or another from the fast-food giant.

I was 10 years old. I had watched a couple of parts of games on television when my dad had one on now and again. He was a Green Bay Packers fan, so I was aware of how much he despised Don “The Majik Man” Majkowski, but he didn’t spend a lot of time watching TV and I had never truly immersed myself in the sport.

But that sign — that question being asked of everyone in Marquette (I mean, there’s Marquette and the U.P., and the rest of the world really didn’t exist to young Yooper Sam) — sparked this desire to know the answer. Who was going to win? Why did anyone care?

“Who do you think is going to win?” I remember asking as our car continued down the road, headed back home after our monthly grocery shopping trip.

“Win what?” My mom asked.

“That football game McDonald’s has the sign for.”

“I have no idea,” she responded. “I don’t watch the Super Bowl.”

Well, if mom didn’t watch it, how important could it be? Then again, no girls I knew liked football.

“Would it be OK if I watched it?” I asked from the back seat.

“Sure, Sammy,” she said.

Maybe my mom didn’t expect I would remember, but I did, and so I was allowed to watch the Super Bowl, and to stay up past my bedtime even though there was school the next morning.

And, for you who are aware of this game, it was mind-blowing. I watched every snap. I listened to every play call. Who WERE these guys? These two teams from New York, battling it out in Florida of all places. Why the hell were the New Kids on the Block singing?

And how could it be I never realized how amazing football was?

That kick, that Scott Norwood kick that sailed wide right … oh, by the gods above, I had never been so enthralled with sports in my young life.

“A lot of pressure,” the announcer said. “You want to talk about a pressure situation. That is a long way to kick a football.”

“Snap. Spot. In the air. It’s got the distance. It is…

“No good!”

And the crowd erupted. Giants players were celebrating. Bills players were crushed in the agony of such a close game and no Lombardi Trophy to show for it.

That 20-19 final score was nearly as captivating to me as the game itself.

It was during that Super Bowl, those four quarters of football, changed my life forever.

I went on to play high school football, and semi-professional ball. I’ve since gone on to become a high school coach, and am now a varsity head coach.

If it hadn’t been for that game, for that Norwood wide right kick, none of that may have happened. I may have never watched a game that so perfectly instilled me with a love for the game.

It’s the first full football game I remember, and it absolutely defined a part of me every single day since. — Sam Eggleston

Jan. 4, 1997: Jaguars vs. Broncos, AFC Divisional Round

I have plenty of memories of mid-1990s football. I distinctly remember Rodney Peete being my favorite player (for some reason) at some point during his time with the Eagles. But the first actual game I remember was the Jaguars’ win over the Broncos.

The 1996 Broncos are the first juggernaut team I can remember. They were great on both sides of the ball, had a superstar quarterback in John Elway, and added Terrell Davis to the offense. I had a Davis rookie card which my dad informed me was going to eventually be a big deal (I didn’t keep it long enough for that to become true), so I was very invested in watching Broncos games.

Then they lost to a very new team that wasn’t supposed to have a shot. Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith, and Keenan McCardell were an entertaining trio in the pass game and it was hilarious to me every single time someone said “Natrone. Means. Business.” I fell in love with the underdog that pulled the upset.

Over 20 years later I still root for the Jaguars because of that game. Why did you do this to me, Broncos?— Adam Stites

Jan. 20, 1985: Dolphins vs. 49ers, Super Bowl XIX

I wish I could say I remember much about the actual game, but at two months shy of my 9th birthday, I didn’t fully appreciate how great a Joe Montana vs. Dan Marino matchup was. This game still resonates with me though because it introduced me to the wonderful world of sports gambling. It would also resonate with me in fictional form a decade later thanks to Ray Finkle, but that’s another story.

I was with my older brother, at a Super Bowl party at his fiancée’s parents house, and what caught my eye was the giant poster board in the living room, on it a grid with 100 squares. I’m sure there were several other bets that day, but I wasn’t sophisticated enough yet to know or care about such things — my gambling awakening would come 18 months later during the 1986 MLB All-Star Game, when I won money from one of my brother’s friends because I understood the Game-Winning RBI rule.

Watching 49ers vs. Dolphins, I was instead focused on my $5 square and the two numbers attached, representing the final number of each team’s score. I don’t remember what my actual numbers were, but I do know that I was intently following every play, hoping I would cash in on the next snap. There were 10 different scores in the game, and with the end of four quarters that makes 14 chances to win money with a Super Bowl square. But I came up empty.

Had I been more aware of the the players, I surely would have bet that Marino, then just 23, would make it back to several Super Bowls. Maybe it was a good thing after all I didn’t know too much about gambling just yet. — Eric Stephen

Jan. 26, 1997: Patriots vs. Packers, Super Bowl XXXI

At the time, I wasn’t much of an NFL fan, but I had certainly watched games before this one. The previous year, two of the most storied franchises in the NFL met in Super Bowl XXX, when the Cowboys beat the Steelers to win their third championship in four years.

I’m assuming I saw at least part of it? I definitely tuned in for the supersized episode of Friends that followed. Friends on a Sunday night! At 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.! Julia Roberts, Brooke Shields, and Jean-Claude Van Damme were guest-starring! It was all very exciting. (As it were, that wasn’t as freakout-worthy as what happened day days later, when “The One with the Prom Video” aired during Friends’ regular “Must See TV” time slot.)

I don’t remember anything about that game, though, probably because my brain was full of useless Friends trivia. I do remember the one the following year, the first NFL game to really stick with me. It was also the first to ever air on Fox — and it ended up being Brett Favre’s only Super Bowl win.

It didn’t take long for the Packers and Patriots to make things interesting. They went on a first-quarter scoring flurry — especially for 1997 — with a combined 24 points in the first 15 minutes. The Packers took the lead at halftime, but the Patriots wouldn’t go away until Desmond Howard’s 99-yard kickoff return in the third quarter sealed Green Bay’s first Lombardi Trophy since, well, Vince Lombardi.

Confession time: I wanted the Patriots, who were one of the worst teams in the NFL earlier that decade, to win. They were the underdogs who had never won a Super Bowl.

So yeah, I irrationally blame myself a little bit for the dynasty they turned into a few years later. I cannot apologize enough. — Sarah Hardy

What’s your first NFL memory? Let us know in the comments.

[auswomenwriters]

It’s January round-up time again, and like last year, we’ve had a decent number of reviews posted. All that summer-time reading has done us proud.

As you’re probably aware, the awards season has started. The Indie Book Awards shortlist was announced in January, so look for my comment on those below. So far in February, we’ve had the announcement of the Stella Prize longlist and the winners of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. However, as this is a January round-up, I’ll leave those for February …

January jottings

January is always a good month for reading – at the beach if it’s pleasant, or in air-conditioned comfort if not! The result was a good month with 54 reviews posted for Literary and Classic books – just a couple less than last January, but still making a good start to our year. Here are some statistical highlights:

Our most reviewed author was Holly Throsby, with five reviews for Cedar Valley

Our top reviewer was Brenda (Goodreads), who submitted five reviews

Sixteen, that is, 27% of the month’s reviews, were for Classics! The reason for this will become obvious below…

The Classics

… which is that Bill (The Australian Legend) hosted his second Australian Women Writers week on his blog, this time for Gen 2 writers. Gen 2 focuses on writing that falls roughly between 1890 and 1918. This month’s Classics authors (not all of whom were Gen 2 writers) were Capel Boake; Mary Grant Bruce (2 books); Ada Cambridge; Isobelle Carmody; Miles Franklin (2 books); Mary Gaunt; Louise Mack (3 books); Ruth Park; Katharine Susannah Prichard; PL Travers; and Ethel Turner (2 books).

Since there are too many here for me to describe in one post, I’ll choose just a couple, starting with Louise Mack (1870-1935) who had three books reviewed. Bill (The Australian Legend) reviewed her schoolgirl novel Teens, and I (Whispering Gums), reviewed its sequel, Girls together, while Nancy, over in the Netherlands, reviewed her memoir, A woman’s experiences in the Great War. Mack was a fascinating woman. She was in Belgium when the war started, and worked as, says Nancy, “the first woman war correspondent for the Evening News and the London Daily Mail. This book is her eye-witness account of the German invasion of Antwerp. 28 September – 10 October 1914 (1 week and 5 days).” Nancy described the book as “Good eye-witness reporting…but very outmoded” in approach and style, which is probably not surprising, given its time-frame.

Two participants wrote about Mary Grant Bruce’s Billabong books. Michelle Scott Tucker, author of the biography, Elizabeth Macarthur: A life at the edge of the world, wrote about the whole Billabong series. Like me who read my mother’s old copies of these books, Michelle read her mother’s friend’s copies, and said she “was transported”. While recognising that the books suffer now because they exhibit their time’s attitudes to race, gender and class, Michelle says that at their best they

championed the values of independence, mateship, hard work (for women and children, as well as men), and bush hospitality.

However, she concludes that because their values are disturbing to us,

Their value now is more for their insights into a not-so-distant historical period and mindset, rather than as a book that a modern child might thrill to read by torchlight, under the covers.

Brenda (GoodReads) reviewed Captain Jim, the sixth in the series. It is set in England during World War 1, and tells about a home set up by the series’ heroine, Norah, and her father, to help soldiers newly released from hospital to recover completely before heading back to war. Brenda greatly enjoyed the book, saying that “it’s exceptionally well written (originally published in 1919) and both heartwarming, and heartbreaking”.

Non-fiction (General)

We have two non-fiction categories here at the Challenge: “history, memoir and biography”, and – well – the rest (aka “non fiction, general”)! Most of our non-fiction reviews fall into the former category, and most non-fiction isn’t flagged as literary, but this month we had three. Two have been short and/or longlisted for literary awards – Chloe Hooper’s The arsonist, and Maria Tumarkin’s Axiomatic. Being listed for significant literary awards like the Stella Prize or the Melbourne Prize for Literature automatically qualifies a book as “literary”, but otherwise the decision can be subjective. Our readers seem to have agreed that television journalist Leigh Sales’ book, Any ordinary day, should also be tagged “literary”.

