Top 12 Christmas Songs

'Tis the season! With Christmas just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to share my top 12 favorite Christmas songs.  This was a lot tougher than I expected because there are so many Christmas songs.  I thought about having 2 lists, one for sacred/religious songs and one for so called secular songs.  In the end, though, I just decided to do one list and make the hard choices my dear readers expect me to make.  So, in honor of the 12 days of Christmas, here is my list of my top 12 favorite Christmas songs. How many of yours make my list?

12. "Joy to the World" - We start the list off with a sacred hymn by Isaac Watts, one of my favorite hymn writers. It's one of the older Christmas hymns and it stands the test of time. I especially like the round section ("and heaven and nature sing"/"repeated the sounding joy") in the latter part of each verse.

11. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Next is another really old English carol. This one is a positive song (don't worry, Christ came to save us) and the melody is very easy to sing.  This is one I can belt out in church.

10. "White Christmas" - The first non-religious song on the list is one of the earliest and most successful secular Christmas songs, dating back to the early 1940s.  It was, interestingly enough, written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish.  With its lyrics speaking of tree tops glistening and children listening for sleigh bells in the snow, this song is a classic that has been recorded by hundreds of artists over the past 75 years.

9. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" - This is a song that you actually don't hear that often during Christmas, which is a shame as it's one of the few Christmas songs that speaks of the city of Christ's birth.  This is another one that my baritone voice loves to song.

8. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - One of my favorite Christmas shows is "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which spawned this song.  It's an upbeat song first performed by Burl Ives, who voiced Sam the Snowman in the show.  We had the soundtrack on LP and listened to it a lot growing up, so this one has to make the list.

7. "Angels We Have Heard On High" - Another Christmas song that you rarely hear outside the walls of a church.  As a kid, I loved this one because of "Gloooooooooooooria" part in the chorus.  I always found it fun to sing.  Our church uses the chorus as a doxology during Advent, which I love.  The chorus is all in Latin, which makes it unique to this list as well.

6. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - Most Christmas songs are happy songs, either focusing of Jesus' birth or celebrating family and snow and such.  This song virtually stands alone in the Christmas canon as a melancholy song. ("Blue Christmas" would obviously be another.) This song first appeared in "Meet Me in St. Louis" in 1944, sung in the film by none other than Judy Garland.  Its lyrics have been tweaked a few times other the years to make it a little less downcast, but it still mentions the hope that "next year all our troubles will be out of sight," so it is still more melancholy than your typically Christmas song.  One of my favorite memories of seeing live musicals was seeing this song performed during "Meet Me in St. Louis" at The Muny in Forest Park in St. Louis, the very site of the 1904 World's Fair that inspired the musical.

5. "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" - This is probably the most obscure selection on the list.  First of all, it's technically an advent song rather than a Christmas song.  Second, like #7, you seldom if ever hear this one outside of a church.  But I have grown to love this song over the past several years and always look forward to the arrival of Advent and the chance to sing it once again.  This is yet another hymn that I will belt out at church - it seems tailor made for a baritone.

4. "Winter Wonderland" - Like the choice above, this song is technically not a Christmas song, in that it never mentions Jesus or Christmas trees or presents or anything like that.  Rather it is a celebration of winter weather and snow on the ground. But anyone who has walked in the snow and seen the sun shimmer off the ground can relate to some of the lyrics.  This is holiday standard that has been performed by dozens of artists.

3. "Silver Bells" - Whereas most Christmas songs have lyrics that focus on more rural areas (snow in a meadow, riding a sleigh the woods, etc.), this song presents of picture of Christmas time in a city. Shoppers with presents, stores adorned with decorations, stoplights and, of course, the silver bells on the street corners.  When the earliest versions of a song are performed by no less than Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, you know it is a good song.

2. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" - Like #5 above, this one is a hymn written by Charles Wesley.  It's a great old hymn that is easy to sing.  Another reason I love it? It's in "A Charlie Brown Christmas," when all of the Peanuts sing it around the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

1. "Silent Night" - While I had a hard time deciding which songs to put on this list, I never even thought twice about which song was going to be at the top of the list.  This is my favorite Christmas song and it has been since I was a kid.  I love when we sing it a capella to close out the candlelight Christmas Eve service every hear.  It gives me chills every time and it wouldn't be Christmas without experiencing it.

There you have it - my list of my favorite Christmas songs.  Which songs would make your list?  I'd love to hear your choices.

Thanks for reading!

Pros & Cons of Your Kids Growing Up

Last week, we hit another milestone in the Golden household when my daughter learned the truth about Santa Claus.  This will be the first time since 2003 that "Santa" will not come visit us.  This milestone got me thinking about the pros and cons of your kids growing up.

Pro: With the Santa myth behind us, we no longer have to stay up until the early hours of Christmas morning wrapping the gifts from "Santa."
Con: With Santa out of the picture, a little bit of the magic of Christmas is gone, the wonder of whether or not Santa is going to come this year.

Pro: No longer having to move that stupid elf every day and being mortified if you forget to do so as the kids pepper you with questions wondering why the elf didn't move.
Con: Instead of waking up excited to find the elf and see what mischief he has gotten himself into, you have to drag the kids out of bed like you do the rest of the year.

Pro: We no longer have to pack half the house (diaper bags, toys, stroller, snacks, etc.) just to take the kids to the store or to grandma's house.
Con: Strangers no longer fawn over your cute little ones. (Wait....maybe that's another pro.)

Pro: You can take the kids out to dinner without it being a major production that will likely result in bribery, tears and a temper tantrum at some point.
Con: The kids no longer eat off the kids' menu, so dinner is a lot more expensive.

Pro: You no longer have to spend a minor fortune on diapers and formula.
Con: You now have to spend a minor fortune on orthodontia and acne medication.

Pro: Your kids no longer have a Christmas list that is as long as "War and Peace"
Con: The things that ARE on their list are generally a lot more expensive (think gaming systems, video games, smart phones, etc.)

Pro: The sports games your kids play actually count.  They keep score, keep track of outs, etc.  Not everyone bats every inning and not everyone gets a trophy just for showing up.
Con: There are a LOT more of the games and if your kid doesn't play well, they may wind up benched or batting at the bottom of the order.

Pro: No more Tooth Fairy, so no more sneaking into your kid's room in the dark, trying to replace the tooth with money without waking the kid up.  Also, no more digging through your wallet and couch cushions to come up with the money from the "Tooth Fairy."
Con: Instead of giving your kid $5 for losing a tooth, you give them $10 to go get lunch with their friends.  It's more expensive and decidedly less magical.

Pro: Bed time is no longer a 30 minute production marked by stall tactics, tears and story time.
Con: The kids now stay up later, which makes it more difficult to watch my TV programs before I start to nod off on the couch.

Pro: You no longer have to worry about your kid's friends and classmates biting them.
Con: You now have to worry about your kid's friends and classmates introducing them to drugs or sex or other bad things.

Pro: No longer having to pay thousands of dollars a year for daycare/preschool.
Con: Saving up to pay thousands of dollars a year for college.

Pro: No more banal, repetitive children's songs played over and over again.
Con: Instead, you get banal, repetitive pop songs played over and over again.

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the point.  There are pros and cons to all stages of life and that holds true with having kids as well.  I'd love to hear some of your pros and cons of your kids growing up.

Thanks for reading!

