D's Notebook

Month: December 2022 (Page 2 of 2)

Weekend Sports Notes

December 12, 2022 /

Border Dud

Last year, when Kansas and Missouri played basketball for the first time in nearly ten years, I wrote this:

That’s the good news for MU: things change quickly in college hoops these days. They could add some solid transfers and the young guys who were overmatched on Saturday may be much more comfortable and confident next December. KU could be on probation and have lost a ton of talent. 2021’s embarrassment could lead to an ass kicking BY Mizzou in 2022.

Shows how much I know.

Although Missouri coming in at 9–0 seemed to promise a more competitive game, it was not to be.

It took KU about four minutes longer than last year, but it was again over and ugly pretty early. The final score was nine points closer than last year, so I guess that’s a sign of progress for Mizzou?

It was KU’s best performance of the year, but it’s tough to say it was a turning point in their season. Because Mizzou flat-out stunk Saturday. Well, the team did. The crowd was excellent and I’m sure the game day vibe in Columbia was outstanding.

The Tigers were undefeated, albeit against a pretty terrible schedule. They led the nation in scoring and in steals. Yet I kept thinking, “OK, new coach, a bunch of transfers, weak schedule. They might be better, but no way they have a chance to win, right?”

And then all the computer numbers suggested a narrow KU win. Consensus was in the 2–4 point range.

I wasn’t nervous, but all the KU fans online who were nervous were making me nervous.

Which was silly.

It was an ideal matchup for KU. DaJuan Harris does not turn the ball over under normal circumstances. Playing in his hometown, he was ultra cautious, taking 2–3 seconds longer to attack their pressure to bait them into giving him angles to probe. Mizzou’s lack of height was the perfect front line for KJ Adams to feast on, and he turned in the best game of his career. Mizzou’s half-court pressure kept leaving KU wings wide-open for jump shots. And when the Tigers decided to guard the perimeter, that left Adams and Kevin McCullar free to fly to the rim for uncontested dunks.

I’ll admit I laughed out loud when Mizzou ran a KU out-of-bounds lob play – the one that Ochai Agbaji murdered a TCU dude on last year – but threw the pass about a foot too high and it turned into a dunk the other way for McCullar.

I thought it was very interesting how Bill Self coached the game. It felt more like a late February game, where he was committed to his top seven players. Ernest Udeh played a minute or two in the first half. MJ Rice played one. Cam Martin played his first ever minutes as a Jayhawk midway through the second half, got blocked, didn’t close-out on a shooter, and was immediately subbed out. Other than that, it was the starters, Bobby Pettiford, and Joe Yesufu. Self was not about to give guys he doesn’t trust minutes in Columbia.[1]

It was fun, pounding Mizzou for a second-straight year. KU played well. But did that game prepare them for Indiana next week? Or Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor down the road? Maybe from a crowd noise standpoint, but certainly not from a level of play perspective.

For Mizzou I don’t know how much you can judge the team based on Saturday. As I said, new coach, a lot of transfers, and the first time playing a high-level opponent. It was a lot to ask. I’m sure Tiger fans are disappointed, but it’s so early in the Dennis Gates era that you can’t take much from it. It sucks (for them) that it was against KU, but based on what I saw, this was bound to happen as the Tigers move into the conference season.[2] I think the area of concern is how the team seemed to give up at a couple points. They looked thoroughly disinterested for several stretches. If not for KU sloppiness, the Jayhawks probably hang well over 100 on them. I thought it was curious Gates pretty much refused to back out of their pressure, but maybe he was taking the long view and thinking, “Well, it’s not working today, but this is how we want to play, so we need to keep doing it.” In the end, it doesn’t matter if you lose by 15 or 30. Especially when the line was only KU –3.5.[3]

Other pedantic notes:

  • I get that the game was officially part of the “SEC on ESPN” package. But why did we need a grainy, low-resolution, static camera aimed at a small section of the Mizzou student section? Why not just shoot it, occasionally, with one of those fancy, HD cameras that the rest of the game is shot in? How did seeing part of the students on the equivalent of a Nest camera enhance anyone’s enjoyment of the game? Once again, ESPN trying too hard to give the viewing audience something they did not ask for.
  • ESPN said that KU had won 8 of 9 and three consecutive games in the series. Apparently they were counting the Hurricane relief scrimmage in the fall of 2017? Because Mizzou beat the Jayhawks three games ago. I mean they even showed highlights of that game. Or perhaps ESPN had already chalked up Saturday as a win for KU?
  • The lead announcer also made a couple notable, factual mistakes. Since it was a rivalry game I’m contractually obligated to say those were because he’s a Mizzou alum, not because of any slips of the tongue.
  • Hearing the Rock Chalk Chant in Columbia, MO was pretty dope.
  • I do not understand why Adidas made the stripes on the sides of KU’s uniforms white, when red would look so much better. Especially since they would be a call back to the uniforms worn by the 2008 national champs.

Time to bring on the Hoosiers.

World Cup / Grant Wahl

Tremendous World Cup quarterfinals Friday and Saturday. The Holland-Argentina game was absolute bananas, with controversy, some first-class pettiness/bad blood, an all-time tying goal, and then a ridiculous penalty shootout. I wish we could have those teams play again.

Morocco being the first African side to reach the semifinals is great. They defeated Portugal on a beautiful goal.

France knocking off England was a great game as well. Shame they had to meet in the quarters. More like Harry Kane’t, amirite? That was terrible, I know.

The most shocking news of the weekend was the death of American soccer writer Grant Wahl. Only 48. At first his death seemed highly suspicious as he has consistently been critical of the Qatari government. While details that he had been unhealthy for a week or so have come out, I’m not sure we should just assume it was natural. I mean, I hope it was, which seems like a terrible thing to say. But that is preferable to the darker alternatives.

I’ve been following Wahl since the late ‘90s I guess, whenever he started writing about soccer for Sports Illustrated. Later he became their top college basketball writer. At some point I learned he was from Kansas City. When SI began putting more content online, he did a periodic mailbag on SI’s site. Once, after he did a very good feature on Nick Collison, I sent him an email not with a question but just saying that I enjoyed his work in general, that piece in particular, and was glad to see someone from my generation from KC making it big. He responded with a nice note of thanks within like 45 minutes. Forever fan after that. A year or so later I sent in a regular question that he included in the mailbag. In 2008, he wrote the cover story about KU’s national title game victory over Memphis. I don’t think he actually coined the phrase Mario’s Miracle, but he got some credit for it.

As he transitioned into soccer full-time, I continued to follow him closely, mostly on Twitter. He was an invaluable source of information, and a constant booster for the sport. Based on the outpouring of grief from other writers, he was a really, really, really good person, too.

Just a terrible loss for his wife and family, obviously. A huge loss for American soccer fans and anyone who enjoys outstanding sports writing.

Grant went to Princeton, but his mom was a Jayhawk. Something that bled into his Tweets on occasion.

  1. I think Mizzou’s lack of size contributed to that. Udeh, Zuby Ejiofor, and the other young bigs aren’t experienced enough to chase small guys on the perimeter so they were not getting minutes Saturday unless absolutely necessary. Ironically getting KJ off the court might have been MU’s best hope.  ↩
  2. Their up-coming schedule is no joke. UCF in Miami (-ish), Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas. Things will get real really fast.  ↩
  3. I love to tell stories about how I didn’t really understand how prevalent gambling was on college campuses until I went to games in Columbia. One of my favorites was being in the room of a friend of a friend on a KU-MU football game day and the phone ringing off the hook as the resident took bets. At one point he said, “I think I need to stop taking bets so I can actually root for the Tigers.” Kind of ironic that sports gambling is legal in Kansas but not Missouri now.  ↩

Friday Playlist

December 9, 2022 /

Some brand new songs and one that goes back nearly 50 years for this week’s playlist.

(Spotify embedding is cranky this morning, so here’s a link)

Friday Playlist 12/9/22

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PrFQ6Y0xt5JJnHAB5wx1b?si=a478ce2e928544ab

“Peace Blossom Boogy” – Babe Rainbow
Not sure how/why it happened, but I just heard this five-year-old song about going to Venice for the first time. Spotify must be tracking my location. If you told me there was a song called “Peace Blossom Boogy” I would expect it to sound exactly like this.

“Palomino” – First Aid Kit
This starts out sounding like a Ryan Adams song. At least until the vocals kick in. Then it turns into your standard, gorgeous, FAK song.

