Saturday, May 30, 2009

Back the the Future

Rachel Alexandra, the filly that won the Preakness, is not running in the Belmont, so Calvin Borel is available to ride Mine That Bird should the owner so desire. If I owned the horse, I'd get Borel back on him despite the fact that Borel ditched Mine That Bird for Rachel in the Preakness. Really is a strange twist to this story. And I'm rooting for MTB, no matter who the jockey is.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Greg Ellis: No Mas

Well, after 11 years, the Cowboys have decided to let Greg Ellis go. I think they'd still like to make a trade but absent that, they will release him. Thus is resurrected the Randy Moss debate, for it was Ellis whom the Cowboys chose over Moss 11 years ago. Moss lacked character, was a bad dude; Ellis was a man whom his college coach (Mac Brown) would choose to raise his kids should he (Brown) suffer some tragedy. The Cowboys were reeling from a series of embarassingly public and seedy revelations about certain players (remember the White House?) and Jerry "It's my actual hair" Jones didn't think the Cowboys could risk taking on Moss and his baggage. So Ellis was picked and will be forever remembered as the guy they took instead of Moss, and not for his performance, on or off the field.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Quick family poll

I need to take a quick poll of the family that I believe will confirm my fears that our family is filled with a bunch of conspiracy theorists.  I've picked up on a trend of the family reveling in Aggie victories, but turning to conspiracies to explain the great Longhorn victories.  For example, my father (chief conspiracy theorist) went to the recent UT / A&M baseball game at Kyle Field.  I saw him two days later and commented on his hoarse voice, asking how long he had been feeling bad.  I was then treated to an obscenity-laced tirade on how A&M had been cheated out of a certain victory by the umps.  His belief is that this was only the most recent example of the Horns buying off the umps/refs/time-keepers/judges/officials/debate moderators to cheat the Aggies (or a lesser school) out of a justly earned victory.  So, the question to the family is, do you believe that the Horns (or other large, state institutions) actually benefit from having competitions rigged on their behalf?

As a side note, the story about TX leaving the Big 12 for the ACC was a hoax, erroneously reported by CBS Sportsline.  The afternoon that the "story" broke, UT released a statement calling it ridiculous and in no way based in fact.  I guess our conspiracy theorists must believe this to be the latest example of UT's corrupt political machine at work.  

Friday, May 22, 2009

Boo Boo Boo, p.u. to you t.u.

In an unprecedented departure from Booleyean Theory tradition (can you even establish a tradition in less than a month?), I have invited a non-WCL member to become a contributor. Not only is he the only non-WCL person to both read and comment on the blog, but he also knows alot about college football and has strong opinions about same. Unfortunately, the only college football he knows about is (hold your nose) Longhorn football, not to mention Longhorn baseball, Longhorn basketball, Longhorn golf, Longhorn volleyball...you get the picture? Anyway, I thought it might be fun to hear from the opposition and besides, he scooped the story about the Longhorns maybe going to the ACC. So, welcome aboard Baskind, you Longhorn bastard.

Agony of Defeat

Jen and I were in DC last week for a show. We were staying in the Suburbs because driving and parking our giant white panel van around town did not seem like a good idea. (I wanted to put a turban on and drive by the White House honking, Jen said no). Anyway we had to take the subway to get downtown and see the sights. We had dinner and took the train home. The train was packed with Washington Capitol fans returning from game 7 against the Penguins. It had been a great series with several overtime games and arguably the 2 best players in hockey. The Penguins killed them getting out to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd period. You have never seen such an angry, disconsolate group of people (outside of Kyle field) in your life. They were all in bright red Caps jerseys and hats. They were griping, moaning and cussing. I know how they felt.

Baltimore beating the Cowboys in the Superbowl. We were jobbed.
Texas beating the then #2 Ags in '75, getting a 17 point lead in 90 seconds. I am still PO'ed.
Plano beating Highland Park by 1 point in '78, when the Scotts had a 28 pt halftime lead. Plano went on to win the State championship. Bastards.
F***ing 49ers and Dwight F***ing Clark and Joe F***ing Montana in 1979. Danny White still almost won that game.
Romo fumbling the snap for a game winning chip shot field goal against Seattle. Dummy.

I had better stop. I am getting worked up. I know exactly how the poor Capitols fans feel.
I root for the Cowboys, Aggies, Rangers, and Mavericks.

Longhorns to the ACC?

See comment two to the Who Takes Vick post.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Who signs Michael Vick?

What is the betting on who signs Michael (bite me) Vick?
Jerry Jones? please no
Al Davis
Minnesota Vikings? I mean a backfield with Adrian Peterson, Percy Harbin, and Mchael Vick would present a few defensive issues.