Quick Hits: Sexual Assault

Over the past several weeks, one famous person after another has been accused of sexual misconduct.  From Hollywood to Alabama, from Washington, DC to New York, there have been countless stories of women (and, in a few circumstances, men) being groped, raped, flashed and pressured to engage in sexual shenanigans.  Some of the accused weren't all that surprising (I mean, didn't everyone already know that Charlie Rose was a dirty old man?) while others were more shocking.  From the #metoo campaign to the onslaught of recent allegations that have ensnared politicians, comedians, actors, and corporate executive, it's been nearly impossible to turn on the TV or go on social media and not be hit with more examples of men behaving badly.  From all of this, I think there are a few lessons that we need to grasp:

• This is an issue that crosses political boundaries and industries.  If we've learned nothing from this issue, it's not a "liberal thing" or a "conservative" thing.  There have been people on both sides of the political spectrum that appear to be guilty.  It's not a political issue.  It's a personal issue.  Those who would make it a political issue (like some Republicans are doing with regard to the Senate election in Alabama), are disgusting, vile individuals.
• Guys, we need to knock it off.  I don't care what your profession or role is - politician, corporate executive, plain old supervisor.  Do not force yourself on others.  Do not grope them.  Do not make sexual advances toward them.  Do not expose yourself to them.  Treat them not as a female or a sex object.  Treat them as a fellow person, a fellow professional.  Just because they wear skirts and heels - you shouldn't treat them any differently than if they wear slacks and wing tips.
• Ladies, you need to speak up. If this happens to you, don't suffer in silence for weeks or months or years.  Tell someone.  Blow the whistle.  Take a stand so that it stops happening to you and he doesn't do it to someone else later on.  If he's doing it to you, he's probably doing it to someone else, too.  Be strong and call him on it.  The sooner you do, the sooner it can be addressed.  I can't imagine how difficult it will be but you need to do it - for yourself and for others who may not be strong enough to take that stand.

Hopefully, as more and more people grasp the extent of this problem, men and women alike can take action to prevent future occurrences of these kinds of assaults.  If we all heed these lessons, we can begin changing lives and making our workplaces and our world a little bit better place for everyone.

The Worst Hit Songs of All Time

Every once in a while, there is a song that becomes popular for inexplicable reasons.  Sometimes, these songs are so-called "one hit wonders" who come out of nowhere with one hit song, never to be heard from again.  Other times, they are really bad songs from established artists that inexplicably become big hits.  Either way, they are the songs that, when you hear them on the radio 10 or 20 years later, you ask yourself "This song is awful.  How was it ever popular?"

Here is my list of what I consider to be the worst hit songs of all time.

Artist: Biz Markie
Song: "Just a Friend"
Peak Chart Position: #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990
Why It Makes the List: I'm convinced that this song was popular only because it's sooo bad.  The lyrics don't really rhyme.  Biz Markie, who appears to have some sort of speech impediment, can't sing at all, nor can he rap very effectively.  His off-key crooning of "You.  You got what I neeeeed..." is hilarious and cringe-worthy at the same time.  (Admit it.....you just sang that line as loudly and awkwardly as possible, didn't you?) You should have seen my daughter's face the first time she heard this song.....the look on it basically said "What in the world is THIS?"  Given how awful this song is, it's no surprise that this was Biz Markie's only hit song. 

Artist: The Flaming Lips
Song: "She Don't Use Jelly"
Peak Chart Position: #9 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks in 1993
Why It Makes the List: This is another song that is likely only popular because it's so bad.  In addition to the lead singer not being able to hold a tune, the lyrics are absurd.  A girl who puts Vaseline on her toast instead of jelly? A guy who uses magazines to blow his nose, as opposed to using the more typical tissue or handkerchief? A girl who dies her hair orange by using tangerines? It's all pretty weird, though I will give them credit for rhyming "Vaseline," "magazines," and "tangerines" over the three different versions of the chorus.  Every genre in every decade has some sort of weird song that is popular for unknown reasons and this is one of those songs from the world of 1990s alternative music.

Artist: R.E.M.
Song: "Shiny Happy People"
Peak Chart Position: #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991
Why It Makes the List: While our first two choices are "one hit wonders," this choice is decidedly not.  R.E.M. had a three decades long career as alternative rock icons that was filled with many memorable hit songs.  While I was never much of an R.E.M. fan, unlike my best friend in college, they have several songs that I like.  This is, without question, not one of them.  It's annoyingly catchy and sickeningly sweet, but it also seems like the product of a bad acid trip.  It's lightweight fluff from a band that typically drifted toward serious and heartfelt.  "Shiny Happy People" is to R.E.M. what "Yellow Submarine" is to The Beatles - a glorified children's song.  In fact, even the band will tell you that it's a bad song, to the point where they didn't even include it on their 2003 greatest hits album, even though it was (for better or worse) one of their biggest hits.

Artist: Starship
Song: "We Built This City"
Peak Chart Position: #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985
Why It Makes the List: This is another song that is so bad that one of the people who sang on it, co-lead vocalist and '60s rock goddess Grace Slick, even referred to it as "the worst song ever."  It's bad, bland '80s corporate pop-rock at it's worst and the antithesis of Starship's counter culture lineage as Jefferson Airplane.  The ironic part is that the lyrics rip on the corporate nature of music, while itself being an overproduced, corporate song. Wouldn't you think a song that bragged about building a city on rock 'n roll would actually, you know, rock? Instead, this song is synthesizer-dominated corporate pop fluff.  The song is so bad that GQ once referred to it in a 2016 article as "the most detested song of all time." What makes things even worse was that it took four - that's right, FOUR - songwriters to write it, including the legendary Bernie Taupin, the long time lyricist most famous for working with Elton John.  But worst of all?  This ridiculous song was actually nominated for a friggin' Grammy in 1986.  Thankfully, it didn't win.

Artist: Tim McGraw
Song: "Indian Outlaw"
Peak Chart Position: #8 on the Billboard Hot Country Charts & #15 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1994
Why It Makes the List: This was one of Tim McGraw's first singles and I hated this song so much that I couldn't bring myself to listen to any of his other songs for two or three years after this song came out.  It's stupid, ridiculous and borderline offensive.  In just 3 minutes, it mentions every potential Native American cliché imaginable including: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chippewa, wig-wam, tom-tom, peace pipe, teepee, headband and medicine man.  To show how ridiculously bad the song's lyrics are, I offer you a sample: "They all gather 'round my teepee/Late at night tryin' to catch a peek at me/In nothin' but my buffalo briefs/I got 'em standin' in line."  Yes, it's actually cracking a joke about Native American undergarments.  It's so bad that a reviewer in Billboard said that if the song became popular, it would "set relations back 200 years."  To make matters worse, McGraw's vocals are overly twangy and whiny - it's like the proverbial nails on the chalkboard.  Over the years, Tim McGraw has recorded some really good songs, but this one isn't one of them.

Artist: Crash Test Dummies
Song: "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm"
Peak Chart Position: #1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks & #4 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1994
Why It Makes the List: There are some hit songs that are played on the radio for years after they were popular.  There are other hit songs that quietly fade into oblivion and you rarely, if ever, hear them on the radio again.  This song falls into that second category.  You could listen to Lithium and the '90s on 9 for a week and never hear this song.  Why? Because it's terrible.  Start with the chorus, which is just a guy humming "mmm mmm mmm mmm" a bunch of times.  That's right - the chorus of this hit song contains no words.  Even worse, the bridge of the song is just some people going "ahhh" - the only missing is the doctor with the tongue depresser.  Finally, there are the vocals.  Do you remember when you had records or cassette players and you could speed up the song so the vocals sounded like The Chipmunks or slow it down so that the vocals were reaalllly sllllooowwww and looowww?  Well, the vocals on this song sound like the latter....only on purpose.  That can't be how that guy really sounds, can it?  Our friendly neighbors to the North have given us lots of wonderful gifts over the years - Donald Sutherland, Tim Horton's and ice hockey among them - but this song is definitely not on that list.

