- The kids got their flu shot yesterday. The nurse asked BoyGeeding to turn his head so she could administer the shot, but he retorted, “No ma’am, I want to watch it and see it go in.” And, he did, without a flinch. His sister, not so much. No tears, no screaming, but a lot of deep breaths.
- I feel like I merely “survive” most days, as opposed to “living” each day. You know, making something out of the day instead of the day making something out of you. Yesterday, for the first time in a very long time, I actually felt like I lived it. It wasn’t by much, but hey, you gotta take notice of small wins and stack them up when you can. I think one thing which helped is that I got a simple “thank you” from the grumpiest person I have to interact with at work.
- In wake of Texas’ latest mass shooting, there has been a lot of talk about El Paso’s Eastwood High School playing Plano Senior High School in football. I think I’m in the minority thinking those two schools shouldn’t be playing each other unless they make the playoffs. It takes about nine and a half hours to drive from one location to another, around 20 hours total when you consider it’s roundtrip. I don’t think that the travel time, the logistics, and cost of transporting a football team, band, drill team, and other student groups are in the best interest of the students.
- Random facts about El Paso’s Eastwood High School
- Despite Texas being part of the Confederacy, the school mascot is based on the Union Cavalry Soldiers during the American Civil War.
- The school is in the Ysleta Independent School District, the third-largest school district in the city of El Paso. The city has four school districts.
- Notable alumni: Jack Handey – best known for his Deep Thoughts segments on Saturday Night Live.
- Costco’s Kirkland batteries are made by Duracell, in case you ever wondered. I’m a sucker for buying good batteries in bulk.
- Random factoid from Peter King’s article from Monday:
- Dating back to October 2014, in their last 69 football games:
Alabama is 64-5 with two national championships.
Clemson is 64-5 with two national championships.
- Dating back to October 2014, in their last 69 football games:
- King also linked to this thought-provoking article, and if you are a fan of former Texas Rangers coach Tom House, he’s predominantly mentioned; as well as, former Dallas Cowboys scout and NFL Hall of Famer Gil Brandt: Most top NFL QBs played shortstop growing up
- Consider that of the top 14 all-time NFL QBs, as determined two years ago for ESPN by an all-star panel of former coaches and executives, all played competitive baseball as teenagers. All of them. And 11 played at short; only Tom Brady, John Elway and Steve Young did not, yet Brady and Elway were drafted by Major League Baseball teams, and Young was an all-state pitcher and centre fielder who wanted to play shortstop but, being a lefty, couldn’t.
- Today’s top ‘shortstop-QBs’ comprise most of the active elite: Mahomes, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford, Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, Los Angeles Rams’ Jared Goff and this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Arizona’s Kyler Murray.
- Here’s the list of youth shortstops who became NFL QB stars primarily in the ’70s or later, and who already have retired and entered the Hall of Fame: Joe Montana, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts, Warren Moon, Troy Aikman and Kurt Warner. Plus Peyton Manning, who will be a shoo-in Hall of Famer next year in his first year of eligibility.
- Someone at work used the word kludge yesterday. I had an idea what it was because of the context of the conversation, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it.
- It’s hard to believe a film like Black Sunday was ever filmed with the full cooperation of the NFL. There’s no way that would happen today. Just look at the plot and count the red flags:
- Blimp pilot Michael Lander (Bruce Dern), who has endured the horrors of the Vietnam War, is now psychotic. Hoping to kill himself in grand fashion, he teams with Palestinian terrorist Dahlia (Marthe Keller), who plans on using Lander to set off a bomb at the Super Bowl by crashing his aircraft into the crowded stands.
- Volkswagen will help turn old Beetles and microbuses electric – And a Porsche 356 conversion may be next
- Inside Steinway Piano’s secret underground vault – Only three people have access to the vault, where the pianos start at $250,000.
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Marvin Gaye with the music and backing vocals removed is astonishing pic.twitter.com/iNbjY7F4bI
— Paul Haine (@paul_haine) September 3, 2019
And Brother Geeding, the best minutiae in Black Sunday was the fact that the Cowboys and Steelers were on the field as the Super Bowl teams. My understanding was that actual Cowboy players were used in the movie, not just Hollywood actors in uniform. It was Super Bowl X at the Orange Bowl (and the Steelers won – darn).
Have a happy weekend!