“No Rule” – Manchester Orchestra
A leftover from Manchester Orchestra’s most recent album, 2021’s A Million Masks of Gold. I always hate to tell artists who, you know, have been kind of successful, how to run their careers. But I do not get why this did not make the final track list for that LP. It’s wonderful. There’s a similar leftover track in my final list for my favorite songs of the year. Had this been released a little earlier, it would have been a strong contender as well.

“Running with the Hurricane” – Camp Cope
Speaking of my favorites list, another song that was on the outside looking in.

“Fear of Art” – THUMPER
One more that would land somewhere in my top 30 if my list went that deep.

“Couldn’t Get It Right” – Climax Blues Band
I watched a movie this week that took place in the late ’70s and had a great soundtrack, including this jam. I have a ’70s playlist that I don’t listen to nearly often enough. When I checked to make sure this song was included, it was right there at track number one. Someone wanted me to share it with you this week. I was under the impression that Top of the Pops performances were always lip-synched, but this appears to have been a live performance. And pretty solid.

Reader’s Notebook, 12/8/22

December 8, 2022 /

Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation – Steven Hyden
One of two books I loaded onto my Kindle for our Italy trip, and the only one I really read much of, mostly on the train.

This is Hyden’s take on the story of Pearl Jam, told through chapters that each center on one song selected from their catalog. It is less an updated comprehensive history of the band – there are plenty of those books already – than an attempt to take elements of that history and use them to explain how PJ carved out such a unique place in music history.

They were the biggest band in the world within a couple years of formation, selling albums in numbers that wouldn’t be matched until the Boy Band boom of the late ‘90s. Then they intentionally threw much of it away, making decisions based on (sometimes misguided) principles or with their mental health rather than chart success in mind. By the turn of the millennium they had turned themselves into one of the most popular tour acts in the world despite their singles and albums not being anywhere near as successful as their early ‘90s releases. That road strength persists; they can tour pretty much whenever/wherever they want and count on selling out every show. And while their 2020 album Gigaton got the best reviews of any album they have released this century, it still barely registered outside their fanbase.

What made PJ unique was that they never imploded, broke up, or let their personal demons derail them. They also did not try to make albums that would still connect with the broader public, as say U2 has done, often issuing “difficult” songs as the lead single from albums to dampen mainstream interest. Nor have they specifically mined their extensive back catalog to ramp up interest, as U2 did with their Joshua Tree tour, or other bands have through “Farewell” tours. Their path was to declare that they were going to play super long concerts that were never the same combination of songs, and pour their hearts into those performances, making them truly unique events that created a deeply dedicated and motivated world of followers who constantly fill the arenas and stadiums where PJ play.

As a fan of the band, I enjoyed revisiting some of the stories from the band’s early days that I had forgotten about. And while I continued to purchase their new albums up until Gigaton (Which I streamed quite a bit upon its release) I’ve not kept up as much with their backstory, so those sections of the book were filled with tales that were new to me. It’s worth noting that Hyden is a much bigger fan of the band’s later work than I am, so his assessment of some of those more mature songs was a nice counter to my feelings about them.

If you’re a Pearl Jam fan, or just want to figure out why they ended up with their unique career arc, this is a well-written and highly engaging relatively quick read.

The Number Ones – Tom Breihan
My man Tom expanded his Stereogum column into a broader work. Here he took what he felt were the 20 most important or influential Number One hits of the Billboard Hot 100 era and went into greater detail than in his columns.

He selected these 20 for how they changed music, how they were inflection points that made everything that came after different from what came before. This feels like a difficult exercise as the importance of songs is highly subjective. I think he gets most of these selections right, or at least he justifies them with plenty of evidence to sway the doubters.

His Stereogum column is a national treasure. I’ve read it faithfully until just recently, as he’s reached a point in music history – the mid–2000s – where I was less connected with pop music than I have ever been. But I know as he gets a few years closer to the present and artists come along that I know more about, I’ll dive back in and read every word of those entires. I’m glad he got a book deal out of the gig.

Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties – Ian MacDonald
I mentioned last month I had been slowly working through a book that was heavy in music theory. This was that book.