Chloe Hooper’s The arsonist is garnering a lot of attention, partly of course because its subject is so close to Australia’s heart in summer. Kate (booksaremyfavouriteandbest) explains why it is seen as “literary”. It has a “compelling narrative”, the writing is “poetic”, and Hooper “manages to include the necessary factual information without slipping into pure journalistic reporting”. All these point to its being firmly in the “creative non-fiction” genre. Calzean reviewed it briefly on GoodReads, describing it as “scary” and “complex due to the mental state of the arsonist”.

I reviewed Maria Tumarkin’s Axiomatic, a collection of essays which interrogates some of those axioms we tend to accept as given – such as “time heals all wounds” and “you can’t step in the same river twice” – revealing that there’s a lot more to these so-called “truths” than we think. It’s an idiosyncratic, provocative book, written in a style that keeps you on your toes, but it is compelling and, importantly for me, compassionate.

Three participants reviewed Leigh Sales book: Brona (Brona’s Books), Life After Sixty-five, and Kali Napier (GoodReads). Life After Sixty-five liked the way Sales blends her research and investigation with some very personal questions about trauma, tragedy and “why me?” She says that

this book is worthy of a bright highlighter, something I couldn’t use on my borrowed library book. There is not a waffling word in this generous, searching and compassionate quest for answers to some big questions.

Brona was initially sceptical – after all, a big journalist writes a book and gets big publicity – but says she was “very wrong” to have doubted! The book, she says,

is all about reminding us that the big stuff can happen at any time and that we should remember to be grateful for, and savour, the everyday, ordinary moments, for ‘they’re not so ordinary, really. Hindsight makes them quite magical‘.

Kali Napier (GoodReads) was not as enamoured as our other two reviewers, feeling that Sales’ sense of “randomness” is not completely valid. Kali argues that “society is not a level playing field. For many, traumatic events, grief, loss and acts of violence are more LIKELY to happen to them because they don’t live in the bubble of being white, middle-class, beautiful, loved, etc etc.”  I haven’t read the book, but this question has crossed my mind when I’ve heard this book discussed. Anyhow, in the end Kali is concerned:

So much focus on ‘good people’ who aren’t ‘deserving’ of the events that befall them implies the inverse: that there are bad people out there, and they are more deserving of being blindsided.

But, she says, this is her “subjective gut reaction”. Sounds like we need more readers and reviewers! Interested?

Indie Book Awards 2019

The shortlist for the Indie Book Awards – which are voted by Australia’s independent booksellers – was announced on January 16. There are books by women in each of the three main categories of interest to my section. All have been reviewed for the Challenge, which is pleasing to see, though not all in January.

Fiction: (2 of 4, by women)

Jane Harper’s The lost man (Macmillan Australia). (Her Force of nature was shortlisted last year)

Kristina Olsson’s Shell (Scribner Australia)

Non-fiction: (3 of 4, by women)

Chloe Hooper’s The arsonist (Penguin Random House Australia)

Bri Lee’s Eggshell skull (Allen & Unwin)

Leigh Sales’ Any ordinary day (Penguin Random House Australia)

Debut fiction: (1 of 4, by a woman)

Heather Morris’ The tattooist of Auschwitz (Echo Publishing)

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  The winners will be announced on 18 March at the 2019 Leading Edge Books conference in Adelaide.

———————

About Me

I am Whispering Gums and I read, review and blog about (mostly) literary fiction. It was reading Jane Austen when I was 14 years old that turned me on to reading literary fiction/classics, which is why I am here today doing this round-up! Little did Jane know what she started!

My love of Aussie literature started with Banjo Paterson’s ballads and Ethel Turner’s Seven Little Australians in my childhood. But, I didn’t really discover Australian women’s writing until the 1980s when I fell in love with Elizabeth Jolley, Thea Astley, Olga Masters, Helen Garner and Kate Grenville. Ever since then I have been included a good percentage of Australian (and other) women writers in my reading diet.

Classics and Literary Round-up: January 2019 It's January round-up time again, and like last year, we've had a decent number of reviews posted.

[placetobenation]

Welcome back college football fans to the first installment of the REBIRTH, of PTBN On Campus! In 2016 we went week by week during the college football season with weekly recaps and predictions. After a year hiatus, Logan Crosland and Scott Criscuolo return to give their thoughts on the 2018 college football season. We will give our thoughts on some of the highlights from every week and look ahead to the upcoming week. The guys won’t bother with rankings until early-October when the first Playoff Ranking comes out.

So, after “Week Zero” last week we had the first ACTUAL Week 1 of the season, so let’s dive right in on the guys thoughts!

SCOTT:

1) The Irish escape: After a dominating first half on both sides of the ball, Notre Dame survived some tough Michigan defense for a 24-17 win over the Wolverines. Brandon Wimbush threw for 170 yards and a TD while the offense continued to convert third down after third down to keep Michigan’s offense off the field in the first half. The debut of Michigan’s Shea Patterson was underwhelming, throwing for 230 yards and no TDs. The Irish defense made things hold with Patterson’s fumble with 1:48 left, and Jim Harbaugh is 1-6 in his career against ND, Ohio State & Michigan State. That’s not good. Their home opener is this week against Western Michigan, while the Irish go for 2-0 with a home tilt against Ball State.

2) Did Appalachian State do it AGAIN???: Not this time, but damn close. Not to kick more dirt in Michigan’s face but remember that huge upset in 2007? Yeah well Saturday it almost happened again except this time it was in Happy Valley. Penn State has National Championship dreams, but having to go to OVERTIME to beat App State 45-38 does not instill confidence in the Nittany Lions. Sure, Trace McSorley started his Heisman chase with 230 yards and a TD through the air and Penn State had 5 rushing touchdowns but the defense was woefully bad as they couldn’t stop the Mountaineers in the 4th quarter before finally getting it done in overtime. Having lost their three top playmakers and vaunted offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead, who took over as Mississippi State’s head coach, the Nittany Lions’ offense looks like a work in progress. They play in-state rival Pitt next week.

3) Geaux Tigers: A great start for the LSU Tigers who are now 4-0 at “Jerry’s House”, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, after a 33-17 win over Miami. The Hurricanes tried to kick it old school by starting a shoving match with the LSU team 75 minutes before kickoff. The difference between this and the Jimmy Johnson/Dennis Erickson years is that… well Miami wouldn’t start a fight, and then TRAIL 27-3 AT THE HALF! Nick Brossette rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns while Canes QB Malik Rosier completed less than 50 percent of his passes and had two interceptions. Miami will try to rebound next week at home against Savannah State, while LSU opens their home schedule against Southeastern Louisiana.

4) Service Academies, Week 1: As I did two years ago I will track how Army, Navy & Air Force will do every week. For the first time in quite a while, the Black Knights of the Hudson hold the Commander In Chief trophy. Can they keep it? Well Navy is off to an 0-1 start after losing a 59-41 track meet to Hawai’i. Cole McDonald threw for 428 yards and six touchdowns for the Rainbow Warriors. It may not get better for the Middies’ defense this season. Army is also 0-1 after dropping a 34-14 decision to Duke down on Tobacco Road. Army fumbled five times and lost two of them and the running game couldn’t get going. Air Force did win, but it was a 38-0 throwaway game to Stony Brook. Week 2 has Air Force at Florida Atlantic, Navy’s home opener against Memphis and Army’s home opener against Liberty.

5) My Alma Mater: As for the school I attended, Division II University of New Haven opened their schedule with a tough 41-31 loss to D-I Bryant. Picked to finish 4th in the Northeast-10, the Chargers will be on the road this Saturday against Pace.

LOGAN:

1) Tua or Hurts?: This was the biggest question coming into opening weekend… who would start for defending national champion Alabama? Ultimately they went with Tua. He is the more talented of the two QBs, but with Hurts having the experience advantage you couldn’t have gone wrong either way. They have announced that Tua will start week 2, despite Nick Saban’s shooting down of any QB questions in his postgame interview.

2) Joe Moorhead Era Begins in Starkville: With a new season beginning it means one thing, new faces on the sidelines in the head coaching ranks. One such coach is Joe Moorhead, head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Fans in Starkville were excited to see what this great offensive mind could bring to a team who was already toward the top of the conference in most offensive categories. Nick Fitzgerald had to sit out the first due to suspension, but he will get his first playing time of the new season in a true road game at Kansas. His backup, Keytaon Thompson, only tied school record for total touchdowns in a game with 7, as the Bulldogs rolled to a 63-6 victory over Stephen F. Austin.

3) Auburn Pulls One Out Late: Maybe the biggest matchup of the weekend with playoff implications featured the Auburn Tigers and the Washington Huskies. Both come into the season with highly touted and experienced QBs, Jake Browning and Jarrett Stidham. The two QBs did what they could to put their teams in a position to win the game, but the story here was the play of the two defenses. Both played very well and made two very good QBs struggle. Auburn ultimately pulled this game out, scoring with just 6:15 left in the game, and the defense held it down from there.

4) Maryland 2, Texas 0: When you think of football powerhouses, Texas is probably one of the names that would come up in most circles. Maryland on the other hand, would not fit into that conversation. Amid all of the scandal Maryland has faced this offseason with the death of a player and the suspension of their head coach, you would imagine the team would be very distracted and overflowing with emotion. Despite all of the turmoil though, this Maryland team did exactly what they did last year and shocked Texas. This game wasn’t quite as decisive as last year but Maryland was definitely the better team Saturday, jumping out to an early lead and then scoring the last 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

5) ACC Struggles on Opening Weekend: Louisville, Miami, and Florida State all had chance to make a statement against stiff competition and put the ACC as one of the top conferences in the country. Louisville and Miami faced stiff competition in two SEC West powerhouses in Alabama and LSU, while Florida State faced fellow conference foe in Virginia Tech. Louisville got overpowered by Alabama, Miami got blown out by LSU, and FSU couldn’t get anything going on offense against Virginia Tech. While Virginia Tech is in the ACC, when bright lights were on the ACC struggled as a whole.

A look at the big games this coming weekend:

#15 USC at #13 Stanford

#3 Georgia at South Carolina

UCLA at #7 Oklahoma

#2 Clemson at Texas A&M

#10 Penn State at Pittsburgh

[junker-town]

Brohm saying no raises question: how good is the Louisville job?

Running commentary on college football firings and hirings.