Gartman: Takes A Stand

Dennis Gartman of the Gartman Letter and frequent contributor to CNBC made a provocative statement in today's newsletter. I have talked with Mr. Gartman several times and find him to be a fine gentleman and a very knowledgeable observer of the markets but I am not sure I can agree with him here: Paragraph lifted in entirety from the Gartman Letter Wed, may 20, 2009.
WHEN WE ARE WRONG: We are always
grateful when our clients and friends take the time to
tell us when we get something wrong in TGL… which
we do rather often. Yesterday was no exception. We
erred and erred rather badly in one instance, and we
thought we’d include the “correction” here this morning.
As our friend, Mr. John Knock, of Macquarie Energy in
Houston wrote
It is unusual for me to point out erroneous
information in the Letter due to the breadth of
topics which you discuss. Today, though, I
had to make an exception due to the grievous
nature of the mistake.
On page # 3 of today's letter, you refer to Carl
Spackler as "The Greens Keeper" in the movie
"Caddyshack". Mr. Spackler is, in fact, the
"Assistant Head Greens keeper" at Bushwood
Country Club. Sandy McFiddish is the "Head
Greens Keeper" at Bushwood. Hope this gives
you a good laugh.
John Knock, Macquarie Energy
It is one thing to get a point regarding economics
wrong; it is another thing to get a trade idea wrong; it is
something else entirely, however, when one tampers
with and errs when dealing with that greatest of all
sports movies, CaddyShack. We’ll be far more careful
next time!
I love the movie Caddyshack but "the greatest sports movie of all time", not sure about that one.
What about some of these off the top of my head:
Bull Durham
Seabiscuit
Chariots of Fire
Dead Solid Perfect
Sandlot
Brian's Song
When push comes to shove I have to go with Bull Durham though I am open to other nominations. Is there a really good football movie. ( game film of Texas USC doesn't count Baskind )

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Pujols

I have seen almost zero baseball this season. I haven't read anything about it in the paper, or watched any games even though I get offered tickets several times a week. Last night, however I saw some highlights on tv and one of them was of Albert Pujols. Man it is fun to watch that guy hit. I am not sure how big he really is but he seems titanic. If I were pitching and he stepped in the box I believe I would just go lie down behind the mound and try to hide.
,

Eat My Dust

Poor Mine That Bird. He has lost yet another jockey. I wonder if having a new rider in the Preakness negatively impacted his performance. Did Mike Smith wait a hair too long to make his move? Would Borel, who rode him in the Derby, have handled the race differently or better? Who knows. Now that poor horse has to adjust to yet another jockey, though Borel may be back if Rachel Alexandra isn't entered in the Belmont. In any event, I hope that Mine That Bird kicks all their asses and makes them EAT DUST in the Belmont, whoever is in the stirrups.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Take Me Out to the Ballpark

Since interest in the Texas Rangers (baseball team, not law enforcement agency) has picked up as a result of recent excellent play, I thought I'd plug this website: http://www.newbergreport.com/, which is all about the Rangers and system farm teams. The site is authored by a friend of mine, Jamey Newberg, who knows more about baseball and the Rangers than anyone should. (He also know lots and lots about other sports, as well.) Check it out. And while I'm at it, check out the website of another friend of mine, Talmage Boston (http://www.talmageboston.com/) . Talmage is a genuine baseball historian and lover of the game. His love of the game is nowhere more apparent than in his most recent book and his appreciation of the history of the game is made evident in his first book, which is about baseball in 1939. I found it fascinating. Both sites are worth a look.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Who's on First?

When filly, Rachel Alexandra, won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 lengths, she was ridden by Calvin Borel. The next day, Borel rode Mine That Bird to an incredible upset victory in the Kentucky Derby. (I just watched the replay on the Kentucky Derby website, and it was a phenomonal effort. Mine That Bird was dead last, by several lengths, for a good part of the race). Anyway, the day after the Kentucky Oaks race, Rachel Alexandra was sold. The new owners of Rachel Alexandra have entered her in the Preakness, which runs tomorrow. Borel has decided to switch back to the filly, leaving Mine That Bird, THE KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER, to last minute jockey, Mike Smith! I don't know what to think of this. Borel had said that if he had to choose, he would choose RA. Plus, he has won 5 races on her, I think. More than anything, though, his choice tells me that Borel thinks Rachel Alexandra has a better chance than Mine That Bird in the Preakness.

I don't want it, you take it.