I discovered it after watching the Get Back documentary last year as several writers suggested it as a good companion piece. In it MacDonald works through every song the Beatles ever recorded, in chronological order, and comments on them and the albums they came from. I started reading it in January, figuring I would work through it casually between other books. That’s exactly what I did, sometimes reading it several days in a row, other times not touching it for weeks. I finally finished it on December 2.

I’ve read plenty of Beatles books, but this was a very different perspective. What I did not expect was how heavy into music theory it was, with MacDonald breaking down songs into very technical components that I, as a non-musician, do not understand. That made it tough to read. MacDonald was also a bit of a curmudgeon, and as much as he admired the Beatles best work, he also skewered many of their songs that are considered classics by most.

My technique for the book was to read each song’s entry, then listen to the song, another reason it took so long to get through it. I did so sitting at home, waiting in the car for a kid to finish practice or an appointment, on planes to/from Europe, by the pool, waiting for an oil change at the auto dealership, and probably some other locations I’ve forgotten. I’m not sure how much the book added to my Beatles knowledge, but it certainly kept me listening to their music throughout the year, as I think my year-end music stats will reflect.

The Abduction – Shea Serrano
A very short, very dumb story from one of the funniest men on Twitter. It was perfect.

Wednesday Links

December 7, 2022 /

A music-heavy list of interesting pieces this time.

Since the Milli Vanilli scandal came in the prime of my music listening years, it will always resonate. While reading this piece, it struck me that a lot of younger people have no idea what it was about, just that it is a cultural punchline.

In this review, the author makes some great points about how what was scandalous 30 years ago can be the norm today.

If I were in a particularly cynical mood, I might claim that Milli Vanilli anticipated the future of the music industry better than any other new act from that era…True, they put more faith in technology than authenticity, but couldn’t you say the same for the algorithm-crazed music business of the current moment? By the same token, they knew how to act the part of celebrities, with the right attitudes and moves, while relying on a team of helpers to fill in the gaps—much like most superstars do today. Most important of all, they had more skills as influencers than vocalists, but that too shows how much they were ahead of their time.

How the Record Industry Ruthlessly Punished Milli Vanilli for Anticipating the Future of Music

At first I just scrolled through this list of Bill Wyman’s rankings of the current Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame members. As I read a few passages here and there, I noticed he was throwing a lot of shade. So I spent a few hours while watching football working through the entire piece. It’s amazing. Here are a few of my favorites. There are plenty more.

On the Clash…

…the Clash brought a high intelligence, a rigid but for the most part warmhearted politics, and songs songs songs (to be specific: as many great songs as the Rolling Stones) in a tumultuous, too-short career. They wanted to tear down everything that came before and build a better world, and destroyed themselves trying.

He had thoughts on Milli Vanilli,

Shouldn’t the award have then gone to whoever did sing on the record? Weren’t they still the Best New Artist?

On Van Halen…

But the idea of Hagar — who came in after the Van Halen brothers had had enough of Roth — having anything to do with a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame outside of sweeping the parking lot is comical in an entirely different way.

Steve Miller…

Steve Miller songs, a friend of mine says, “literally sound like he’s making the lyrics up as he goes along.”

Depeche Mode…

The nomination feels like the product of an organization that doesn’t quite understand the music it thinks it’s honoring.

On one of my all-time favorite acts…

All you can do is throw up your hands.

I totally agree with him on RHCP…

Few things in rock irritate me more than how these critically unacclaimed frat-boy funksters with a palpable zombcontempt for women cleaned up their image and started sucking up to the rock Establishment.

He applies this criticism to several acts…

Another band with two-and-a-half decent songs and many decades of pointless recording and touring.

And on Chicago…

So appropriate the band was inducted by Rob Thomas.

All 240 Artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ranked From Best to Worst

Ooooh, this looks cool for us children of the ‘80s.

Atari 50 is an incredible playable tour through video game history

John McLendon’s name has long been included in the list of what makes Kansas Basketball, in its broadest definition, so special. However, I, like I think most KU fans, knew little of his story. I knew he was a groundbreaking African American coach, but I didn’t know the details of how he ended up at KU, his experience there while a student, and how he went about tearing down barriers once he became a coach. This is a wonderful piece about a man whose influence far outweighs his name recognition.

The elder McLendon instructed his young Black son … in the 1930s … in segregated Kansas… to just walk into Naismith’s office, introduce himself and tell the father of basketball that he would be McLendon’s mentor. Surprisingly, Naismith agreed to do it.