I’ll continue adding thoughts below on 2018’s college football coaching changes throughout hiring-and-firing season. A list of completed FBS changes is here.

11/28

How good is the Louisville job?

With North Carolina filled, Louisville is seemingly the top job open on the market.

But how good of a job is it?

Apparently, it wasn’t good enough for native son Jeff Brohm, who elected to stay at Purdue. With another good season, Brohm could jump to an elite job, as opposed to a good one.

Still, Louisville is a pretty sweet gig, as long as the people cutting the checks have their expectations in check.

Since joining the ACC, Louisville has gone 21-19 in ACC play. The league has proven to be a much tougher one than the Big East/CUSA/AAC, in which Bobby Petrino went 24-6, and Charlie Strong went 20-9.

Louisville has had peaks and valleys, going 7-1 in the ACC in 2016 with Lamar Jackson, and 0-8 in 2018, prompting the end of Petrino’s second stint in Louisville.

From a potential standpoint, it is likely tied for third in the division with N.C. State, behind Clemson and Florida State.

The division puts a ceiling on the job. Despite the ability to get just about any player in academically, its in-conference recruiting finishes rank 9th, 7th, 7th, 6th, and 7th.

Louisville has established connections in Florida and Georgia, with numerous players from those states having had success in the program. That helps when trying to pull a kid from Miami or Atlanta.

But the job seems harder in some ways from a recruiting standpoint, now that Tennessee, N.C. State, and Kentucky are all on the recruiting upswing.

If Louisville expects its coach to be about a win better per year in the league in the next five years in the ACC, going, say, 25-15 or better, instead of 21-19, that seems like a good, but reachable goal.

But if Louisville power players are expecting top-15 type performances, like it achieved with Lamar Jackson in 2016 and 2017, then its not that attractive of a job.

I’d like to see Louisville go after Scott Satterfield, who did an excellent job making Appalachian State into one of the best Group of 5 teams in the nation. I’ve been impressed by his talent evaluation.

11/27

Auburn is a top-15 job. Gus Malzahn has averaged better than top-15 results.

Since being hired in 2013, Gus Malzahn has finished 18th, 10th, 13th, 24th, 3rd, and 5th in S&P+. That is an average finish of 12th.

Auburn is not a top-10 job. It is likely somewhere in the teens, behind the obvious programs like USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Clemson, Florida State, Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Florida.

He is delivering exactly the results Auburn fans should expect, both on the field, and in recruiting. Auburn is one of just 13 Blue-Chip Ratio (BCR) teams.

I am not claiming that Auburn fans are crazy to believe someone else could do better, but if they think a new coach is likely to finish better than Malzahn, well, that would be foolish.

For as long as Nick Saban is in Tuscaloosa, Auburn is going to have a Saban problem. It’s like being the Jets, Dolphins, or Bills in the AFC East while the Patriots have Bill Belichek and Tom Brady.

11/26

North Carolina’s hire of Mack Brown is puzzling

UNC was floundering, going 2-16 in its last ACC league games. N.C. State is recruiting well. And given the happenings at division rivals Miami, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, now was a great time to strike. But I can’t understand the Brown hire.

Brown is one of the most drastic underachievers relative to talent level and expectations over the last decade. In his final four seasons at Texas, he went just 18-17 in Big 12 play, despite having by far the best recruited talent. His best finish in that time was a tie for second. The Longhorns were frequently noncompetitive, soft, and disorganized.

Brown’s press conferences were full of excuses for the entitlement culture he enabled, which Charlie Strong tried to fix, but Strong ended up cutting too much talent off the roster to weed out the bad apples.

Brown’s work as an announcer since 2013 has been routinely mocked as not displaying a mastery of tactics, for an unwillingness to criticize seemingly any coaching decision, and for being painfully conservative.

Making sense of the Lovie Smith extension.

Lovie Smith, just 9-27 at Illinois, got a contract extension. On its face, this seems like a rather ridiculous move.

But as long as there isn’t a significant increase to the already substantial buyout, what is the harm in giving Smith a lot of leeway to try to turn around a program as horrible as Illinois?

Smith has shown some improvement in his time at Illinois. And he is doing a solid job of recruiting, by Illinois standards. He has some solid recruiters on staff, like former NFL DB Donnie Abraham.

The extension should help him some with recruiting in that it will curtail some questions recruits might have about how long he might be at Illinois.

In an increasingly tough division, why not give Smith a while to turn this around? It’s likely a better idea than what Illinois has done recently, featuring four coaches in seven seasons.

Sometimes, a change is best even if it means a downgrade in coach, or program

I wrote about this idea, expectations at Texas Tech, and some coaches who might want to cash in or find a new start here.

But all of what I just wrote is something an athletic director cannot say to his booster base.

Because keeping donors relies on the sale of hope. And Kingsbury was no longer inspiring to anyone who believes TTU should always be better than TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, etc.

And boosters don’t like supporting things that don’t appear to be on the upswing. Boosters are often successful business people. They want the flashy thing with the chance to hit it big. Very few want to face the reality that a school like Texas Tech should consider making a decent bowl a fair accomplishment, something Kingsbury probably would’ve done for the fourth time in seven years, perhaps even with an upset of Oklahoma, if not for Bowman’s injury.

And so athletic directors put out statements like this. They have to keep hope churning to keep donations flowing.

[365footballorg-blog]

Get to know the Malaysian Messi: 10 Things about Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal

USA Today Sports Images

June 12, 201812:35PM EDT

KANSAS CITY, Kan.— Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal is a name that few people probably knew of before last Sunday.

But the 19-year-old Homegrown’s goal that helped Sporting Kansas City to a 4-1 win over Minnesota United last week introduced him a lot quicker than even he might have anticipated. The young man with the nickname “Malaysian Messi” is still growing up before our eyes.

While he still has plenty more ahead of him to do, let’s take a second and get to know him. Here are 10 things to know about the “Malaysian Messi.”

From Carbondale to Kansas City

Kuzain is originally from Carbondale, Illinois, roughly five hours southeast of Kansas City. He played at the St. Louis Scott Gallagher academy, a well-known academy that has produced plenty of young talents, including US men’s national team and Weder Bremen youngster, Josh Sargent.

If his brother hadn’t landed a job in the Kansas City area, he might never have put on a Sporting KC uniform.

Connections, Connections

At just 19 years old, @SportingKC’s @LeKuz7 is already making a name for himself. https://t.co/2modA4ibTn

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 11, 2018

While playing with Scott Gallagher academy, he knew Sporting KC’s academy director, Jon Parry.

Parry had tried to recruit him to Sporting KC multiple times in the past, but with his brother’s move, “I guess the time was right,” Kuzain said. He joined the Sporting KC academy in August of 2016.

“I just saw the facilities that Sporting had, before we had Pinnacle. I saw the pathway, the chance that I had. I talked to [head coach] Peter [Vermes], and the higher ups. They said if I’m good enough, I’ll get my chance. And that’s how it all came about.”

First Comes Swope

He signed a deal with Swope Park Rangers later in August of 2016, allowing him to play with Sporting’s “B-Team,” which is considered the highest level of their academy. Over the last two years he’s made 21 appearances with Swope Park, accumulating roughly 1,500 minutes of action in USL.

On to the first team

On April 13th of this year, Sporting KC signed him to a Homegrown contract. In that press release to announce the deal, Vermes said, “Kuzain is a player who has come through our academy and developed at an incredible rate. He has an excellent understanding of his role in our model of play, and there is no doubt in our mind that he is deserving of a shot at the next level.”

Debuts, and first goals

Kuzain made his debut on May 27 in SKC’s contentious 0-0 draw with Columbus Crew SC. He was subbed on in the 87th minute, replacing Roger Espinoza. When the lineup came out for the next match, it looked likely he could make yet another late substitute appearance. But in the 18th minute against Minnesota United, Yohan Croizet went down holding his hamstring, and Kuzain was summoned to replace him earlier than expected.

He responded by scoring his first MLS goal in the 35th minute when a shot was blocked and came to him at the top of the box. His shot deflected off a Minnesota defender and into the back of the net.

⚽️ WE TOLD Y’ALL THE YOUNG’N WAS READY, KC!

Welcome to the score sheet, @LeKuz7!!!#SKCvMIN #ForGloryForCity pic.twitter.com/GO5UbJPef6

— Sporting KC (@SportingKC) June 4, 2018

“I’m still kind of shocked,” said Kuzain. “I still haven’t scored for Swope, so obviously to get one for the first team is nice.”

Life with a Malaysian upbringing

Kuzain was born to Malaysian parents in Carbondale, Ill. His home life very much reflected Malaysian culture and celebrated their heritage.

“I think it’s pretty heavily inside of me,” he said. “I eat Malaysian food, I feel like I was raised in Malaysia, and that I’m 100% Malaysian.”

Food and music

His Malaysian heritage definitely influences his favorite foods. Satay is his favorite, which is basically a chicken skewer that’s seasoned and grilled, and served with a sauce.

His favorite music to listen to however, doesn’t necessarily have as much of a Malaysian influence. What does he roll into the stadium blaring over his car speakers?

“Some R&B or hip hop to get me pumped,” he said. “Something along those lines.”

A calmness that belies his age

If there was any one word to describe his game Kuzain said that it would be, “Calm.”

“I’m just trying to be as cool, calm and collected as possible,” he said.

His passing map against Columbus surely indicates that, as he completed 31 of 32 passes in his first real long performance with the first team.

He loves his video games

He wants people to know he’s just like every other 19-year-old kid.

“I’m pretty simple,” Kuzain said. “I go home and play my XBOX, play some Fortnite and FIFA.”

Fortnite is easily the most popular game to play amongst Sporting KC’s squad, as Kuzain says everyone plays it.

“We all try to play,” he said. “I think everyone in the squad plays it. From the Latin American guys, to the European guys.”

But just because Fortnite is the most popular, doesn’t mean that’s his favorite to play. FIFA is definitely more his speed, and he claims a win against a big time figure in American Sports.

#FIFAKing

#Fifaking….Who wants next https://t.co/29hd1vzZgy

— Wan Kuzain (@LeKuz7) July 29, 2017

Chad Johnson, the former NFL wide receiver famously known as Chad Ochocinco, went on a streak a few years back of showing up at people’s houses and destroying them 1v1 in FIFA. Ochocinco thought he was headed to Kuzain’s house to put down another win. He thought wrong as Kuzain destroyed Chad Johnson.