Artist: Meat Loaf
Song: "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)"
Peak Chart Position: #1 in an astounding 28 countries world wide in 1993, include the U.S.
Why It Makes the List: This song is the biggest of the hit songs on this list - it also won a Grammy - but that still doesn't mean that it's any good.  For starters, the original album version of the song goes on for 12 minutes, which is just ridiculous.  Beyond that, this is Meat Loaf at his Meat Loafiest - campy, overly dramatic and pretentious.  His over the top performance would be somewhat impressive if the song wasn't so stupid.  The fact that the damn song runs on for a dozen minutes and many people still don't have a clue as to what he WON'T do for love illustrates my point.  1993 gave us some really good rock songs and albums ("No Rain" by Blind Melon, "Plush" by Stone Temple Pilots, "In Utero" by Nirvana and "Vs." by Pearl Jam), but it also gave us this steaming pile of self-important, rock opera crap.

Artist: Los del Rio
Song: "Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)"
Peak Chart Position: #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Chart for 14 weeks
Why It Makes the List: Of all of the songs on this list, this is the one I hate the most.  In fact, I have a visceral reaction whenever I hear it - I almost go into seizures, like that guy in the '90s who had seizures whenever he heard Mary Hart's voice on "Entertainment Tonight."  I hate this song so much, that I had it on the "Absolutely Do Not Play This Song Under Any Circumstances" list at my wedding reception.  I forbid the DJ from playing it, regardless of whether or not it was requested.  I still remember the first time I heard this song.  It was in the Spring of 1996.  A high school friend played softball for Mizzou and they were playing a double header at Texas A&M on a weekend, so one of my roommates and I made the trip from Waco down to College Station to watch her play.  I got to see her play for the first time, which was cool.  Unfortunately, I was also introduced to this terrible, terrible song.  Some joker in the Aggie press box decided to play this song.  Over and over again.  Every half inning.  For two entire games.  And a couple of rather large and unattractive Aggie fans got up and did the stupid dance. Over and over again. Every half inning. For two entire games. I'd never heard the song prior to that day and I never wanted to hear it again after that day.  It's the worst in music - rapid fire foreign language lyrics that few Americans understand coupled with a stupid line dance that even those uncoordinated white Americans can dance to.  If I were a prisoner, I'd rather be in solitary confinement for a month than be forced to listen to this song over and over again.  The fact that this song was a huge international hit that reached the #1 spot on music charts in more than a dozen countries shows just how dumb we humans can sometimes be.

I'm sure there are other terrible songs that I could think of to add to this list and perhaps I'll do a "volume 2" post in the future.  I'd love to hear what songs would make your list of "The Worst Hit Songs of All Time" - perhaps you can help me create that future blog post.

For now, though, I'm going to put some headphones on and listen to some good songs, to try to get these awful tunes out of my head - the audio equivalent of a long, hot shower.

Thanks for reading!

Best & Worst State Flags

In some previous blog posts, I've given my take on the best and worst of various sports logos - the NHL, MLB and NFL.  I'd like to keep the "best and worst" theme going but switch to something not related to sports - state flags.

First of all, this was a LOT harder than doing the sports logos.  Why? Mainly because most state flags are lame.  Seriously, roughly 1/2 of the 50 state flags are basically the exact same thing: the state seal on a blue background.  I never knew that until I did this little project.  You don't believe me?  Here's proof: 

I knew what state flags I liked, but I didn't realize how many state flags were unimaginative, boring and, well, sucky.  It's almost as if one person designed half of them and just did the same thing with a different seal on it.  Think of the old days of General Motors or Chrysler, where they made the same car for multiple brands and did little more than slap a different logo on the front grill.

Having said that, we'll start out with the best flags first, before moving on to the bad, bland and boring.

BEST STATE FLAGS

5.  Maryland (adopted 1904)

This one may surprise you a bit.  It's kind of "out there" - all kinds of patterns and clashing colors.  But at least it's different.  Also, the two sections have meaning - both the black & gold sections and

the red & white sections are taken from the coat of arms for some of the original founders of Maryland and Baltimore.  It is the only state flag that is based on English heraldry, which also makes it unique.  Finally, this flag replaced a lame flag that featured, you guessed it, the state seal on a blue background.  Congrats on being unique, Maryland, and bucking the lame flag trend!  While this is a cool flag, it looks stupid when the Maryland football team wears it as a part of their uniform, as shown below. Boo to you, Under Armour!

 

 

4. Arizona (adopted 1917)

 

I like this one because it has bright colors - lots of them - while still keeping a relatively simple concept.  It contains symbolism representing the state - the red and yellow also symbolize Arizona's

picturesque sunsets (while also paying homage to the colors of the flag of Spain); the copper star represents the copper mining industry in Arizona; the rest of the flag is colored blue, representing the Colorado River - while not going overboard or getting too busy.  That can be a difficult line to walk, but Arizona's flag does it well.  It's nice to see that the searing desert heat didn't dampen the creative spirits of the folks who designed this flag.


3. Texas (adopted 1839; readopted 1933)

This is arguably the most recognizable - and most historic - state flag.  After all, this flag was first introduced by and flown over the Republic of Texas, when Texas was an independent country from 1836-1845.  How many states can brag that they used to be country?  (And we all know how Texans

like to brag! Hey, I spent 4 years there, so I can say that.) It's a simple, sharp design, which is what you want from a state flag.  Most people don't recognize state flags when they see them, but Texas is one of the few they probably do.  Texas's flag is so good, another state basically tried to replicate it, though they botched it big time.  We'll talk about that one in a few minutes, when we get to the worst flags section.


2. South Carolina (adopted 1861, though it has existed in various forms dating back to 1775)

I love this flag.  It's unique and, for me at least, it evokes warm summer nights on vacation, what with the palmetto tree under a crescent moon.  I've traveled to South Carolina numerous times on family

vacations (5 times to Hilton Head and twice to Myrtle Beach), so I have a soft spot for the state and the flag.  The palmetto tree - which is the state tree of South Carolina - has also been a symbol of the state dating back to the American Revolution, so there's a lot of history there.  The only gripe I have about this flag - and the only thing keeping it from the top spot on my list - is that it is blue like so many other state flags.  If it had the same design with virtually any different color background (palm leaf green would be perfect), this would be #1.  However, since they went with the too common blue, it comes in at #2.

1. New Mexico (adopted 1925)

I'm giving the top spot to New Mexico.  The best flags are simple yet unique and New Mexico hits the mark on both accounts.  First - the colors.  Bright yellow with the symbol in red.  It's drastically
different than any other state flags, so it definitely stands out in a crowd.  Also, similar to Arizona, those are the colors of the Spanish flag, so it reflects the history of that part of the country.  Finally, the Zia sun symbol is unique.  It reflects that Pueblo and Native American roots of the state.  So, it's symbolic yet simple, unique without trying too hard.  Muy bien, Nuevo Mexico!


Okay, now that we've gone through the good flags, it's time to talk about the bad and the ugly.


WORST STATE FLAGS

5. North Carolina (adopted 1885)

Whether North Carolinians will admit it or not, this flag is a blatant rip-off of the aforementioned Texas state flag.  Blue section on the left with a star with half red and half white on the right.  The fact that they flipped the red and white from the Texas flag isn't fooling me.  But whereas the Texas

flag is great because of its simplicity, North Carolina muddies the water by surrounding the star with an "N" and a "C" and two dates.  The worst part?  Neither of those dates is the date that North Carolina became a state!  They represent two other dates that probably only history teachers in North Carolina can identify.  Dates on flags suck in the first place, but multiple dates that no one understands are even worse.  North Carolina has some beautiful scenery and wonderful people, but their flag stinks.