John McLendon is a historical connection between Duke and Kansas

Always a fun list to read.

52 things I learned in 2022

Chris Molanphy on the Billboard Holiday music chart, and how difficult it is for new holiday songs to crack the playlists of radio stations and streaming services.

What the Holiday 100 Reveals About Our Love of Christmas Music It’s Mariah’s world (obviously) — but Ariana and Kelly are settling into it

I watch plenty of holiday movies and shows each year, but I do not dip into the original, romantic flicks that pollute the airwaves in December. Doesn’t stop me from making fun of them.

Jodi Walker decided to watch one of these new movies – there are 99 this year! – each day for the next month, and post a quick review on The Ringer. They won’t get me to watch any of these movies, but I will read her hilarious breakdowns every day.

The 25 Days of Bingemas

The article Colts fans, and probably most NFL fans, have been waiting on.

Andrew Luck finally reveals why he walked away from the NFL

November Media

December 6, 2022 /

I think I broke my media consumption habits in October and have yet to get them right. A lot of basketball (on TV and in person) and another week away from home didn’t help. Thus, another rather short list of things to share this month.

Movies, Series, Shows

Halloween Baking Championship
I wrapped up the most recent season on November 2. Blayre was a deserving winner in a season filled with super-talented bakers. Seriously, any of six bakers could have won and I wouldn’t have been mad. Also I forgot to mention last month that L no longer watches these shows with me. Sad.

A

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction
I think I watched 4–5 of these early in the month, skipping around to watch guests I was most interested in. As expected, really good stuff.

A

Goodfellas
The Godfather
One weekend A&E was showing these and The Godfather Part 2 on an endless loop so I popped in several times. I’ve always been a Goodfellas >>> Godfather guy, so I made sure to catch more of it. Still, two American classics.

A, A

Molly’s Game
Although I loaded by iPad up with a lot of content for our trip, I only ended up watching two movies, and both on the way back. Seriously, I’m not sure how I managed the flight to Europe so easily.

Anyway, I thought this was quite good. I think Idris Elba could have been used more, but it wasn’t his character’s story. Jessica Chastain was mesmerizing.

A-

Operation Mincemeat
My other airplane movie, I thought it was also well done, if given a few dramatic turns I figured were probably added just to make the story more interesting. One big one – the love triangle – was confirmed to be manufactured for the screen. There were some other elements I have not found anything to confirm or deny they were added by the screenwriters, but I’ll assume they were.

A-

’Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen
I stumbled onto this one night as it began and ended up watching for all two hours. I’ve watched a few other shows that are about Christmas movies and this was much better than them, less a clip show that an exploration of what makes holiday movies resonate with us.

A-

Shorts, YouTubes, Etc

Gateway Astro: $800 All-In-One PC from 1999!
I don’t remember these at all, but if I did I bet I thought they were pretty dope.

One Hour of 80’s Video Game Commercials
Not sure what was worse: the Atari games or their commercials. Of course I watched every minute of this.

Audi S8 v Porsche Panamera Turbo: DRAG RACE
For some reason the Audi videos haven’t been showing up in my feed lately. I’m glad this one popped up.

Seinfeld Bloopers
A few pretty good ones in this compilation.

Everyday Carry Essentials and Travel Setup | Erik Anders Lang Founder of Random Golf Club | Gear Lab
This guy’s golf videos annoyed me when I used to watch them, but I am always down to listen/watch people talk about the stuff they use on a daily basis.

Weekend Notes

December 5, 2022 /

A fairly quiet weekend for our family. A couple folks are still trying to get their sleep schedules back to normal. Me? I’ve been sleeping awesome all week. I probably just jinxed myself to a week of insomnia…

College Football Bowls and Playoffs

I must be getting old. The stupid little “controversy” that took over my Twitter feed Friday about Missouri allegedly not wanting to play Kansas in a bowl game annoyed me to no end. I didn’t care what the truth was, who actually said what, who was right and who was wrong, I just wanted it to stop. I was away from Twitter for maybe an hour and came back to nearly 200 new Tweets, and most were about this dumb topic.