Seems like the kid is full of surprises.

Series: 

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Get to know the Malaysian Messi: 10 Things about Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal was originally published on 365 Football

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Your Favorite NHL Team Is Going to Blow It at the Trade Deadline

It happens once a year like clockwork. The names are usually big, the expectations are always high and even though you know you will come away disappointed, you can’t avert your eyes from it. No, it’s not a big budget DC movie—it’s the NHL’s trade deadline.

Instead of wasting your time by looking at the needs of teams and potential available players and getting your hopes up, I’m going to give you the straight truth about the deadline—your GM will botch it and/or the players your team gets won’t matter. Maybe your team will acquire a draft pick that becomes the star player that leads your team to a title in 2026, but chances are, your GM will screw up the pick like he’s screwed up everything else.

So here’s why your stupid team will screw up the trade deadline.

Listen to the latest episode of Biscuits, VICE Sports’ hockey podcast

31. Arizona Coyotes

When your organizational philosophy is, “Spend as little on the team as possible so we can invest it in cryptocurrency,” the Stanley Cup isn’t in your future. John Chayka took over a team with 76 points two seasons ago and, after an offseason designed to improve the team immediately, they are on pace for 61 points this season. That would be the fewest points in team history. Look for Chayka to acquire dead salary cap money or a talented young player he will trade again in two years.

30. Buffalo Sabres

What possible trade can a team make when the team is haunted? Can it acquire a Ghostbuster? Jack Eichel has to be one of the five unhappiest millionaires in the world. Why does Stephen King set all his books in a fake New England town when Buffalo is clearly the scariest place in the world? The Sabres are somehow worse than they were two years ago when they landed Eichel.

29. Ottawa Senators

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/wjp8zb/ottawa-deserves-better-than-eugene-melnyk?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=vbppmx&site=sports

We are two weeks away from owner Eugene Melnyk firing the GM, coach, trainer, a popcorn guy in the lower bowl of the Accumulated Debt Center, and a parking attendant so he can do the jobs himself and save a few bucks. I’m no hockey scientist but when your trade deadline strategy is to shed money like you’re Montgomery Brewster, the Stanley Cup isn’t in your plans. Ever. Melnyk should just put himself in the lineup for a Leafs game and get it over with. Maybe he’ll do that after he deals Erik Karlsson for 35 cents on the dollar.

28. Montreal Canadiens

Imagine being two years removed from having traded PK Subban and still being in charge of that roster? This is like Exxon letting the guy who crashed an oil tanker into an iceberg chart courses for all future tanker voyages. And now the Habs are letting Marc Bergevin make another round of franchise-altering decisions. Somehow I doubt Max Pacioretty for Ryan Callahan straight up will help the Habs end their Stanley Cup drought.

27. Vancouver Canucks

Listening to Jim Benning talk about why he re-signed Erik Gudbranson as opposed to trading him should make clear why the Canucks are doomed. Instead of fleecing a team for a second-round pick, Benning wanted to lock up a defenseman that’s never been good but people thought he’d be good a decade ago. Also, he’s tall. A professional talented evaluator is basing decisions on the length of a guy’s stick. I’m excited to see if Benning forgets to trade Thomas Vanek. “Oh, right, that guy is a UFA after this season, isn’t he? That’s on me, guys. My bad.”

26. Edmonton Oilers

Canadian teams all suck again, huh? Do you think the Oilers have a handler for Peter Chiarelli at things like the GM meetings? Like, there’s a guy with a taser that renders Chiarelli unconscious if he ever wanders into a room alone with David Poile so he doesn’t trade Connor McDavid for Nick Bonino. “The Oilers are in the market for some wingers” is a damn fun sentence to type. What a league!

25. Detroit Red Wings

This once-proud franchise is desperately and obviously in need of a rebuild, which was why after last season it was fun to hear Ken Holland say, “Nobody wants to see a rebuild.” Hey, when you’re packing 6,000 per night into a taxpayer-funded pizza joint, you have to get to 85 points any way you can. Waiting to trade Petr Mrazek until his value was at an all-time low is the type of progressive thinking you want from a general manager that’s not under contract for next season. Hanging on to Mike Green until he has a lingering upper-body injury days before the deadline? Holland is playing chess while you’re playing checkers, my friends.

24. Chicago Blackhawks

It’s hard to see a way the Blackhawks bounce back any time soon. Cap circumvention is no longer allowed and they are out of valuable players to package with bad contracts in trades that only help in the short term. What exactly would Stan Bowman have to attach to Brent Seabrook to get another team to take him? The formula for time travel? The pee tape? They say it’s wrong to take delight in the misery of others but that does not include the Blackhawks.

23. Florida Panthers

I love that the guy who let Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith go to Vegas in exchange for massage coupons is once again helming a pivotal point for the franchise. What do you think Dale Tallon would have paid for Erik Gudbranson in a trade? Aleksander Barkov and a first? Tallon is probably only still employed by the Panthers because of a human resources paperwork error. He’s Milton from Office Space but with power. He will yet again be given the opportunity to drag the team down even further because nothing matters in this organization. It’s a great reflection of America, when you think about it.

22. New York Rangers

I totally have faith in a front office that fancied itself a contender seven months ago when it gave Kevin Shattenkirk a gigantic contract and is now announcing to the world it will sell anyone that is bolted to the ice. You mean the fellas that overpaid Brendan Smith and then sent him to the AHL are plotting the course for the future? How do you not have confidence in that sort of vision?!? This is also the leadership group that chose Dan Girardi over Anton Stralman. The Rangers went 54 years between their last two Stanley Cups and it will be another 100 years before they win another one.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets could somehow acquire John Tavares, Erik Karlsson, Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, and sign a 24-year-old clone of Wayne Gretzky created from his DNA, and John Tortorella would still find a reason to play Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky 40 minutes a night. This is also the team that let William Karlsson go in the expansion draft, so there’s no one to trust here. Either the trade will be bad or the trade will be good and Tortorella will cut the player’s ice time because he refused to block a shot with his dick in practice.

20. New York Islanders

Garth Snow has botched more picks than a greasy-handed defensive back and wasted the prime years of a Hall of Famer, but hell yeah, let’s have him in charge of the biggest decision in franchise history… what to do with John Tavares. In any other sport, the GM trades the elite talent headed for free agency when the team is at best a coin flip to make the playoffs, then pushes to re-sign him in the offseason. But this is the dumbest sport in the world, so the GM that’s underwhelmed for a decade will hang onto Tavares for the rest of the season and potentially lose him for nothing instead of reaping a bounty of futures at the deadline (that he’d probably botch, anyway). The Islanders are the Kobayashi Maru of hockey.

19. Carolina Hurricanes

This is the fourth season of Ron Francis’ reign as GM and he’s got a shot to bring the Hurricanes to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Francis already messed up his best chance to improve the goaltending with his idiotic signing of Scott Darling (please do not search for my opinions on Darling before this season) and now the team is one or two pieces away from being a perennial playoff contender, so look for him to pull the trigger on someone like Kris Versteeg or James Wisniewski, moves that won’t help or hurt either way.

18. Colorado Avalanche

Joe Sakic is still in charge of the Avalanche, right? It’s amazing how after he netted a bunch of prospects and picks for Matt Duchene, suddenly people wondered if he was now good at his job. He is not. It’s not a great transaction history for Patrick Roy’s best buddy. He found a way to get less for Nick Holden than the Rangers did. Life is a mystery but you can be assured that Sakic will get suckered by someone that had fewer than 1,000 points in their NHL playing career.

17. Calgary Flames

Brad Treliving has done well and the Flames are headed in the right direction, but there’s still a little bit of that We Need Guys Who Will Punch Your Dicks Guys thing that doesn’t help. I could see the trade report across the scroll: “Flames acquire C Zac Rinaldo from the Coyotes in exchange for sixth-round pick.” And that will be the Flames’ only move.

16. Los Angeles Kings

Dean Lombardi’s ghost is still running things if the Kings think Dion Phaneuf on the roster for the next 100 years helps. The Kings won two Cups after robbing the Blue Jackets blind at the deadline so I will withdraw this if there is a big Kings-Blue Jackets trade on Monday that sends Artemi Panarin to the Kings for Phaneuf in a 1-for-1 deal. Maybe the Coyotes are the new Blue Jackets but somehow I don’t think Tobias Rieder is headed toward a Jeff Carter/Marian Gaborik finish to the season.

15. New Jersey Devils

It’s been an unexpectedly great season for the Devils, who look locked into a playoff spot with two months to play. But really, what did Ray Shero really do here? He answered a late night drunk dial from Peter Chiarelli and robbed him in the Adam Larsson-Taylor Hall trade; won a draft lottery that landed him Nico Hischier, and dealt Adam Henrique for Sami Vatanen in a no-brainer deal that was only possible because of winning the draft lottery. Shero is due to drop a turd on the floor. Maybe he brings Douglas Murray out of retirement.

14. Philadelphia Flyers

Ron Hextall hasn’t been a buyer since becoming a GM in 2014, as the Flyers have mostly been bad thanks to another former Flyer running the team into the ground. Hextall has made some good deals away from the deadline, and getting Petr Mrazek was one of them. I guess what I’m saying here is the Flyers suck and there’s nothing Hextall can do to help this team win a Cup this year. The Flyers have been run by an ex-player since 1994; guess how many times they’ve won the Cup over that stretch? It’s zero. That was an easy game.

13. Anaheim Ducks

Last year, Bob Murray acquired Patrick Eaves and the Ducks lost in the conference finals with Eaves missing most of the playoffs with a high-ankle sprain. Two years ago, Murray loaded up by landing Patrick Maroon, Brandon Pirri, and Jamie McGinn, who made it possible for the Ducks to lose in the first round in seven games instead of six. The list of times Murray did the wrong thing goes on and on.