4. Oregon (adopted 1925)

As you'll soon see, the rest of the list is made up of the aforementioned "state seal on blue background" group.  Honestly, I could have made a list of about 20 of these lousy flags, but I had to draw the line somewhere.  Oregon's flag is unique among U.S. state flags in that it has different

images on the two sides.  The front side is the obligatory state seal on a blue background.  While that would be bad enough, but it's made worse by the fact that they added not just the state name (Oregon) but the words "State of" in front of it.  I realize that it was the "Oregon Territory" before it was a state but so were LOTS of states and you don't see them adding the superfluous "state of" on their flags.  So, that's negative points there.  On top of the whole "State of Oregon" garbage, they also added the year to it.  Dumb, but at least they put the year they became a state, rather than other less important dates like the goofballs in North Carolina did.  Finally, we have the seal itself.  Like most state seals, it's got a lot going on.  You have a covered wagon, some elk, a sunset, some boats and a whole mess of farming tools at the bottom.  But because it's all yellow, it

kind of just looks like a big yellow blob from a distance.  The flip side of the flag is better - it's just a beaver.  And, because Oregon is known as "The Beaver State," that makes sense.  However, both the beaver and the wood he's standing on are yellow, so it is hard to make out what it is.  What they should have done is just gone with the beaver and used colors besides the too frequently used blue and yellow.  Or if you're going to do the two different sides thing, how about the beaver on one side and a Nike swoosh on the other side?

3. Wisconsin (adopted 1981)

You can probably tell what my complaints are just by looking at this one for a few seconds.  Blue background - bad.  Indiscernible, too busy state seal - bad.  State name - bad.  Year - bad.  What makes it worse is that they adopted this in the 1980s!  And do you know what the previous state flag

was?  It was just the state seal on a blue background.  So, when they decided to redo the flag in 1981, they missed the opportunity to distinguish their flag from the boatload of other "state seal on a blue background flags."  Clearly, they felt like it looked too much those other flags and they needed to fix that.  But instead of doing something awesome (like a badger, beer and a piece of cheese), they just slapped the state name and year on it?  C'mon, Wisconsin! Your state capital city is cool and the campus is great and this is what you came up with for your flag?  Methinks the people in charge spent a little too much time drinking free samples at the brewery in Milwaukee before making this decision. 

2. Nebraska (adopted 1925, made official 1963)

Another yellow state seal on blue background flag.  The logo is predictably too busy and detailed, so it just looks blah, which is kind of fitting considering that we're talking about Nebraska.  How bad is this flag?  Earlier this year, a Nebraska state senator proposed a task force to consider redesigning the state flag  after it had hung upside down outside the state capitol building for 10 days without any noticing!  You know you have a crappy flag when it can be hung upside down and no one can even tell.  If they redesign it, I just hope they are a little more creative than the Cheeseheads.  How about an ear of corn, a football and Tom Osborne's disembodied head?  What else do they have going on in Nebraska?
 
1. South Dakota (adopted 1992)

There are so many reasons that I list this flag as the worst of all.  Blue background? Check. State seal? Check. State name? Check. But guess what?  They list the state name not once but TWICE - once on the background of the flag and again on the state seal.  Worse yet? It says that they are "The Mount Rushmore State" but Mount Rushmore IS NOWHERE ON THE SEAL OR THE FLAG!  Of

the people that visit South Dakota, roughly 111% of them go primarily to visit Mount Rushmore.  The most unforgivable part is that they redesigned the flag just 25 years ago!  And all they changed was making the blue background a slightly lighter shade of blue and changing the verbiage below the seal to "The Mount Rushmore State" from "The Sunshine State."  That's right.  They used to call themselves "The Sunshine State," in spite of the fact that precisely zero people outside of South Dakota ever called it that.  If you polled 1,000 people on the street and asked them "What state is known as 'The Sunshine State,' 999 of them would say 'Florida.'"  The other guy is the drunk guy from Wisconsin who came up with their flag's redesign after imbibing a few too much of Milwaukee's best, so he clearly doesn't give a $h!t.  South Dakota needs to redesign this terrible flag pronto.  Drop the state name, slogan and seal and replace it with renderings of Mount Rushmore, the Corn Palace and Wall Drug.  And for crying out loud, make the background any color besides blue!

There you have it - my list of the best and worst state flags.  I hope you found it educational as well as entertaining.

Thanks for reading!


Current Events Rant #2

There has been a lot going on in the world lately, so I thought I'd take a chance to give my take on these events, in what I refer to as a "Current Events Rant."

• During one of President Trump's many feuds with countless people (more on that in a minute), Senator Bob Corker referred to the White House as an "adult day care."  It was a funny comment that was pretty much on target.  However, I think that the better analogy is that the White House has basically turned into a bad reality show.  It's like "Big Brother, Pennsylvania Avenue Edition."  We all know that Trump's previous job was as the star of a reality TV program, "The Apprentice." At times, his campaign for president smacked of a reality TV program (or perhaps one of those hidden camera shows) where it almost seemed like it was too crazily scripted to be real.  Like many people, I hoped that - once he was inaugurated and grasped the gravity of his new job - Trump would start acting more presidential and less like a reality star who would do or say anything for ratings.  Unfortunately, it appears that those hopes were for naught.  He continues to be as petty and childish and inappropriate as ever.  Even worse, he treats the highest office in the land like it's a reality show.  It's like he feels that he has to manufacture drama and have backstabbing and cliffhangers in order for things to be successful.  He routinely creates feuds and disagreements over silly things, often undercutting the very people who report to him.  For example, while his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is attempting to negotiate with and resolve things diplomatically with North Korea (which is what a Secretary of State is supposed to do), Trump is calling Kim Jong-un names and saying that Tillerson shouldn't waste his time.  Likewise, he picks fights with the NFL and stages a blatant (not to mention costly) publicity stunt with his Vice President at a recent Indianapolis Colts game.
• Is Trump the most insecure person in the country?  I think you can definitely make the case that he is.  He is constantly firing back at people who criticize him, rather than just taking the high road and, you know, acting presidential.  He is constantly patting himself on the back via tweets and in press conferences.  He constantly whines about what he perceives to be unfair treatment by others, rather than realizing that is part of the gig and that every president before him has been criticized on a routine basis.  To me, one of the most egregious things that Trump inexplicably continues to do is to hold campaign pep rally style meetings, during which his followers fawn over him while he typically says incendiary things.  Apparently, he needs that validation; he needs to have people telling him how wonderful he is, while forgetting that he is the president of ALL Americans rather than just those folks who support him.  Recently, he's even challenged his aforementioned Secretary of State to an IQ test challenge after the latter called him a moron.  Way to be a mature adult, Mr. President.
• Think about it: Trump is wealthy. He's married to a model. He's the proverbial "leader of the free world," but apparently that's not enough to make him feel good about himself.  Instead, he behaves like a spoiled child who throws a temper tantrum whenever he doesn't get his way or when someone tries to give him constructive feedback.  Although, I suppose it shouldn't surprise us, considering this is a man who has spent his whole life slapping his name on everything in sight, similar to a dog trying to mark his territory by peeing on all of the trees in a neighborhood. He has this incessant need for validation that is a telltale sign of rampant insecurity.
• In a somewhat related topic, one of the big news items in the past month has revolved around the National Anthem protests made by athletes, especially in the NFL.  What was a relatively infrequent issue became a full blown trend following (you guessed it) some tweets from President Trump condemning the kneeling players.  Trump called on NFL owners to fire or suspend players who refused to stand for the National Anthem, something that I found highly disturbing.  The government should NEVER be in the position of telling private business owners how they should handle their, shall we say, personnel issues.  How do you think Trump would have handled it if, say, George W. Bush had told him that he had to fire or suspend some of his employees?  I'm pretty sure he would have talked about government overreach, but yet it's apparently okay if he is the one saying it.
• As for the anthem protests themselves, I really don't have a problem with them.  The Constitution guarantees us the right to exercise our freedom of speech.  If a player decides that he does not want to stand for the anthem, that's his right to do so.  I can understand why people would find it disrespectful, but those who died in defense of the flag did so to maintain the freedoms that we enjoy - including the right to NOT stand for the National Anthem.  I will personally always stand for it, with my hand over my heart, but I will also defend the rights of those who choose not to do so.  It is all part of living in a free society - you have to take the good with the bad.
• Speaking of football and the NFL, the league has a big problem....a California-sized problem.....and it's one caused by the league's incessant greed.  All 4 of the California-based teams are dealing with fan unrest and upheaval.  A few years ago, in search of more money, the 49ers moved their home games out of Candlestick Park in San Francisco to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, about 40 miles south.  Since doing that, their attendance has cratered, to the point where they often play the 2nd half of games in front of a stadium that is 2/3 empty.  In the name of greed, they moved further away from their fan base and the result hasn't been pretty.  Across the Bay, the Raiders are playing out the string in Oakland before moving to Las Vegas in 2019 or 2020.  The reason for the move?  Yep, more money.  Who cares about the fans? That brings us to Los Angeles.  For 20 years, the nation's 2nd largest city was without an NFL team and it was the leverage that owners would hold over their city's heads to try to get new stadiums built.  Then, last year, the league decided to move the Rams (one of the most poorly run franchises in the league) back to LA, where the city shrugged it's collective shoulders and the team promptly played in a half-empty stadium.  To make matters worse, the league also moved the Chargers out of San Diego and to Los Angeles as well.  The Chargers temporarily play in a 27,000 soccer stadium and they can't even fill that!  LA goes from 0 teams to 2 teams in a span of two years, but it almost seems like the people in LA could not care less.  During the past 20 years, they apparently found better things to do with their Sunday afternoon. Four franchises all moving in an attempt to make obscenely wealthy people even more wealthy with little regard whatsoever for the football fans they are leaving behind.
• On the college football front, it's been a brutal season so far.  My beloved Baylor Bears are 0-5, while the Mizzou Tigers aren't much better at 1-4.  But, from where I sit, the two programs are in vastly different places.  Baylor is down because of the Art Briles scandal and the loss of almost two complete recruiting classes.  As such, they are being forced to play far more underclassmen than you would normally see.  But I believe that their new coach, Matt Rhule, was a very good hire and I fully expect the Bears to be making regular bowl game appearances within a few years.  He has a history of a taking a program that was down and turning it around while instilling discipline on the program and that's exactly the kind of person Baylor needed to hire.  I believe he will turn Baylor back into a winner and do so without the garbage that happened during Briles's watch.  Mizzou, on the other hand, replaced it's winningest coach ever with a guy who'd never been a head coach at any level before.  I want Barry Odom to do well because he's a Mizzou guy, but I think he may be in over his head as a first time head coach in the SEC.  Most successful college football colleges work their way up to those Power 5 conference jobs, establishing winning programs at smaller schools before ascending to the SECs and Big 10s of the world.  Nick Saban and Urban Meyer are two good examples. Saban got his head coaching start at Toledo, while Meyer coached at Bowling Green and Utah before moving to the SEC.  Mizzou might be better served to find an up and coming coach and handing the reins to him.  All I can say is "Is it basketball season yet?"
• Hockey season is underway and the Blues are 4-0.  Could this be the year they finally win Lord Stanley's Cup? Probably not, but we can only hope!