I say I’m getting old because not too long ago this kind of thing would have gotten me super fired up. But to 51-year-old me, it seemed like a total waste of time and I was disappointed that so many KU folks I follow were going all-in on it. Maybe I would feel different if I lived in the midst of the rivalry but I just wanted my Twitter timeline to calm down.

I have no idea if the Liberty Bowl is a good destination or a bad one, or if Arkansas is a good matchup or a bad one. I just know KU is playing in a bowl and that’s all that matters. Bitches.

Glad TCU didn’t get screwed for losing an overtime game, although I have to admit I’m shocked they weren’t in fact screwed. Then again, maybe they deserved to get screwed for running two really dumb plays when K-State could not stop Max Duggan if they tried. Someone should hire me as a coach.

Really looking forward to the Michigan-Ohio State national championship game and all the hype that will come with it.

Kid Hoops

L was back on the court with her Cathedral team Saturday for two games. They won both games while we were traveling. Apparently she is the problem, because they got waxed twice again this weekend.

She looked like a kid who hadn’t played in two weeks in the first game, not doing much of anything until late. She looked better in game two but they still got smoked.

The second game was against a team, the Wildcats, that beat her travel team by 40 last fall when they hit something like 123 3’s. Her travel coach’s middle school team played those girls right before us Saturday. They also lost, but had a lead late and only lost by five. They only gave up one or two 3’s the entire game.

Our game? The Wildcats hit six 3’s in the first half, then three more in the second half. Maybe L is the problem for that, too.

The tournament is this coming week. Hopefully we get matched with some teams we can not lose by 20 to.

World Cup

The US World Cup run came to an end Saturday in a resounding 3–1 loss to Holland. Well, resounding on the scoreboard. The US actually looked very solid much of the game. They just have no stone-cold goal scorers up top.

The big accomplishment this year was just qualifying for the World Cup after missing the last one. This is a really talented, super young roster. With the next World Cup being (partially) hosted in the US and the experience gained in Qatar, there really should be expectations on the squad four years from now. With the tournament expanding (again) for the next cycle, I have no idea what the knock out stages will be like. But I think a realistic expectation will be for the Americans to make it out of group play and win at least one knock out game next time.

I can’t wait for next Saturday’s quarterfinal between France and England. That just might be the game of the tournament, and the winner will still need two more wins to raise the Cup. It feels like France is a little better but England’s defense is so damn good they may be able to slow the French side down.

Oh, and the French uniforms have been INCREDIBLE this year. The deep navy blue with gold lettering and numbers? <Very French Chef’s Kiss>

Colts

Or Clots, I should say. Thank goodness I went to bed at the end of the third quarter last night. Giving up 33 points in a single quarter in the NFL is hard to do, and yet the Colts, err Clots, managed to do it. All those people who were crowing after the win in week one of the Jeff Saturday experiment are awfully quiet after three-straight losses.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an NFL player age as fast as Matt Ryan. I swear playing for this Colts team has taken like five years off his life. It’s been fascinating to listen to Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth describe his play the last two weeks. Both seem utterly flummoxed by how bad he looks. There has to be a physical issue with him, because when he has a chance to settle in and throw, his passes are never crisp and often fall short and way off-line. I guess an injury is bound to happen when you have zero mobility and are running for your life three of every four drop-backs.

Looking ahead it seems like the Colts are falling apart at a very strange time in the NFL’s perpetual evolution. Smaller, more mobile college quarterbacks are beginning to gain a foothold, as NFL offenses adjust to maximize their skills. The Joe Burrows and Trevor Lawrences aside, I’m not sure we are sure what an NFL QB looks like anymore. I keep hearing Bryce Young listed as one of the top two QBs in next spring’s draft. He’s short, small, and seems like everything the NFL shied away from just a few years ago. To me he looks like a guy who won’t stand up to getting hit a lot by NFL defenders.

What makes it tough for the Colts is they will not be in that Bryce Young/CJ Stroud part of the draft. They have to find a new, young quarterback this offseason. Right now they are projected to draft ninth. Who do you take at that point? Do you take a chance on a guy who looks like a traditional NFL QB, with a big body with a big arm? Or one of these smaller, more modern guys and you put him behind one of the worst offensive lines in the game and wish him luck staying healthy?

The Colts were extraordinarily lucky to get Peyton Manning and then Andrew Luck in consecutive “Must Draft a QB” moments. This time comes with a much higher level of difficulty in many ways.