12. Minnesota Wild

Some GMs get their jobs because they were awesome at hockey decades ago; others get the gig because their dads were GMs. Meet Chuck Fletcher, the guy who let Alex Tuch go to the Vegas and gave up a first- and second-round pick at last year’s trade deadline for Martin Hanzal, who legally dies before every postseason. I don’t know what Fletcher has up his sleeve this year but I bet it’s used to overpay for someone who doesn’t help the Wild win more than five playoff games.

11. St. Louis Blues

Doug Armstrong might be Batman. He’s made a lot of bad moves yet he uses these diversion tactics and people think he’s a hero. He’s adapted to the darkness. Remember the Ryan Miller deal? Goodness. That was also the Steve Ott deal. The Blues have been fading since a strong start so your only hope is he’s out fighting crime and using a weirdly deep voice instead of taking calls from other GMs.

10. San Jose Sharks

Doug Wilson has been pretty much winging it since he tried to shame Joe Thornton into accepting a trade a few years ago and then the Sharks got good again. Despite an aging core, Wilson never looked at rentals, and instead focused on getting players with term left on their contract, like Jannik Hansen. Why make your team much better in the short term when you can do virtually nothing to help it over a longer timeline with guys like Hansen? Sharks hockey, baby!

9. Dallas Stars

Jim Nill once traded a conditional first-round pick for Kris Russell. That’s the end of this section.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Jim Rutherford has actually made some helpful moves at the deadline to help the Penguins win Cups. But just like other wise GMs, Rutherford has already fortified his contender with [squints at roster] Riley Sheahan and [rubs eyes] Jamie Oleksiak. When you run out of cap space, you always do it for a 30-point center and the Dallas Stars’ worst defensemen. Someone should do a study on how many GMs create legacies by winning titles with another GM’s players and put Stan Bowman and Jim Rutherford statues outside the Other People’s Titles Hall of Fame.

7. Washington Capitals

Against all odds, after a summer of shedding salary and useful players, the Capitals are still near the top of the league. Objectively worse than they have been the past two years, Brian MacLellan has said he doesn’t expect the team to be buyers like they were last year, because as we all know, Alex Ovechkin will not continue to age, nor will Nicklas Backstrom. It’s also important to pin your team’s perpetual shortcomings on two months of Kevin Shattenkirk, this way you can be gun shy about landing a big name again. If at first you don’t succeed, trade for Michal Kempny.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/yw34xw/nhl-gms-keep-their-jobs-whether-they-suck-or-not?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=vbppmx&site=sports

From the team that brought you “Patrick Marleau for three years and $19 million” last summer comes the exciting late-winter follow-up, “some guy Mike Babcock likes that isn’t all that helpful.” I don’t know who is coming to Toronto but you know it will be someone that gets too many minutes and isn’t all that skilled. Maybe it will be Roman Polak’s cousin Greco Polak who will play 22 minutes a night because he’s “hard to play against.” Someone should let the Leafs know their window to win a title is open sooner than they expected so they should go back in time and get Marleau’s cap hit off the books so they can add an expensive defenseman.

5. Winnipeg Jets

I like to picture Kevin Cheveldayoff around deadline day like other people are when it comes to visiting the dentist. He knows he has to go but he’s constantly putting it off for silly reasons. “What’s that? Ken Holland’s on the phone? Oh, um, tell him I can’t talk trade right now because… ummm… my dog’s sick, yeah. Sorry.” Then enough time passes and instead of his teeth falling out his team falls apart. They say when a door closes, God opens a window. Maybe that window is a championship window in Winnipeg and God is Cheveldayoff, ready to land a fourth-line winger for a sixth-round pick.

4. Nashville Predators

David Poile does all his work before the deadline so he can spend deadline day doing things like signing 37-year-old men that haven’t played hockey in eight months. When it’s time to load up at the deadline, that’s when Poile lands all his playoff healthy scratches, like PA Parenteau and Mike Santorelli. The Preds lost James Neal in the expansion draft and as a Cup favorite, it’s great to see Nashville looking into offensive-minded replacements like Rick Nash, because any time you can snag a guy that hasn’t cracked 40 points in three seasons and consistently falls flat in the playoffs, you have to look into that.

3. Boston Bruins

Once you add Nick Holden to a Cup contender, isn’t your job already done? Don Sweeney can put his feet up and relax now that he added the defensemen who was run over during last year’s playoffs by the run and gun Ottawa Senators. When you have a fast moving boat, it’s always important to tie anchors to it. Look for Sweeney and Cam Neely to add to the “Bruins culture” by acquiring 100 pounds of literal grits to rub on David Pastrnak’s body.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

Steve Yzerman is a tremendous GM when it comes to arriving at a job where the foundational pieces are already there or using a terrible CBA to leverage great RFAs into taking bad deals because other GMs are too chicken shit to use an offer sheet. At the trade deadline, this is when Yzerman lands guys like Braydon Coburn and Ryan Callahan. He’s also the guy who let Jonathan Marchessault walk for nothing and gave three-goal scorer Callahan $6 million a year through 2020. That’s the guy you want evaluating talent for a Cup favorite.

1. Vegas Golden Knights

What a season. What a time to be a sports fan. An expansion team with championship aspirations in its first year. And what other general manager would you have in charge of a team like this other than George McPhee? The guy who traded Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat and got in on the ground floor of the Capitals Can’t Get Past The Second Round movement is now tasked with getting the team over the top. Maybe a trade of Alex Tuch for Brent Seabrook? Tie McPhee to a blackjack table all day Monday. It’s the only way Vegas wins.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Your Favorite NHL Team Is Going to Blow It at the Trade Deadline syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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Throwing Darts: Handicapping the Big Game prop sheet

Get out your scouting tape and your clipboard, it’s time to bet on Pink’s National Anthem (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

The Super Bowl isn’t just a National Holiday, it’s a National Gambling Holiday. With that in mind, we gathered up our three resident handicappers (Brad Evans, Dalton Del Don, Scott Pianowski) and asked them to sort through the sharp money — and the silly money — that’s going down Sunday. We also picked up a couple of quick answers from Andy Behrens, before he headed to the alligator pits. (All lines from Bovada, unless otherwise indicated.)

First thing’s first. Who’s winning this game? (And yes, our winner prediction will shade the props to come)

Brad — Philadelphia 27 New England 24 (OVER 48)

Dalton — New England 27, Philadelphia 20

Scott — New England 27, Philadelphia 20. An edge at quarterback and head coach is a huge advantage, and the extra rest comes at a perfect time for New England’s two critical players. (Yes, I have the same score as Dalton. No, I don’t know how to take that.)

Andy — Patriots, 24-18. I think Philadelphia has most of the defensive ingredients you need to challenge New England, but I still don’t believe the Eagles’ offense can get to 24 points. I have a weird feeling that Philly lands on a strange point total.

If someone likes the Patriots, or the Eagles, should they just bet the MVP odds instead?

Brad — It’s a justifiable strategy though the odds on Tom Brady (-110) and Nick Foles (+325) are rather unexciting, comparatively speaking. Personally, If I’m stabbing in the dark, Jay Ajayi at +1800 would be the move. As Sharp Football duly noted, the Patriots have struggled massively containing ground games operating out of 11 formations (6.6 ypc allowed), which the Eagles feature often.

[Your chance to win on football’s biggest day. Sign up for Squares Pick’em]

Dalton — It certainly makes sense to lower the vig and go with Tom Brady if you want to back New England, but with Philly, there are far too many wild cards who could win the award.

Scott — The odds on Brady have shifted significantly, but they’re still probably an overlay if you like New England winning. The MVP voters have QB myopia, and it’s very difficult for a star quarterback to not win the Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl MVP belongs to Troy Brown or Ty Law — Brady had less than 100 yards before the final field-goal drive, and three of the passes on that drive were dump-offs to J.R. Redmond. Eli Manning’s first Super Bowl MVP was a highway robbery, stolen from Justin Tuck’s mantle. Terry Bradshaw’s second award probably belongs to John Stallworth. We can play this game all day. Heck, James White would have been my pick a year ago, not that Brady was a poor selection.

What is your favorite prop for someone who just wants to win money?

Brad — Will Terrell Owens be mentioned during the broadcast (-140)?

Rob a bank. Extract plasma. Liquidate the kids’ college fund. This is happening. Why? Well, besides the obvious Super Bowl XXXIX connection, a little organization called the Pro Football Hall of Fame plans to announce this year’s class on Saturday. If T.O. doesn’t get in, it would be equivalent to leaving the Phillie Phanatic out of the Mascot Hall of Fame (Oh, it’s real). Multiple ways to win typically means easy money.

Dalton — It’s boring, but the best bet by far is Tom Brady to win MVP (-110). I like the Pats to win, and Brady likely plays well if they do. Remember, he was voted MVP in this game last year despite a teammate catching 14 balls while totaling 139 yards and scoring three touchdowns.

Scott — I’ll have some tickets on the Patriots money line, and Brady as MVP.

What is your favorite silly prop for someone who just wants to have fun?

Brad — From BetDSI.com: Will Cris Collinsworth say “Pro Football Focus” during the broadcast? (Yes -200; No +150). LOW. HANGING. FRUIT. Collinsworth owns PFF and has referenced it often on telecasts throughout the season using snazzy animations to feature the site’s advanced metrics. This is the biggest platform in the world. As a businessman, you know he’ll pump the brand. Hammer the living daylights out of this.

[Stream Super Bowl LII live on the Yahoo Sports mobile app]

Dalton — First player to score a touchdown: Rob Gronkowski +750. This bet will be decided relatively soon, won’t be ambiguous and will end when everyone’s attention is still in full. Moreover, +750 isn’t a bad payout for someone who’s the favorite.

Pink’s National Anthem, over 2 minutes (-165) or under 2 minutes (+125)

Brad — UNDER. According to Oddshark, the average anthem length from the past 12 Super Bowls was 1:56.2. Pink is a phenomenal singer and performer, but her style isn’t Whitney Houston. Her singing comp is more Kelly Clarkson who belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1:33. In the end, Pink clocks in just shy of the recent average.

Dalton — OVER. I feel like the juice knows something here. And I’m usually not big on trends, but four of the past five anthems have gone longer than two minutes. Also, Pink’s performance at the Grammy’s was good, but Kesha’s was better.

Scott — UNDER. Pink isn’t a stylist, she’s a puncher, a scrapper. She makes her point, leaves a mark. The divas tend to go long. Pink is a different kind of entertainer.