OK, that's enough of a rant for now.  Thanks for reading!

2017 Cardinals - Where Do We Go From Here?

Last Sunday marked the end of the 2017 Major League Baseball regular season.  For the second year in a row, the end of the regular season also meant the end of the baseball season for the Cardinals.  After making the playoffs 5 seasons in a row (2011-2015) and 12 times in a 16 year span (2000-15), the Cardinals have now missed the playoffs in consecutive years and they seem to be trending in the wrong direction.  Consider the team's results over the last 5 years:

• 2013: 97-65, 1st place, Lost in the World Series
• 2014: 90-72, 1st place, Lost in the NLCS
• 2015: 100-62, 1st place, Lost in the NLDS
• 2016: 86-76, 2nd place, Missed playoffs (eliminated on last day of the season)
• 2017: 83-79, 3rd place, Missed playoffs (eliminated with 3 games remaining)

So, after winning their 19th National League pennant in 2013, their season has ended earlier and earlier for four years running.  Clearly, something needs to change.

To an extent, the on-field results are no surprise given the lineups the team has put together the past few years.  From 2000-11, the Cardinals had numerous core, franchise players in their prime.  Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Scott Rolen, Yadier Molina, Edgar Renteria, Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright.  Those linchpin players were then accompanied by several other good role players, like Reggie Sanders, Larry Walker, David Freese, and Jeff Suppan.  In a sense, it was an embarrassment of riches and the team racked up numerous playoff appearances, 3 NL pennants and 2 World Series titles.  Red October was an annual occurrence and the one of America's great baseball towns often took center stage.

Look at the roster now and what do you see? A bunch of guys.  Yadier Molina is the face of the franchise and still performing at a high level, but you can't build a team around a 35 year old catcher.  Several of their players are solid, decent players - Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong, Dexter Fowler - but none of those guys are franchise players, those linchpin players that you can build a team around.  Perhaps Oscar Tavares might have filled that role, but we'll never know since he was killed in a car wreck following his exciting 2014 rookie season.  Tommy Pham had a terrific season in 2017, but can he repeat that again in 2018?  Paul DeJong gave us a lot to like in 2017, but then again, so did Aledmys Diaz in 2016 and he wound up stinking up the joint this year and toiling at AAA most of the year.  Can DeJong build on this season or will it prove to be an anomaly?

The team, as currently constructed, doesn't really excel at anything.  They are middling defensively and terrible on the basepaths.  They hit a fair number of home runs, but strike out way too often.  On top of it all, they are managed by someone who often seems to be in over his head.  Mike Matheny may foster good relationships with his players, but when you see a team make the same mistakes over and over again, at what point do you begin to start pointing the finger at the manager?  He jerked Kolten Wong around early in the year, taking a talented guy with a fragile psyche and subjecting him to frequent benchings and demotions.  He stuck with Aledmys Diaz too long and many of his managerial snafus in April and May cost the team wins that likely cost them a spot in the postseason.  He seems to still not grasp how to handle a pitching staff, which is particularly alarming since he was a catcher and that was what he was known for when he was a player.  Finally, he can't figure out how to beat the Cubs, who have pounded the Cardinals over the past few seasons.

The front office isn't helping, either.  John Mozeliak and company have done little to improve the team's talent level, even when it was clear to everyone that the team needed some help.  When was the last time the Cardinals signed a big free agent or made a blockbuster trade?  There have been glaring issues the past few seasons and the front office has mostly declined to do anything about it.

In a sense, it's almost like the Cardinals and Cubs have changed places.  For years, the Cardinals had the star power and the on field success, while the Cubs did just enough to be semi-competitive while packing in the fans. Why spend money to win if you can be mediocre and still sell out on a regular basis?  Now, those roles have reversed.  The Cubs have the star power and the on-field success while the Cardinals do just enough to be semi-competitive while packing in 3 million plus fans every year.  Again, why spend money to win if you can just be decent and still pack in the fans?  Why focus on winning when you can come up with a million different "theme nights"?  The Cardinals of the past few seasons remind me a lot of the Cardinals of the early 1990s: decent, fairly competitive team populated by just a bunch of guys.  They weren't ever terrible, but they weren't ever really good, either.

Looking forward, here's hoping the Cardinals stop being fat and happy and start trying to reward the fans and the city with more October baseball.

Thanks for reading!