Oh, and one local columnist is calling this morning for the Colts to go after Jim Harbaugh this offseason. I’m not sure that’s the right guy for this moment in the franchise’s arc. Unless he has some kind of special mojo that can bring a decent quarterback with him.

Friday Playlist

December 2, 2022 /

Since returning home I’ve been super focused on getting my Favorite Songs of the Year playlist put together. I’ve made a lot of progress and expect to post it in about 10 days. In the meantime, the next two weekly playlists will feature some songs that were weeded out as I get the big list down to its final number. Also three songs this week honor artists who have passed recently.

“December” – Lande Hekt
Happy December, y’all! Lande Hekt will not appear on my Favorites PL, but she’s had a very good year with several fine songs. For a track about the darkest month of the year, I hear hints of The Sundays’ “Summertime” inside this.

“Guiyome” – Congotronics International
Another terrific song off the CI album, this one pulling in the West African Highlife sound.

“Dangerous” – The Mysterines
2022 Bonus Track #1.

“Fear of Art” – Thumper
2022 Bonus Track #2.

“What’s My Name” – The Clash
Keith Levene died three weeks ago. Although most famous for being in Public Image Ltd, he was also an original member of The Clash, credited with helping to convince Joe Strummer to join the band. Although he departed before the band started recording its first album, he co-wrote this song.

“Breakdance” – Irene Cara
The lovely Ms. Cara died earlier this week at only 63. She had two monster hits from movies in the early ’80s, the title tracks from Fame and Flashdance, which went to #4 and #1 respectively. In the spring and summer of 1983 you could not escape her voice. She had four other Top 40 hits, this being the biggest, which hit #8 in the summer of 1984 as the breakdance fad was at its zenith. Not sure why the Germans called this song “Brake Dance.”

“You Make Loving Fun” – Fleetwood Mac
I know I wasn’t the only music fan who was surprised that Christine McVie was the first member of Fleetwood Mac’s classic lineup to pass. I also didn’t know she was 79. Since she always the most reserved of FM’s three biggest songwriters she seemed frozen in time, maybe in her early 60s and still looking youthful. If you are on Twitter you know a lot of folks had fun with this song, written about the FM lighting director that McVie had an affair with while she was still married to bassist John McVie. The ’70s were a weird time, man. McVie was a giant of classic rock. RIP to her, to Irene Cara, and to Keith Levene.

Catching Up

December 1, 2022 /

A few things happened either before or while we were traveling that deserve a few words.

Youth Sports

The Friday before we left, St P’s had an assembly for the two girls basketball teams that made it to the City finals including L’s team. She still refused to hold the trophy. I laughed. It was a nice way to end the season.

That was also Semi State Friday for Indiana football, featuring Cathedral’s rematch with Center Grove. The windchill was in the 20s, it was snowing for much of the game, and we had shit to do to get ready for our trip, so I stayed home and listened on the radio. M still went. She said it was the last game of her high school career, since she would miss the potential state championship game, so she felt an obligation to go. I appreciated the dedication. She also said she might only stay for part of the game because of the weather.

CHS jumped out to a 10–0 lead after two possessions and seemed to be firmly in control. Then they gave up 33 straight points. Yeesh. 33–10 final.

M ended up staying for the entire game. I had coached her two weeks earlier on how to interact with her boyfriend if/when the Irish lost. She was way ahead of me. “Oh, none of us are going down on the field if we lose. It will be bad.” I think she and the other girlfriends indeed stayed away from the players after the ass-kicking was complete. She refused to even look at his messages after she got home because she was sure they would make her cry.

So 10–2 playing two levels up from their natural class with a crappy offensive line that forced their stud QB to scramble for his life all year. Not too bad, but it sucks to go out that way. CHS loses several important players – three of them are Power 5 recruits – and will stay in 6A for at least three more years. So M might have had the best run anyone in our family will have with a regional loss, two state titles, and a semi state loss.

KU Football

I saw a few moments of Texas’ destruction of KU while we were eating at O’Hare. That was the most predictable result of the season. Texas had been hearing for a year about losing to KU last November, in contexts that often had nothing to do with football. Not sure even if KU had been completely healthy they had a chance in that game.