Andy — Give me the under on the anthem time, by a lot. I can’t see Pink giving us a marathon.

Al Michaels loves to slyly wink at the TV viewers (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Will Al Michaels Refer to the point spread? (Yes +110, No -150)

Brad — YES. With potential legalized gambling a popular topic and understanding Michaels’ tendencies this is a fantastic wager to place, though Warden Goodell and his antiquated viewpoints on the subject may nix any attempt.

Dalton — NO, at least not directly. I always worry wagering on props like these, where the winner may be unclear.

Scott — I have to punch the YES ticket. Michaels loves to be an imp, it’s one of his most endearing qualities. We’ve enjoyed this for decades.

Times Giselle Bündchen is shown (over 1.5 -130, under 1.5 -110)

Brad — OVER. Clearly Giselle is a sight for sore eyes. Why on earth would any television producer want to cut away to unscripted reactions from a world famous supermodel? Sarcasm aside, this is another “back up the truck” bet.

Dalton — UNDER. I remember usually thinking over here yet later realizing how little the camera finds her. She’ll be busy talking trash texting Wes Welker.

Scott — I lean to the OVER here, but it’s mostly because I expect New England to win and that makes Giselle air-time more practical.

Greater total, Nick Foles completions (-130) or Kemba Walker points? (-110)

Dalton — FOLES. Walker has averaged around 22.1 points this year, which is right around the amount of completions New England surrendered per game. But give me Foles in a game that could see Philly forced to throw more than usual.

Scott — WALKER. Maybe I’m still scarred at the run Walker went on in 2011, the 11-game barrage that lifted an ordinary Connecticut team to a Big East Tournament title and the NCAA title. Plus he’ll be rested for Sunday, and he’s been a little more assertive as the trade deadline beckons.

Most rushing yards: Dion Lewis (NE)+150 James White (NE)+1200 Rex Burkhead (NE)+1200 Jay Ajayi (PHI)-140 LeGarrette Blount (PHI)+500

Brad — AJAYI. Again, due to New England’s well-documented problems defending the run in 11 formations, this is a no-brainer. If the Eagles remain competitive, which I obviously believe they will, the former ‘Phin coasts to 100-plus yards and scores the in-game rushing title.

Dalton — LEWIS. No workhorses here, so I’ll take the most talented back who’s also on the team favored to win.

Scott — It’s another case of you’re going to chase the team you think will win. LEWIS has been a workhorse for the last two months, and New England loves to wear down another team’s defensive front, then let its athletic OL go to work.

Who will have more Passing Yards in the game? Tom Brady (NE) -25½-155 Nick Foles (PHI) +25½+125

Brad — BRADY -25.5. This spread seems absurd. Foles was brilliant against Minnesota, but I suspect the ground game will be stressed from start to finish. Brady, meanwhile, seems like a shoo-in for 290-plus, a feat five passers accomplished against Philly this season.

Dalton — BRADY. The contrarian play.

Scott — BRADY. One team wants to hide its QB, one team does not.

Yo Soy Fiesta isn’t going to miss this one (AP)

Total Receiving Yards – Rob Gronkowski (NE) 75.5

Dalton — OVER.

Scott — Doesn’t this seem about six yards too high? With Gronk coming off a concussion but still the primary focus of the Patriots passing game, I have to assume Philly will devote all resources to contain him. I expect the receivers and backs to be Brady’s first choices Sunday. UNDER on the Patriots Glorified G.

Longest TD of the game, 43.5 yards

Dalton — UNDER.

Scott — UNDER seems like the play. The New England defense is all about bending-and-not-breaking, forcing you to string together long drives. They do not want you beating them with splash plays. And the Patriots aren’t really a team that scores in lightning bolts, either. Brandin Cooks is a good player, but he’s been a mild disappointment in his first Patriots season.

Alternative Point Spreads

Brad — Philadelphia Eagles -3.5 +275. This happens and I’ll triumphantly run the Philadelphia Museum of Art stairs until exhaustion, likely one flight.

Dalton — Patriots -17.5 +450.

Scott — One of the New England blowout lines makes sense, anything from -14.5 +350 and up. While I’m calling for a competitive game, no one would be shocked if the Patriots figured out Nick Foles over the last two weeks. And while Belichick downplays all the Super Bowl experience talk, I don’t buy it — the venue is different, the crowd is different, the pace of the game is different. Being around the block a few times has at least some value.

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NFL Power Rankings: Cam Newton could flip the NFC playoffs

The NFC is wide open. You can make a great Super Bowl argument for any of the five teams that appear to be locks to make the playoffs, and a decent one for the few teams fighting over the sixth spot.

One former MVP quarterback looms as a wild card who could swing the whole conference, and it’s not going to be Aaron Rodgers. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been looking like his 2015 self lately.

Over the Panthers’ last five games, Newton has 11 touchdowns and one interception. He also has 302 rushing yards (so much for not relying on him so much as a runner, Newton is on pace to approach career highs for rushing attempts and rushing yardage). He has thrown one interception since the end of October, and that one bounced off Christian McCaffrey’s hands and right to Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo.

Newton has rarely been properly rated in his career. Early on, he was given almost no credit for being a very good quarterback, as critics found any and all reasons to pick apart his game while ignoring the positives. Newton might have been a bit overrated his MVP season — his 7.1 touchdown percentage was way ahead of his career marks, and that figure was what won him the award — but that just made up for years of him being overlooked. Then Newton had an injury-filled encore in 2016 and barely anyone has noticed his rebound this season.

Newton is a hard player to get a read on because he’s fairly unique. There aren’t many quarterbacks with his dual ability to run and pass, and even fewer have been his size (Daunte Culpepper checked all those boxes for a while, but there aren’t many other comps). And we have to mention Newton’s personality rubs plenty of people the wrong way. Basically, either you love him coming to the line and trash talking Clay Matthews or you hate it. Let’s not fool ourselves, all the controversies might factor into how Newton the player is viewed.

But he can make plays few others can. He had two like that against Minnesota two weeks ago: a ridiculous touchdown pass while fading back after somehow avoiding a pass rush, and a 62-yard run with an open-field move that would be good for a 210-pound running back, much less a 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback. Those are the moments when you believe that Newton could carry the Panthers further than they should probably go.

This Panthers team isn’t as good as 2015. They don’t have much for Newton to throw to, although getting tight end Greg Olsen back looking like his normal self helps. But Newton gives the Panthers a chance in most games. He won’t always have the most impressive stat line. He has thrown for fewer than 200 yards seven times this season, and the Panthers are 5-2 in those games. He does have the ability to make those few plays that can turn a game. He’s not a classic pocket quarterback or someone who will flirt with 5,000 passing yards (he’s only thrown for 4,000 once, and that was his rookie season), but he’s a dangerous player on a 10-4 Panthers team.

The Rams, Saints, Vikings and Eagles are all fantastic teams and great stories. They’ve dominated most of the headlines in the NFC. Just don’t forget about the Panthers. They have the type of player who could lift his team to a special run in January.

Cam Newton speaks to the media after the Panthers’ win over the Packers. (AP)

Here are the power rankings following Week 14 of the NFL season:

32. Cleveland Browns (0-14, Last week: 32) The Browns lead the league in “games in which it looked like they might have a chance to win, then they lose by 14-plus points.” When the Browns got a fourth-down stop and then scored, it was 7-3 and it really seemed like Cleveland had a shot. They lost by 17. This week against the Bears seems like their last shot at a win. They get the Steelers in Week 17 and it looks like Pittsburgh’s playoff seed won’t be clinched, and the Browns aren’t beating a Steelers team that needs to win.

31. New York Giants (2-12, LW: 31) What got into their offense? They got 500 yards against a very good Eagles defense totally out of the blue. Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram played well, as did Roger Lewis, Tavarres King and rookie running back Wayne Gallman. Maybe there’s some momentum to be gained late in the season.

30. Indianapolis Colts (3-11, LW: 30) Frank Gore is fantastic, and all the praise for him is justified. I also don’t get why he’s playing so much this late in the season. Even last Thursday, after Gore had a career-high in carries, he out-snapped rookie Marlon Mack 28-24. Don’t the Colts want to get Mack some experience and see if he can play? Perhaps they don’t think Mack is very good, because nothing else explains giving Gore all these snaps late in the year.

29. Houston Texans (4-10, LW: 29) DeAndre Hopkins deserves another mention in this space, because he’s having as good of a season as anyone in the NFL. When you consider the terrible quarterback play he has had compared to guys like Antonio Brown, Keenan Allen or Julio Jones, Hopkins’ line of 92-1,313-12 becomes even more incredible. On Sunday he beat Jalen Ramsey, perhaps the best cornerback in the NFL this season, for a touchdown. Hopkins should be a unanimous All-Pro.

28. Cincinnati Bengals (5-9, LW: 26) Everyone has wanted Marvin Lewis gone for a while now, but we’ll see if that’s a blessing or a curse. Lewis doesn’t get enough credit for what he has done with the Bengals, an organization that was a joke before he arrived. It’s not a team that’s in remarkable shape as Lewis leaves, either. No coaching candidate will pick the Bengals job as the best available. We’ll see what kind of coach they can land.

27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-10, LW: 28) Another loss, but Jameis Winston looked pretty good on Monday night. He had 299 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and generally played well. If the Buccaneers can get him headed on a positive path going into the offseason, that’s great.

26. Chicago Bears (4-10, LW: 25) Before Saturday, when was the last time you heard the name Lamarr Houston? He was a huge free-agent addition for the Bears who never quite panned out. He had three sacks in 2016 and 2017 combined (he was cut by the Bears in September, cut by the Texans in November and signed back on to the Bears) before his two-sack game on Saturday. Who knows, maybe Houston’s career can start to rebound with a strong finish.

25. New York Jets (4-10, LW: 24) Nobody would have thought twice had the Jets laid down against the Saints, especially with Bryce Petty at quarterback. Instead, they were in the game most of the time. A late touchdown by Mark Ingram made the final score 31-19, but the game was a lot close throughout. That matters, especially when you realize that the players are still playing very hard for coach Todd Bowles.