Best & Worst Sports Logos - NFL Edition

(NOTE: This is the third in a series of posts about the best and worst sports logos.  Previously, I covered the NHL and MLB.  To read those blog posts, go to the May 2017 subpage.)

Football season is upon us!  As such, I wanted to continue my series of blog posts about the best and worst sports logos.  This time, we'll cover the NFL.

Best NFL Logos - Current

5.  Arizona Cardinals

This one may surprise you, but as the previous posts in this series have indicated, I'm a sucker for classic logos that have been generally left alone for decades.  The Cardinals tweaked this logo back in 2005, but the changes were subtle.  In general, the logo has been in place since the Cardinals moved

from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960.  They then moved from St. Louis to the Valley of the Sun back in 1988.  So, while the team has moved and changed names several times, they've had what I call the "mean cardinal" logo for more than 50 years.  It's sharp and it's classic, which is why it makes the cut.



4. Dallas Cowboys

I can hear lots of you gagging as you read that one.  The Cowboys are one of the most hated sports franchises in America.  However, they are also one of the most beloved sports franchises in America. 

Their logo has essentially remained unchanged since it was first introduced back in 1960.  It's simple - a star representing the Lone Star State - but the blue star against the silver background of the helmets really stands out.  Love the team or hate them, this is one of the most iconic and recognized sports logos in the world.


3. Pittsburgh Steelers

This is an example of a team name and it's origin and home city all coming together in near perfection.  Steel is to Pittsburgh what cars are to Detroit - it's woven into the history and fabric of the city.  The Steelers logo is essentially an adaptation of the "Steelmark" logo that was owned by

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel for decades.  It was a logo that indicated that the product was made from American steel.  So, what better logo to co-opt for a team based in Pittsburgh that is called the Steelers?  The logo has remained virtually untouched for decades and has served one of the more rabid NFL fan bases well throughout the years.  The fact that the logo only appears on one side of the Steelers' helmets just serves to increase the mystique a little more. 


2. Oakland Raiders

Another classic logo that has remained largely untouched since 1964.  It's a terrific twist on the traditional skull-and-crossbones pirate logo.  Instead of a skull, it's a eye-patched football player in an

old style football helmet without the facemask.  Instead of crossbones, it's crossed swords, similar to what you'd see a pirate use.  The logo and crest look even better on the Raiders' silver helmets.  This franchise - throughout it's frequent relocations (Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland and soon to be Las Vegas) - has embraced a rough and tumble, outlaw image and this logo plays into that motif quite well.  You may not like the Raiders, but you have to admit that their logo and uniforms are classic.

1. Kansas City Chiefs

For me, this was an easy choice.  It's another classic logo that has stood the test of time remarkably well.  In a simple design - the interlocked "KC" embedded on an arrowhead - it ties together the team

name and the city the team represents.  It is a classic design that has been left untouched since 1972 and for good reason - it's terrific.  The fact that the team adopted this logo the same year that it moved into a stadium that is essentially named after the logo (Arrowhead Stadium) just ties everything up nicely.


Worst NFL Logos - Current

3. Tennessee Titans

I call this logo the "flaming thumbtack".  It's an example of a relocated franchise trying to do too many things at once in the logo.  The "T" is for "Tennessee" obviously, but the font used makes it

look like a thumbtack.  The three stars are a nod to the 3 Grand Divisions of Tennessee that are reflected on the state flag.  I like that part of it, but what's with the flames?  Titans are giant Greek gods, right?  So why not some sort of logo to evoke that?  I get why they needed to rename the team when they relocated from Houston, but surely they could have come up with something better than an alliterative name that had nothing to do with the city and a logo that had nothing to do with the name.

2. New England Patriots

No, this is not on the list because I hate Bill Belicheat and the Patriots.  It's not on the list because Tom Brady drives me crazy, what with his good looks, supermodel wife and multiple championship rings.  It's on the list because the logo sucks.  It's part Minuteman, part American flag, part Elvis

and part Trump's combover.  What makes it worse is that this stupid logo replaced one of the most awesome logos in football history (see below).  The fact that the Patriots never won a thing wearing the awesome logo and have won five Super Bowls wearing this garbage probably ensures that they will stick with the Flying Elvis logo for the foreseeable future.

1. Cleveland Browns

This one is a no brainer.  First of all, they don't really even HAVE a logo.  It's just an orange helmet with nothing on it.  Second, the team colors are orange and brown, which is basically the color of baby poop, depending upon what the little one has been eating.  Having said that, I feel bad for

Browns' fans.  They had their team ripped from them by their greedy owner (through no fault of their own - something that I can relate to as a St. Louisan), only to watch said team finally win a Super Bowl less than 5 years after leaving for Baltimore.  They had their team reinstated a few years later, but they've been nothing more than a steaming pile of dog poop throughout their second existence.


Best NFL Logos - Old School Version

2. Denver Broncos

This logo - the wild horse with the steam coming out of it's nose - was awesome.  I actually had this helmet when I was a kid.  The team tied it all together, too, by having a giant white horse on top of the scoreboard at the old Mile High Stadium.  Colorado has traditionally had a "Wild West" vibe and what is more representative of the West than a wild horse breathing steam on a cold morning?




1. New England Patriots

As mentioned above, I always loved this Patriots logo and wish they'd never changed it.  It's a perfect tie-in of the area's history and the sport the team plays.  A Minuteman playing center, getting ready to snap the football.  It was a simple idea that was brilliant.

 

 

 

Worst NFL Logo - Old School Version

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Where do I start?  The colors.  Orange and red?  I realize those were selected as a nod toward the colors of the major college programs in Florida (Florida, Florida State and Miami), but they just don't

go that well together.  But, more than that, it's the logo itself.  Pirates are dirty, mean, nasty characters- about as "manly" as it gets.  But, as presented in this logo, they are a jolly, whimsical and not particular manly character.  It's a cheesy logo that screams 1970s, which is when it was designed.  The feather, the earring, the wink, the dagger in the mouth.  It's like the logo is a lost member of the Village People or perhaps an outfit from a gay pride parade.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not exactly the image you think of when you think of pirates and certainly not the meanest logo for a football team.  Also, the pirate has orange skin, so it's almost like he spent too much time in the spray tan salon.  Amazingly, the Buccaneers stuck with this logo for 20 years, from the team's inception in 1976 until 1996, before abandoning it for something a little closer to what you might expect - a poor man's Raiders logo.

There you have it.  My list of the best and worst logos in the NFL.  Which logos would make your list?

Thanks for reading!



TV Shows That Would Never Fly Today

There are many things that were commonly accepted 20, 30 or 50 years ago that are controversial today.  Things like sports teams named (often derisively) after Native Americans or jokes at the expense of minorities or the disabled.  Thinking about how what is acceptable evolves and changes over time got me thinking about some TV shows that would never, ever get the green light to be produced today.  When you think about it, there are quite a few.  Here are a few of my favorites:

"The Dukes of Hazzard" - Where do I begin?  The Duke Boys drove a car named after a Confederate general that featured the Confederate battle flag on the roof and whose horn played a song that came out of the blackface minstrelsy of the mid 1800s South.  Given the recent uproar regarding Confederate statutes, the car alone would be enough to sink the idea for the show in modern times.  Then there is also a main character who is named after the Confederate president (J.D. "Boss" Hogg). Beyond that, the show itself would never pass the muster of the studio bosses today.  I loved the show as a kid, but it's really pretty bad.  Every episode is basically the same thing.  You could almost play a drinking game with the elements that you knew were going to pop up on the show at some point each week:

• Boss Hogg comes up with some crooked scheme that goes sideways
• The Duke Boys invariably get caught up in said scheme and thrown in jail
• The Duke Boys are able to get out of jail because Roscoe is a bumbling idiot or because Daisy distracted Enos by flirting with him.
• Gratuitous shots of Daisy Duke's derriere in her namesake short shorts
• Gratuitous shots of cars jumping through the air
• One of the Duke boys slides across the hood of the car
• Roscoe calls his deputy a dipstick
• The action stops at a cliffhanger moment while Waylon Jennings asks some rhetorical questions before they go to commercial break

You'd be hammered by the end of the show!  The only show that I can think of that was more repetitive or boilerplate is "Scooby Doo" - just substitute "those darn Dukes" for "you meddling kids".