When I was trying to find some of the details about the greatest football game I had ever seen I found a sight about the greatest high school games and there was one submission that was so good I thought I would post it. I am truly sorry I didn't get to see this happen. I am lifting the story from this site.
However, my submission is for a Pflugerville/Westwood game in either 98 or 99 I believe. It was Westwood's Homecoming, and I don't remember anything from the entire game except for the very last play. I know there are a ton of WW alums on these boards so I'm sure some of you were there. Pflugerville was losing by 3 with a few seconds remaining and was lining up for what I would today assume was anywhere from a 45-55 yard FG. Westwood had a man playing deep just in case pflugerville tried a fake. They didn't. P-Ville instead kicked a very weak field goal which was then caught by the Westwood guy playing "safety", at about the 10 yard line. He catches and then, not realizing it's a live ball, pitches it backwards towards an official working the game, I'm assuming the back judge. Well the official moves out of the way, kinda backing up since it's a live ball. So this guy for WW picks up the ball and AGAIN pitches the ball backwards, this time intop the end zone. While all of this is going on Pflugerville RB Anthony Kreig (Baylor) is sprinting towards the end zone knowing it's a live ball. Some Warriors give pursuit, but Kreig dives on the ball in the end zone before any WW player could get to it. The refs talk it over for a few minutes before deciding TD Pflugerville. Crazy.
Not a greatest game maybe, but I sure would have liked to have been there.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

I Had a Dream

I always have loved team sports over individual sports, though of course I still enjoy watching golf, tennis, etc., so it may seem odd that my sports fantasy involves an individual sport. In my sports fantasy, I win the women's downhill in the winter Olympics. I am the fastest, strongest, bravest of them all. I am the female version of Franz Klammer, flying down an icy mountain on the very edge of disaster, making split second decisions, using every last measure of strength to hold my line, keep my tuck, stay on my feet. Just me and the mountain. Even the thought of it is exhilarating. I think Klammer's gold medal run in 1976 gave rise to this fantasy. Of all the fantastic games, matches, meets, bouts, and races that I have seen, that run remains the single most exciting event I have ever seen.

Don't Poke The Tiger

Several articles in the last week or so have been talking about the slumping Tiger Woods or what's wrong with Tiger's game and so on. I just have to shake my head. The man is absolutely the best at what he does. For me he joins a short list of absolutely peerless athletes I have seen: Pele, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
During his "slump" which includes 8 months off for knee surgery and rehab Woods has 16 consecutive top 10 finishes in stroke play. he has won something like 10 of his last 18 tournaments. Woods has more tournament victories than the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th ranked players in the world combined.
One other thing, none of the other tour players are seeing anything wrong or talking about it. They have learned you don't pull on Superman's cape and you don't poke the Tiger.
( much of the data here comes from this article by the Associated Press.)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

GET some THERAPY

Aggie football. (heavy, heavy sigh). All of you Aggies out there...you know. You know about suffering, about struggle, failure, redemption, despair, and in the end, hope. You know about hope. These are the things we Aggies live with but it is the hope that keeps us going. So, this is me in 1995 during the Alamo Bowl, #19 Texas A&M vs. #14 Michigan. Sometime during the 4th quarter, Aggies leading 22-13 after Kyle Bryant's 5th field goal:

phone rings.

me (certain that it is Oxey, with whom I speak regularly during Aggie games): Hello.

caller (not Oxey): Are you watching?

me (wha...this isn't Oxey, this is Sean*): Not exactly.

caller: What do you mean, "not exactly"?

me: I'm listening.

caller: Huh?

me: I'm in bed. Under the covers. Really under the covers, over my head...under the covers. TV is on, and I'm listening.

caller: Listen to me. Get up, put on your glasses, and look at the tv. Do it. Right now.

me: I can't. I can't take it. I just can't take it.

caller: Yes, you can. Now get up.

me: (heavy, heavy sigh). Ok.

And I did. And despite Michigan scoring with 5 seconds left (Griese to Toomer), the Aggies held on to win, 22-20. And Sean stayed on the phone with me until the game was over. Talked me through it. That is friendship; that is Aggie love.

*Sean is the husband of one of my partners and, as you might have guessed, he is an Aggie. He also is a world class professional photographer. Check out his website: http://www.seanfitzgerald.com/.

Is there a Dog?