24. San Francisco 49ers (4-10, LW: 27) Marquise Goodwin has been a nice revelation for the 49ers since Jimmy Garoppolo took over at quarterback. Goodwin has 24 catches for 319 yards in Garoppolo’s three starts. Goodwin is an incredible athlete who seemed underused at the University of Texas and by the Buffalo Bills too. The 27-year-old was a nice offseason find for the 49ers.

23. Washington Redskins (6-8, LW: 22) What a weird win for the Redskins on Sunday. They had just 218 yards and didn’t play well at all at home by the Cardinals, but got stops in the red zone and forced a ton of field goals instead of touchdowns. It’s probably not going to lead their 2017 highlight reel, but a win is a win.

22. Denver Broncos (5-9, LW: 23) It’s simple: If Paxton Lynch is healthy, he has to play these last two games. Maybe that’s unfair to Brock Osweiler, after a very good performance last week, but nobody said this business was fair. The Broncos need some clarity on Lynch before they enter what is going to be a very interesting offseason.

21. Oakland Raiders (6-8, LW: 21) Michael Crabtree had 39 yards on 17 targets. That’s the fewest yards for anyone with 17 or more targets since they started tracking targets in 1992 (h/t to our friend Scott Pianowski). Maybe the Raiders should have tried something else.

20. Arizona Cardinals (6-8, LW: 20) The Cardinals benched Blaine Gabbert, which has no real purpose other than to announce that they know Gabbert can’t be their starter in 2018. If Carson Palmer retires, this could get really ugly. There’s no backup plan and not a ton of cap space to make a big Kirk Cousins play (and it’s not like Palmer returning is some magic elixir, either).

19. Miami Dolphins (6-8, LW: 19) You kind of knew the Dolphins would let down after beating the Patriots on Monday night. One thing I don’t think has been mentioned enough: This coaching staff refused to give Kenyan Drake a majority of the snaps, even after trading Jay Ajayi. He never got more than two-thirds of the snaps before Damien Williams got hurt. Drake has been marvelous since Williams got hurt and the Dolphins were forced to play him more. Doesn’t it concern you a bit that the coaching staff didn’t recognize how good Drake was when Williams was taking close to half the snaps?

18. Tennessee Titans (8-6, LW: 18) Sometimes you get a glimpse into the competency of a coaching staff through small decisions. Since Oct. 8, DeMarco Murray has averaged 2.99 yards per carry. He has had one game north of 3.3 yards per carry in that stretch. And still, the Titans gave him 18 carries (for 59 yards) in a close loss to the 49ers. Derrick Henry hasn’t played great, but he’s a big back who could presumably benefit from a larger workload, yet he got seven carries Sunday. The steadfast refusal to cut back Murray’s workload should make anyone skeptical that this staff can make any right decisions.

17. Green Bay Packers (7-7, LW: 15) The Packers were eliminated from playoff contention with Atlanta’s win on Monday night, and now it’s time to shut Aaron Rodgers down. If he plays and suffers an injury that lasts into the 2018 season, it would be an inexcusable mistake.

16. Buffalo Bills (8-6, LW: 17) The Bills are very much alive in the playoff race thanks to the Titans’ collapse. There’s still the issue of having one of their two remaining games at New England, but a loss to the Patriots doesn’t ruin their chances. There are roughly a billion scenarios in play, and the Buffalo News did a good job sorting through them.

15. Detroit Lions (8-6, LW: 16) What has gotten into Eric Ebron? He followed up a 10-catch, 94-yard game two weeks ago by scoring a nice touchdown in a win over the Bears on Saturday. Ebron has been mostly disappointing after he was selected ahead of Odell Beckham — that will always be a part of his football legacy, unfortunately — but he might be giving the Lions second thoughts about whether to hang onto him next season at a reported salary of more than $8 million (his 2018 salary, triggered when the Lions picked up his fifth-year option, is guaranteed only due to injury).

14. Seattle Seahawks (8-6, LW: 10) We might look back in a few years and point to Sunday’s 42-7 loss as the end of the Seahawks’ era as we know it. Losing to the Rams, even in a blowout, was understandable because of all their injuries. But this is an aging team that will have to make some tough decisions. I trust the brass in place and any team with Russell Wilson should always be competitive, but this offseason will bring about many tough decisions.

13. Dallas Cowboys (8-6, LW: 13) Well, the Cowboys get Ezekiel Elliott back when they’re still alive in the playoff race. The biggest result for them next week, other than beating the Seahawks at home, might be an Eagles win. If the Eagles win or the Vikings lose, Philadelphia will clinch the No. 1 seed. Dallas plays at Philadelphia in Week 17. We don’t know how the Eagles will handle Week 17 if they’ve clinched everything, but obviously the Cowboys are better off facing an Eagles team with nothing to play for.

12. Baltimore Ravens (8-6, LW: 12) Tight end Ben Watson has played in all 14 games this season. He has 165 yards in two games against the Browns and 256 yards in the 12 other games. Too bad he won’t see the Browns in the playoffs.

11. Los Angeles Chargers (7-7, LW: 9) The most troubling thing about Saturday’s loss might be that the defense disappeared. One sack. No interceptions. Unable to slow down Kareem Hunt. The Chargers defense had been among the best in the NFL in the weeks leading up to that showdown against the Chiefs, and it was a no-show in the biggest game of the year.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (8-6, LW: 14) Maybe Marcus Peters just needed a wake-up call? A week after a team-imposed suspension, he had a marvelous game against the Chargers. We’ve seen a focused Peters be one of the best cornerbacks in football, and if he is past this season’s slump, it would help the Chiefs defense immensely.

9. Atlanta Falcons (9-5, LW: 11) Devonta Freeman’s last 100-yard game was Sept. 24. He exploded on Monday night, with 126 yards rushing and 68 more receiving. Some of that was an increased workload with Tevin Coleman out, but Freeman is capable of getting very hot for a stretch, and maybe Monday was the start of that.

8. Carolina Panthers (10-4, LW: 8) Usually the term “distraction” is overused, because NFL players aren’t as easily distracted as some like to believe. I don’t think the issues with owner Jerry Richardson will affect the team on the field this season. Most owners don’t have regular interactions with the players. The inappropriate workplace behavior Richardson is accused of didn’t have anything to do with the players or coaches, it seems. It’s an unusual situation, but it’s a bit much to assume a 10-4 team will suddenly become rattled by it.

7. New Orleans Saints (10-4, LW: 6) Linebacker Manti Te’o has quietly had a very nice season for the Saints. Remember when everyone thought he was going to be a locker room distraction his entire career over the fake girlfriend story? Well, no. Te’o is never going to be the player he was at Notre Dame, when he almost did the impossible and won a Heisman Trophy at linebacker. But he’s a very good part of a defense that can make a Super Bowl.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4, LW: 7) Let’s be very clear: If Blake Bortles plays anywhere near the level he has played at for three weeks (903 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 128.6), the Jaguars can absolutely win a Super Bowl. There’s no weakness if Bortles plays like this. Now, do I believe Bortles will plays like this in January? No. But it’s impossible to ignore what he has done lately.

5. Minnesota Vikings (11-3, LW: 4) According to @NFL_Stats on Twitter, cornerback Xavier Rhodes has held Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Odell Beckham and A.J. Green to nine catches for 94 yards when he’s been in coverage on them, dating back to last season. Coverage stats assume we know when a cornerback is solely responsible for a receiver, and a catch isn’t a result of a mistake by the safety in coverage or whatnot, but even if the numbers are a bit off, it’s unquestionable that Rhodes is one of the NFL’s best corners. It’s going to be very tough to pick just two cornerbacks for the All-Pro team.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (11-3, LW: 1) There are two separate arguments: The NFL’s catch rule needs an overhaul, yet, the officials called the Jesse James play by the rulebook. That’s the way the NFL wants that rule enforced. Complain about the rule, not the call. Anyway, Ben Roethlisberger shouldn’t get off the hook for his mistake. Once he saw that his only option on the fake spike play was covered, he needed to throw that ball into the 15th row and live to fight another day.

3. Los Angeles Rams (10-4, LW: 5) Oh, wow. Sunday’s win over the Seahawks is the best game an NFL team has played this season. That was shocking. And even before that performance, the Rams were playing like one of the best teams we’ve seen in years. The Rams were in the top five in offense, defense and special teams in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric before Week 15, and only four other teams had pulled that off after 14 weeks, dating back to 1989: the 1991 Redskins, 1992 Eagles, 1996 Packers and 2012 Seahawks. That’s some great company. And then the Rams won 42-7 at Seattle. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so surprised by that result. I’m buying

2. Philadelphia Eagles (12-2, LW: 3) Let’s give them a pass for that defensive performance at the Giants. I don’t know what happened, but it was out of the norm. Then look at the positive: Nick Foles looked very good. If he’ll play at that level the rest of the way, the Eagles are still in good shape to make a Super Bowl (as we talked about here last week).

1. New England Patriots (11-3, LW: 2) It’s reasonable to question if they deserve the No. 1 spot. But they have lost one game since Oct. 1, in an obvious look-ahead spot (no matter what Bill Belichick said), and just won on the road against a Steelers team that was 11-2. Doubt the Patriots at your own risk.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

More from Yahoo Sports: • Pete Thamel: How early signing period changes recruiting • Inspired by Kobe, superfan has lost 170 pounds • Nance posterizes Durant, Lakers bench goes nuts • Eli Manning: ‘I think it’s clear what a catch is’

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Lombardi put end to Packers’ annual Thanksgiving clash with Detroit

Tony from West Olive, MI

The Packers under Vince Lombardi didn’t play that well on Thanksgiving Day in Detroit. After the tie in 1963, they didn’t play against the Lions on Thanksgiving for many years. I read, or think I did, this was Vince’s doing. Is there any truth to that? By the way, I live along the shores of Lake Michigan, but as the crow flies I’m closer to Green Bay than Detroit. Proud to wear green and gold in Michigan!

That’s true. Lombardi didn’t like playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving and insisted that NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle find someone else to take the Packers’ place. The Thanksgiving Day Packers-Lions series started in 1951 and continued through 1963. At the time, it was the NFL’s only Thanksgiving Day game.