"Tom & Jerry" - This may well be my favorite cartoon of all time.  It was genius!  But can you imagine someone pitching it today?  First of all, it's extremely violent.  Virtually every episode features the two titular characters trying to annihilate one another.  There are decapitations, animals sliced in half, Tom's tail stuffed into a hot waffle iron.  All manner of violence.  Second, there is essentially no dialogue.  Instead, the cat and mouse antics (pun intended) are set to classical music.  Can you imagine that even being considered as an option today?  Finally, the one character who does regularly speak on the show is "Mammy Two Shoes," who is a total caricature of an African American housekeeper.  She speaks in poor English and is not presented in a very positive light, frequently beating Tom with a broom.  A violent cartoon with classical music, no dialogue and an outdated stereotype of African American females.  There is NO way this show gets the green light in 2017.

"The Lone Ranger" - A wildly popular western TV series from the 1950s, it also portrays Tonto, the title character's Native American sidekick, as being....well, not so bright.  Consider the character's name.  "Tonto" in Spanish translates as "moron" or "fool."  Also, Tonto speaks in a pidgin, uttering phrases such as "Him say man ride over ridge with horse" or "That right Kemo Sabe."  Can you imagine a TV series that portrays a minority in that manner ever getting made today?  However, you have to give credit to the creators in that Tonto was at least portrayed by someone who was a Native, rather than some white guy dressed up like a Native.

"Bosom Buddies" - Two single guys cross dress and pretend to be women just so that they can live in an all female apartment building because it is cheaper.  It is essentially using people cross dressing for laughs.  Can you imagine the uproar something like that would cause today?  There would be sponsor boycotts and letter writing campaigns and who knows what else.  It's amazing to think that this was one of the first starring roles for Tom Hanks, one of the most successful actors of all time.

I'm sure there are other shows that would meet this criteria, but these were four that immediately came to mind.  What others would you put forth as suggestions?  What shows have I missed?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

Best College Football Memories

Another season of college football season kicks off this week.  The passion and pageantry of college football will be everywhere for the next 3 months.  In honor of the start of another college football season, I wanted to share my top 10 college football games/memories.  Full disclosure - these are MY top games and memories, so they are going to be very Baylor and Mizzou centric.  Don't like it? Get over it!

10.  Missouri vs. Baylor - 1987: It was my first college football game.  It was at Faurot Field in Columbia.  Nothing about the game was particularly interesting, aside from the fact that it was a game between the school I grew up rooting for and the school I wound up attending.  Interestingly, the game was won by a mediocre Mizzou team (they went 5-6 that year) over a slightly less mediocre Baylor team (they went 6-5 that year.)  At the time, I had no idea what Baylor was.  5 years later, I was a freshman there.

9.  Baylor vs. Georgia Tech - 1992: It was Homecoming my freshman year in college.  This game was memorable for several reasons:
            a.)  Baylor came from behind to win the game 31-27 on a reverse flea flicker 80 yard                touchdown pass from J.J. Joe to Melvin Bonner
            b.) We rushed the field after the game to celebrate the win
            c.) The Baylor Line (with some assistance from the Baylor University Golden Wave Band - BUGWB) stole the helmet of a reserve Georgia Tech player.  It got passed around the stands from the band to the Line and the player had to run down the tunnel at halftime and come back from halftime without his helmet.  It was pretty funny.

The win had Baylor at 5-4 and on the cusp of a bowl bid with 2 games to play.  In typical Baylor fashion, they choked and lost at Rice the following week.  Which leads us to....

8. Baylor vs. Texas - 1992: A week after choking against Rice, Baylor beat archrival Texas in thrilling fashion.  The final score was 21-20 and Baylor clinched the win by stopping Texas on 4th and 4 in the closing seconds.  We rushed the field and tore down the goalposts.  A great college experience and a win over a hated rival.  A season that started off in ignominious fashion with a 10-9 loss at home to Louisiana Tech wound up with a bowl bid and an eventual win over Arizona in the Sun Bowl.

7. Missouri vs. Colorado - 1990: The infamous "Fifth Down" game.  I distinctly remember listening to the game on the radio in our family room.  When Mizzou stopped CU on 4th and goal, I jumped up and cheered as the beleaguered Tigers had finally pulled off a signature win over a ranked team.  Then the officiating crew inexplicably gave Colorado a second fourth down.  Mizzou stopped them on THAT down as well, though the officials ruled that they scored.  Final score: Colorado 33, Mizzou 31.  Colorado went on to win a share of the national championship that year.  Mizzou, on the other hand, went 4-7 - their 7th consecutive losing season in a string of 13 consecutive losing seasons, a string that would run from 1984 to 1996.

6. Missouri vs. Nebraska - 1997: The infamous "Flea Kicker" game.  Mizzou loses a berserk game to Nebraska 45-38 in OT.  The craziest part of the game was the touchdown Nebraska scored as time expired to force OT.  The pass was intended for one Nebraska receiver - it hit him in the chest, then hit a Mizzou defender on the foot, and then was kicked back into the air by another Nebraska receiver where it was then caught just above the turf by a 3rd Nebraska receiver.  Mizzou fans, thinking that they had beaten Nebraska for the first time since 1978, rushed the field.  However, officials ruled the play a touchdown.  They cleared the field and then Nebraska won the game in OT.  Mizzou finished the season 7-5 (their first winning season in 13 years), while Nebraska went on to go 13-0 and win a share of the national championship.  It was another in a long line of heartbreaking losses for Mizzou football fans.

5. Baylor vs. Texas - 1997: It was homecoming and Baylor was in the midst of a miserable season that saw them go 2-9.  But for one day, at least, all was well in Bear Country.  Baylor held on for a 23-21 victory when a last second field goal attempt by Texas was pushed just wide of the uprights by the Central Texas winds.  The students stormed the field, tore down the goalposts and carried them the three miles from Floyd Casey Stadium to the SUB, where it was left outside for fans to sign.  I was at the game and my name is somewhere on those uprights.  It was a fun day in the midst of what became an abysmal decade of Baylor football. 

4. Baylor vs. Oklahoma - 2011: This may well be the game that put Baylor football on the map and got its new football palace, McLane Stadium, built.  Baylor was ranked #25, while OU was ranked #5.  It was a back and forth affair, but Baylor pulled out the win when Robert Griffin III hit Terrance Williams in the corner of the end zone for a 34 yard TD pass with 8 seconds remaining.  Griffin finished with 479 yards passing and 4 TDs. It was Baylor's first ever win over an Oklahoma team that was the preseason favorite to win the national championship.  The Bears went on to finish the season 10-3 with a bowl victory in the Alamo Bowl and RGIII went on to win the Heisman Trophy, the first Bear to win college football's most prestigious award.  I was watching the end of the game at my parents' house and I remember running all over their basement screaming after the winning touchdown.

3. Missouri vs. Kansas - 2007: Two hated rivals playing on a neutral field (Arrowhead Stadium in KC) with a crowd split evenly between those wearing black and gold and those wearing blue and red.  Two top 5 teams, as Mizzou game in ranked #3 and KU was ranked #2. The hype leading up to the game was enormous.  Often, those games don't live up to the hype, but this one did.  Mizzou hung on for a 36-28 win, the outcome of which was in doubt until Mizzou sacked KU QB Todd Reesing in the end zone for a safety with 12 seconds remaining.  Following the game, Mizzou found itself ranked #1 in the country, something that - while short lived - I never thought I'd ever see.  We watched the game with family (who happened to be Mizzou alums), which made it a lot of fun, too.