Last weekend I went to bed knowing KU was already down two scores to K-State. Didn’t seem like a game to fall asleep on the couch to. From a summary podcast I listened to sounds like it wasn’t a total destruction and the margin, once again, largely due to self-inflicted errors. Now three weeks or so to get healthy for a bowl game.

The big KU football news came mid-week when KU announced a contract extension for Lance Leipold. That was huge news. Sure, the bloom is off the rose a bit by going 1–6 after starting 5–0. But the most optimistic predictions for this year had the team winning four games. The Vegas over/under was 1.5. Leipold got them to six wins and a bowl game, something that might have been on the table next year for the sunniest of KU fans.

When the final contract was announced this week there were a few interesting notes. The buyout is pretty manageable for any bigger program that really wants him. From Twitter I gather there was some mocking of the clauses that allow Leipold to opt out if the construction projects on the stadium and practice facilities don’t begin by a specific date next year. To me those were pure window dressing, another sign that these projects are, indeed, finally happening.

There’s still a lot of work to do. The defense fell apart over the last two months and needs a lot of help, perhaps even a new scheme. The schedule is a little tougher next year, with Illinois replacing Duke.

You would think most of the big names would return with Lance guaranteed to be their coach, but you never know these days. Jalon Daniels is the big key. He seems like a kid who loves KU and playing for Andy Kotelnicki. NIL can change that in an instant.

For programs like KU the big carrot of a bowl game isn’t just the chance to play an extra game but also that extra month of practice you get. Between that and hopefully another good year in the transfer portal, the chance is there for Leipold to really begin to build something next season.

I know, I know. KU football fans should never get their hopes up. I’d like to think times have finally changed.

KU Hoops

I didn’t see a minute of the Bahamas games. Because of time zone weirdness I was awake for a couple of them. But I was in Italy, for crying out loud, and these were games in November. I was not going out of my way to find them.

Getting humbled by Tennessee sucks, but the Vols currently have the best defense in the country, and KU is too reliant on Jalen Wilson at the moment. I’m not going to get too concerned yet. It would be nice if we figured things out before December 17 when Indiana comes to Lawrence.

MJ Rice breaking out Monday night was a nice bonus.

Higher Education

L got her acceptance into Cathedral last Tuesday. No surprise but it was still fun. Her Golden Ticket package was in the mail when we got home; this year the gift was long Irish socks. We get to go pick up her Class of 2027 shirt and yard sign next week.

M also got a message that she has been granted direct admission to IU’s honors college. She was surprised by that since she didn’t think she had even checked a box on her application that she was interested in the program. She’s a little torn on that path. She doesn’t want to take all honors courses in college as she’s only taken one or two per semester in high school. And she doesn’t want to live in the honors dorm but with the “regular” population. We have friends who have a freshman in the honors college and we told M to reach out to her and get her perspective before she made any decisions.

Holidays

I did not listen to any Christmas music until we got home. In fact, as we were leaving the parking garage at O’Hare M said, “Once we get on the road, can you find some Christmas music?” That’s my kid.

We got a jump start on our holiday decorating. We put up some of the inside decorations a week before we left. I put lights on two trees three weeks ago and planned on not turning them on until right before we left. When he had that snowstorm a couple weeks back it seemed like the right time to flip the switch on those. And we decided to go ahead and put up our tree over a few nights the week before we left. S said there was no way she would have the energy to do it upon our return. I was good with that plan.

Oh, and I watched the Cheers “Thanksgiving Orphans” episode that Friday before we left. After 36 years it remains the greatest 22 minutes of televised comedy ever.

Wednesday we had our belated, mini Thanksgiving dinner. Based on requests from the family, I made green bean casserole, Giada’s dressing, corn soufflé, and sweet potato casserole. My plan was to smoke a turkey breast. Which I tried to do. But since the windchills never got out of the 20s yesterday, the bird wasn’t close to done at meal time. We waited half and hour and it still wasn’t ready. So I let it keep smoking and dinner was just sides. Which isn’t a bad thing. Once the turkey came off it was really tasty, so leftovers should be good tonight.

Stats

December 1, 2022 /

November 2022

  • Beatles – 48
  • Gang of Youths – 33
  • Congotronics International – 31
  • John Mellencamp – 29
  • Pearl Jam – 26

Complete stats available at my Last.fm page.

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