Lombardi was coach for five of those games and the Packers were 2-2-1, but the Lions had more going for them than just home-field advantage. They finished second to the Packers in the Western Conference three straight years from 1960 to ’62 and probably were the second best team in the league during that stretch. Lombardi also lost to the Lions at home in 1961 and won a squeaker in ‘62 on a last-second field goal.

The Thanksgiving game everyone seems to remember was Green Bay’s 1962 loss to the Lions, a 26-14 embarrassment. The Packers fell behind, 23-0, at halftime and Bart Starr ended up being dumped for a loss nine times for 83 yards.

But that loss wasn’t what prompted Lombardi to badger the league into finding another Thanksgiving Day opponent for the Lions. A year earlier, he voiced his objections to playing in the game, despite the Packers winning 17-9.

“The big reason I’m against it is because four days is not enough time to get ready for a game,” Lombardi said in the dressing room at Tiger Stadium in 1961. “And now, with the new television contract, every club will receive the same amount. If we are to continue in this game, I feel we should receive additional revenue.”

Two days after the 1963 game, Rozelle announced the Packers would no longer be forced to play in Detroit every Thanksgiving. He said Western Conference teams would likely rotate as the opponent for the Lions, although the Cleveland Browns had expressed a willingness to take Green Bay’s place.

Then everything changed when Dallas was assigned a second Thanksgiving game starting in 1966. The Packers played in Dallas in 1970, but not again in Detroit on Thanksgiving until 1984.

When the Packers played for the first time on Thanksgiving in 1951, it also was the first time they ever appeared in a nationally televised game. Obviously, that was a big deal in Green Bay. The game was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network and an estimated 24 million viewers were expected to tune in.

Then again, mind-boggling as it might seem today, while the game was played in Detroit and broadcast coast-to-coast, it wasn’t televised in Green Bay.

The reason?

Green Bay didn’t have a TV station yet and wouldn’t have one until 1953. The game was broadcast on WTMJ in Milwaukee and people with TVs in Green Bay were hoping their reception would be good enough to watch the game through the snow on the screen of their analog TV. Others planned to drive to Milwaukee and Sheboygan to watch it. But the vast percentage of fans in Green Bay probably had to settle for listening to it on radio station WJPG.

Here’s yet another storyline about that game.

The capacity in 1951 of what was then named Briggs Stadium was just over 58,000, or more than enough seats to hold the entire city of Green Bay. Based on the 1950 census, Green Bay’s population was 52,735.

Edward from Canton, SD

What was the last year the Packers ended the regular season in California, playing San Francisco and the LA Rams?

It was 1963, the same year the Thanksgiving Day tradition ended. The Packers finished with back-to-back games on the West Coast from 1950 to ’63. Then for the next three years, they played their last game in either Los Angeles or San Francisco, but made two trips west.

When the 1964 NFL schedule was announced and Lombardi learned the Packers would be playing in San Francisco on Nov. 15 and then going back to California to play the Rams on Dec. 13, he seemed to be as happy over that development as not playing in Detroit on Thanksgiving.

“We’re the only ones who haven’t gone out separately and it’s time,” said Lombardi.

In the beginning, playing back-to-back games on the West Coast was probably a financial godsend for the Packers.

As far as back as the 1920s, they often ended their season with an extended road trip and it was to their benefit. At that time, the Packers weren’t able to sell enough tickets once the weather turned cold to stay in business. In their first 47 years, they played only three regular-season games in Green Bay during the month of December. Even playing in late November, especially during deer hunting season, would kill their gate in Green Bay.

As for the back-to-back games against the Rams and 49ers, in six of the first seven years that the Packers ended their season with two games in California, they took the train there and back. Part of it was Gene Ronzani didn’t like to fly over the mountains, but I think it can be safely assumed that flying twice to the West Coast, maybe even just once, would have sapped the Packers’ cash reserves, at least in the early 1950s.

Scott from Greensburg, IN

On Monday night, Oct. 30, 1967, the Packers played the Cardinals in St. Louis. As a youngster my dad allowed my brother and me to stay up late and watch the game. It is a great memory from a very special season. My question is do you know what precipitated this game being on Monday night? My first thought was perhaps it had something to do with the baseball Cardinals being in the World Series – but that was long before postseason play went that far into October. Was this nationally televised? I assume it was for us to see it out of Indianapolis, which didn’t have a pro football at the time. Was it on CBS, the NFL’s network in those days? Was this game in any way a precursor to ABC’s MNF, which began in 1970? Finally, were there other games played on Monday nights earlier or was this game unique?

Intriguing question. I can’t tell you what was discussed in private among Rozelle, NFL owners and television execs, and whether there were visionaries who saw the potential for playing weeknight NFL games. But here’s what I was able to research.

It was the only Monday night game scheduled in 1967 and it was broadcast nationally by CBS. It also would be three years before Monday Night Football became a fixture on ABC.

However, it also was the fourth year in a row that the St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to play a Monday night home game.

When the NFL schedule was announced in 1964, it called for the Cardinals to host the Baltimore Colts on Oct. 12. However, the game was later moved to Baltimore because the baseball Cardinals were in the World Series. As a result, the football Cardinals played eight road games and only six home games that year.

The next two years, the Cardinals played their Monday night games, as scheduled. They met the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 4, 1965, and the Chicago Bears on Oct. 31, 1966.

The Packers also played a previous Monday night game at Detroit on Sept. 28, 1964.

Before the 1964 season, the NFL signed a new lucrative, two-year television contract with CBS and added two highly attractive nationally televised games on the final two Saturday afternoons of the season: Green Bay at the Chicago Bears on Dec. 5 and Cleveland at the New York Giants on Dec. 12.

The Monday night Packers-Lions game and Colts-Cardinals game were not scheduled for national television. Apparently, baseball dictated those dates.

The Lions-Packers game was the third week of the season and the Lions started with two road games. The Green Bay Press-Gazette reported when the schedule came out that the Lions wanted to play on Sunday, Sept. 27, but the Detroit Tigers had a game scheduled for Tiger Stadium that day and so the Lions had to play on Monday night if they wanted a home game that weekend.

The Colts-Cardinals game was scheduled for the fifth week and was to be the Cardinals’ home opener. When the schedule was announced, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explained that the baseball Cardinals wouldn’t close their regular season in Busch Stadium until Oct. 4 and, thus, workers needed the extra time to install the added seats needed for the football Cardinals. Otherwise, they would have to play on the road for a fifth straight week and, as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened. Because of the World Series, the football Cardinals not only lost a home game, but played their first five games of a 14-game schedule away from home.

In 1965, the Post-Dispatch reported the Cowboys-Cardinals game was scheduled for Monday night, rather than Sunday afternoon, to avoid a conflict with dedication ceremonies for St. Louis’ riverfront arch. That game wasn’t scheduled for national television, either.

The tune changed in 1966.

Before the game between the Cardinals and Bears, George Strickler, who had worked in the NFL office in the 1940s, wrote in the Chicago Tribune that the game was “part payment to (CBS) for those million dollar checks CBS passes around to league members these days.”

Thus, I would assume the same was true of the Packers-Cardinals game the next year.

That said, I also sense the Cardinals might have believed they were establishing a profitable tradition with an annual Monday night home game. They weren’t selling out their games at the time and their Monday night games in 1965 and ’66 drew their second-largest crowd each season. The 1967 Packers-Cardinals contest attracted 49,792 fans, the Cardinals’ largest crowd of the season. Their home opener against the New York Giants that year drew only 40,801.

Willie from Hayward, WI

Bill Curry started at center for the Packers in Super Bowl I. In the second quarter when the Packers scored their second touchdown, Ken Bowman was playing center, but Curry snapped for the extra point. What happened?

Curry sprained his ankle and basically took himself out of the game. In 2016, prior to Super Bowl 50, Curry told the Columbus Dispatch, “I left the game, and in the NFL, we all know the code: You don’t leave big games.”

Curry said Lombardi never said a word to him, but exposed him in the expansion draft a month later. New Orleans, in turn, selected Curry.

The 1966 season was Curry’s second and he started all 14 regular-season games at center, plus the NFL championship in Dallas and the first Super Bowl. He replaced Bowman, who had dislocated his right shoulder in the preseason. As a rookie in 1964, Bowman had taken over as the Packers’ starting center in the eighth game. He remained the starter throughout the Packers’ 1965 championship season.

While Bowman remained on the roster during the 1966 season as Curry’s backup, his shoulder was never right, even when he replaced Curry in the Super Bowl. The day after the game, Lombardi was asked why he subbed for Curry and he had nothing but high praise for Bowman.

“Bowman deserves a lot of credit,” Lombardi told reporters. “You know he has a dislocated shoulder that pops out frequently… Fortunately, the shoulder only popped out once yesterday. It was easily put back.”

Bowman subsequently underwent surgery in the offseason and started nine regular-season games and three postseason games, including Super Bowl II, when the Packers repeated as champions in 1967.

Mark from Appleton, WI

I was a 12-year-old living in Appleton when the Ice Bowl was played. I believe I saw it on live TV, black and white for us. Is my memory incorrect? Your statement that the Green Bay market was blacked out does not ring correctly – or maybe Appleton did not fall into the Green Bay market? We watched on Channel 2 – WBAY TV. Thank you for any clarification.

The game was blacked out in Green Bay. It was televised exclusively by CBS and shown to 99.5% of its viewing audience. The only two markets in the country that were prevented from broadcasting it, per NFL rules of the day, were Green Bay, where WBAY was the CBS affiliate, and Wausau.

That said, if you have recollections of watching the game, maybe you did. WISN, Channel 12 in Milwaukee, aired the game and you’d know better than I if you could view Milwaukee channels in Appleton when you were a kid. I can tell you this: The Post-Crescent, Appleton’s daily newspaper, carried Channel 12’s listings in its TV section. Plus, Sabre Lanes in Appleton ran ads before the game telling people they’d be showing it on TV. Presumably, it was able to pick up a Milwaukee station. So maybe there was a way of watching it in your home in Appleton.

Here’s another possibility. The Post-Crescent’s TV listings noted films of the game were going to be shown on Green Bay’s Channel 2 at 4 p.m. Monday, the day after the game. That was New Year’s Day so it might have seemed like Sunday for at least some of the people who watched what I presume was a replay of some sort.

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