2. Baylor vs. TCU - 2014: One of the craziest football games you'll ever see and a game that spawned a heated rivalry between the two schools.  Both teams were ranked in the top 10.  TCU had a 21 point lead early in the 4th quarter and it appeared that Baylor's hope for another Big 12 title were dim.  However, Bryce Petty and the Bears got off the mat and scored the game's last 24 points to pull out a 61-58 win that was sealed by a Chris Callahan field goal as time expired.   Both teams went on to finish the regular season 11-1 and share the Big 12 title, though I will always consider BU the one true champion.  When you finish the season tied, the tiebreaker is the head-to-head result, right?

1. Baylor vs. Texas - 2013: This was, for me, an easy choice.  A win over a hated rival that gave Baylor its first outright conference championship since 1980, back when Mike Singletary was still wearing green and gold.  The fact that the game was the final game in the 64 year history of Floyd Casey Stadium and that it was played in unseasonably frigid conditions (it was 24 degrees at kickoff and Waco had been dealing with sleet and ice) just increases the overall impact of the game.  I watched the game from my family room in Wildwood, but my heart was there with the Baylor faithful at The Case.

There you have it - my top 10 college football memories.  Here's hoping that the 2017 college football season brings some more great memories.  SIC 'EM BEARS and M-I-Z!

My Favorite Songs - A to Z

Longtime readers of this blog know that I love music.  As such, I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorite songs - with a twist: going through the alphabet and picking a favorite by a band from each letter of the alphabet.  It had to be the first band that came to mind for that letter and then my favorite song by that band/artist.  The other caveat - it can't be a one hit wonder.

Here's my list:

A - Aerosmith - "What It Takes"
B - The Beatles - "Let It Be"
C - Counting Crows - "A Long December" (though "Sullivan Street is a close second.)
D - Duran Duran - "Rio"
E - Eagles - "Take It Easy"
F - Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
G - Green Day - "Pulling Teeth"
H - Hootie and the Blowfish - "Let Her Cry"
I - Inxs - "Need You Tonight"
J - Alan Jackson - "Dallas"
K - Hal Ketchum - "Sure Love"
L - Live - "Lightning Crashes"
M - Metallica - "One"
N - Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
O - Old 97s - "Busted Afternoon" (with "Murder (Or A Heart Attack)" being a close second).
P - Pearl Jam - "Black"
Q - Queen - "We Are The Champions"
R - Randy Rogers Band - "Tonight's Not The Night (For Goodbye)"
S - Stone Temple Pilots - "Interstate Love Song"
T - Turnpike Troubadours - "7&7"
U - U2 - "With or Without You"
V - Velvet Revolver - "Fall to Pieces"
W - Weezer - "Buddy Holly"
X - I couldn't come up with an X artist, so I'm going to be give you another G selection - Gin Blossoms - "Allison Road" (this was a TOUGH one....I love so many of their songs)
Y - Eli Young Band - "Even If It Breaks Your Heart"
Z - Zac Brown Band - "Chicken Fried"

There's my list.  What are your thoughts?  How many of these would be on your list?  I love to hear your choices.

Thanks for reading!

Back to School (or Where Did the Time Go?)

Today marks the first day of school - the start of another school year and the unofficial end of summer.  This year is significant in that my son starts high school and it is my daughter's last year of elementary school.  It's hard to believe that I am the parent of a high schooler and that my baby girl will be in middle school a year from now.  Where did the time go?

It seems like just yesterday when my wife and I dropped my son off for his first day of kindergarten, when his backpack was almost as big as he was.  Now, it seems like I blinked my eyes and he's in high school and we're talking about graduation credits and college credits and activity passes for Friday night football games.  How is that possible?  Where did the time go?

It seems like a few days ago when I was picking my daughter up from preschool and now she's the Big Girl on Campus at her elementary school.  She's quickly growing from my little Lindsay bug into a strong willed, feisty, independent young woman.  What happened to the pigtails and little dolls?  Where did the time go?

My wife and I had our first date a little more than 19 years ago.  She started teaching that year and now she's closer to retirement than she is to being a new teacher.  How is that possible?  Where did the time go?

I've been with my employer now for 16 years.  I remember when I was the new kid on the block and the youngest person in the HR department.  I used to listen to the old war stories of how things used to work in the "good old days" of the gas company.  Now, I'm one of the most senior people in the department and I'm the one telling the war stories.  How did that happen so quickly?  Where did the time go?

This year marks 25 years since I graduated from high school and 21 years since I graduated from college.  To quote "Strawberry Wine", a country song from Deana Carter from the 1990s, "I still remember when 30 was old."  I remember when the thought of being an adult with a wife and little kids and a job and a house in the suburbs seemed so far away, so mature.  Now, here I am approaching my mid 40s, with a kid in high school and another kid closing in on middle school.  How is it that the shy, goofy, skinny kid from Lafayette and Baylor is now a goofy, less skinny, full fledged adult who has a wife and two kids and two dogs and a mortgage and who is closer to retirement than he is to being in school?  How is that possible?  Where did the time go?

A wise person once told me that as you get older, you'll find that the days sometimes drag but the weeks and months and years fly by.  The older I get, the more true that seems.  While there are some days when the clock seems to stand still, the next thing I know, another month has passed.  Summer has faded into fall.  Another school year has come and gone and I feel like the time with my kids is slipping through my fingers like sand on the beach. I often want to hit pause and stop things so that I can take it all in, but I know that I can't do that.  Instead, I know that I need to make the most of each phase of life and cherish the moments that I have with my kids and family and friends because I'm going to blink and my kids will be on their own and I'll be looking at an empty nest and some of those family and friends will no longer be around.  Right now, that still seems far away, but I know that it will happen much faster than I could ever imagine.

Thanks for reading.

The Puppy Chronicles, Part 3

Do you remember that '80s movie with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, "The Money Pit?" It's about a couple who buys what appears to be a nice house, only to find out there are tons of things wrong with it and they're forced to spend tons of money on it.

Well, that's what Mia became during her 3rd week with us.

First of all, as I mentioned in my last post, she had to have surgery to fix an umbilical hernia. We had to pay for the surgery and the pain medication. Cha-ching!  She came through the surgery well, though she had to endure the "cone of shame" afterwards.

Next, via a stool sample, it was determined that she has a parasite that is common among puppies.  So, we had to pay for some medicine to treat that. Cha-ching! Cha-ching!

On Sunday, she overexerted herself while playing with Yadi.  She tried to jump up the step into the kitchen (our family room is sunken and about 6 inches lower than the kitchen), mistimed her jump and hit the step.  She yelped.  I went over to check on her and she yelped again when I picked her up.  After that, she was moving around kind of gingerly.  Later on, she started crying and yelping and making terrible noises.  We thought that maybe she had hurt her paw or something, so we called the vet.  The vet - who is new to us but is awesome - came in on a Sunday evening to check on her and make sure she was okay.  She was examined and x-rays were taken and it was determined that she just overdid it and tweaked her tummy.  But we had to pay for the emergency visit and the x-rays.  Cha-ching! Cha-ching! Cha-ching!

So, it's been an interesting week, filled with lots of veterinary bills, a few more accidents and a better relationship with Yadi.  He's snapping at her less and playing with her more, which is a treat to watch.

So, while our new puppy may be a money pit, she's so cute and has such a great personality, it's worth it.

Let's just hope we can go a while now without any more visits to the vet.  He's a nice guy, but I'm not interested in putting his kids through college just on our bills alone.  :)

Thanks for reading!