This morning, as MY BEST AND ONLY DOG was walking me, I was adrift in philosophical musings...why am I here, what is my purpose, is there a god... when all of a sudden this thought occurred to me: Hey, is that speargrass? There, in that clump of weeds, is that SPEARGRASS? Then, bam, it is back to the 60's, to the house on University and the vacant lot catty-corner across the alley. The lot with the overgrown weeds, field of speargrass, army of chiggers and that lone, sorry-looking mulberry tree. It is the 60's, and today Oxey and I are at war with the Lanhams. They may have more bodies but we have more death-before-dishonor ATTITUDE. We gather our spears, careful to keep the pointy, sticky little ends in tact and sneak out of the lot to find Lanhams. And I am savoring the moment when I can let fly with a group of spears, their pointy, sticky little ends covered with spit. Oh, joy! There's a Lanham...he's running and I'm chasing...I'm getting closer (how can this be? I am no doubt the slowest white girl in the history of ever) and now...now... NOW! Off the little spears go, their pointy, sticky little ends hitting the Lanham in the right shoulder, hanging there as he flees, yelping from their sting. Oh bliss! But still, he isn't fast enough and I could get in another shot if only I had more spears. Where is Oxey? He could take the shot. Then he appears...a little kid, no shirt, no shoes, tanned skin, blond burr, running full blast... with a handful of ...RIPE JUICY MULBERRIES! And he's got the Lanham in his sights, and he is there and he lets loose with the ripest, juiciest of those berries and ...nothing less than PURE PERFECTION. A perfect, purple hit on the Lanham's pristine white t-shirt. We smile. Victory is sooooooo sweet. Meanwhile, the Lanham has lost again, and is left only with his perfect, impermeable stain of defeat.

You may ask yourself what this has to do with sports. The answer is that WE LIKE TO PLAY. We like to throw stuff and hit targets with balls ( or speargrass or mulberries or pecans). We find it exhilarating. And it is just fun. So we like sports.

P.S. I can't seem to stop myself. Someone else better post soon or we will have to rename this middleagedwhitewomansselfindulgentblog.

Friday, May 8, 2009

The greatest football game I ever saw.

Thanks to my sister for initiating this blog. Our family has always been full of sports fans and enjoyed talking about and/or arguing about what the Aggies are doing wrong at any particular moment So I expect to have fun with this and I wanted to contribute right away, but, what to write about. No football right now. Basketball has been destroyed by the fact they don't enforce the rules any more. Important rules like traveling or moving the pivot foot, or carrying the ball face up like it is a loaf of bread instead of actually dribbling. Just not inspiring stuff. So I decided to get formulaic like"who is best running back ever" etc. That led me to remember the best football game I ever saw.
So I went on google ans sure enough I found a discussion on the "best high school football game you have ever seen" and one of the commenters probably an old guy like me described the same game I would pick: The San Antonio Lee vs San Antonio Brackenridge game for bi district championship in 1963. I saw the game on televisionand it is still clearly the most exciting game I have ever watched. Both teams were undefeated, Warren McVea was the running back for Brackenridge and Linus Baer played for Lee. both of these backs were averaging around 10 yards per carry and were maybe the top two recruits in the nation and boy did they deliver.
As I remember it every kick off in a game that finished 55-48 was an onside kick except for the one to lead off the second half which was run back for a touchdown.
Mcvea started at quarterback to eliminate fumbles on handoffs which were unnecessary since every one in the state knew he was going to get the ball. Once when Lee managed to force a punt Mcvea came out as the punter which he normally was not. Once again everyone knew it was a fake punt, no one could conceivably have been fooled and yet Mcvea ran for a huge gain and probably scored though I don't recall.
Linus Baer was equally brilliant and emerged from the game as my personal favorite. I saw him play in the Texas State High School All Star game later that year during which he he experienced a terrible knee injury. He was never quite the same. He started at runningback for the Longhorns when they were a perennial power and had a good college career, but I sure would have like to see him play college ball without that knee injury because he was a superstar.
David you probably remember that game I believe I was in Lockhart when I watched it but most of you are too young.
What about the rest of you? What is the best game you remember seeing?

BOOLEY

If you really love sports, and you really, really love football, especially college football, then you recognize the term "booley". "Booley" is the favorite sport of Tonsillitis Johnson, a character in Dan Jenkins' book, Life Its Ownself. Tonsillitis is a sought-after high school recruit whose atheletic prowess is in inverse proportion to his intellect. Annnyyyywwwaaay, when college football rolls around, my brothers and I dig ourselves out of the baseball-basketball-golf doldrums and whip ourselves into a preseason football frenzy. Phone lines burn (we live in different cities), sports mags are devoured (Texas Football, anyone?) and recruiting classes are reviewed and rehashed and on and on and on...We are reduced to ...well, we are reduced to "booley". So, since we love sports, and we talk about it alot, and since our cousins, Doc and Johnny, and Doc's son, Jacko, and our uncle, Dave, and our nephew-in-law, Drumski, also love to talk about sports (and mostly because we miss talking sports to our beloved dad, who has gone on to the big stadium in the sky), we thought we'd start this family sports blog. Actually, it was Big Bro's idea but I glommed onto it. So, contributors will be W-C-L clan members. Since we all are highly opinionated, even when we don't know what we are talking about, we will no doubt enjoy this blog immensely, whether or not anyone else reads it. But, readers and commentors are more than welcome. So, here we go. Booley. Bring it.