GA Russell

Dave, it was the Bears who beat the Redskins in 1940. I believe that the Redskins went into that game undefeated, but that may not be right. I saw a highlight film of that game some years ago. As I recall, many of the Bears' touchdowns were scored on interception returns. Baugh kept throwing just to put some points on the board to make the score respectable, and the score would just get worse.

RIP. I remember when he was a coach in the AFL - I think the first coach of the New York Titans. Not only was a great passer, I believe that he was also the NFL's best punter for a while.

The Eskimos named Richie Hall their new head coach today. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Edm...7780981-cp.html http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** Joe Krol has died. He won six Grey Cups! http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...7778636-cp.html ***** Khari Jones will be the Ticats' quarterback coach this year. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Fries...778021-sun.html

Happy Birthday Phil!

In 1974 I bought a BYG lp which had Soft Machine demos on Side A and various artists on Side B, including Davy Graham singing When Did You Leave Heaven. Very enjoyable.

BClug, I have long felt that the football reporters don't appreciate Canadian talent. Cahoon is a case in point. I expect him to be elected to the Hall of Fame the first year he is eligible. Yet not only has he never won the Outstanding Player Award, he has never been his team's nominee for the award! ***** The Lions cut another veteran today, Tyrone Williams. Williams was an all-star in '06 and '07, but he is 36 years old, so I imagine that he is done. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...ory/GlobeSports ***** The Arena league has decided to suspend operations for 2009, and resume in 2010 (or so they say), because New Orleans has already folded, and Dallas, Philadelphia, Colorado, Georgia, Chicago and Cleveland decided not to play next year as well. A year ago Arena league franchises were valued at $30 million, which I never understood. What can be the value of a franchise of a league that suspends operations? In 1974 I saw an interview with Jake Gaudaur in which he said that 1950 was a particularly good year for the Canadian league, because the All-American Football Conference folded after the '49 season, and there was a large influx of quality American players coming from that league to Canada. If Jim Popp is right when he says that each Arena team has 3-5 players good enough for the CFL, maybe the CFL will benefit from the Arena league folding, particularly if it can sign some guys who won't drop the passes. http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews...=22&sp=true http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

I got 31 right, 5 wrong. "Good job! Celebrity-death knowledge becomes you." http://www.moviefone.com/insidemovies/2007...-or-alive-quiz/

I've always been sentimental about Clark Terry because he was on my second jazz album, Ray Bryant's Gotta Travel On. His birthday made this morning's paper's list of celebrities' birthdays.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Remember Turner Gill of the Concordes? He is now the head coach of the Mid-American Conference champion Univ. of Buffalo. He is being considered for the head coaching openings at Auburn and Syracuse. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Thanks Aggie! I've got to get on this one right away. I never thought the day would come when I would dally and pass up on your codes like I've done twice already! I had a hunch that they would come up with a new code the day after the date for guaranteed Christmas delivery passed.

I'm shocked. But Detroit still has two newspapers. Maybe towns with only one paper won't face this problem.

JL, as I recall the Columbia was The Complete 1959 Recordings. Somebody may correct me on this. I also recall that it was issued only on LP, not on CD.

I forgot to mention that at the end of the broadcast, one of the announcers said that he expected a number of teams to adopt Hawthorn's revolutionary style of playing defense, which sounded to me like zone defense. ***** The league has put up on YouTube clips of highlights of the season, including this one of the year's best goals.

I think that many here will find this an interesting recap of the year. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/12/...in-online-music

When you guys refer to the Mingus box, are you referring to the Columbia or the Candid?

Three years ago Fantasy issued CDs of recordings left off of live albums by Cal Tjader, Groove Holmes, Jaki Byard and perhaps others. I have all three of those CDs, and they are good. The only original LP I have is one that I grew up with, Groove Holmes' Living Soul. The CD was called On Basie's Bandstand. Although that CD is enjoyable, I agree with the original selection; all of the tracks on Living Soul are better than all of the tracks on Basie's Bandstand. So when material was left off the LP for time considerations, I am in favor of releasing it on CD.

The Riders have signed Jason Clermont. Clermont is a real estate agent in Regina. So whatever he left on the table with this deal, he should make it up selling houses. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

This is one of the things that I dislike about the NFL. and perhaps this is the fault of the press rather than of the coaches and players. As I see it, football on the pro level is a game of 300-pound men beating on each other for three hours, yet they always act as if the entire game was won or lost because of one play, as if what they have been doing for the rest of the three hours doesn't matter.

Pretty nifty the way the YouTube clip superimposes the two recordings! But it's just one line. Don't you need to borrow more than one line to infringe on a copyright?

Happy Birthday Dmitry, wherever you are!

In the mid-70s, UA released a series of "Very Best of..." compilations of 60s Liberty artists. I bought the one of the Classics IV. Stormy was always one of my favorites. From the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,2564117.story Lead singer of '60s group the Classics IV dies Dennis Yost, 65, helped found the band whose hits included 'Spooky,' and 'Stormy' December 9, 2008 <h2 style="">Dennis Yost</h2>Lead singer of the group Classics IV Dennis Yost, 65, the lead singer of the 1960s soft rock group the Classics IV, died Sunday at Fort Hamilton Hospital in Hamilton, Ohio, of respiratory failure, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Yost had been in failing health since suffering a traumatic brain injury in a fall at his home in 2005. The Classic IV had a series of hits, including "Spooky," "Traces of Love" and "Stormy." Yost, a native of Detroit, played drums and sang. He was an original member of the band, which formed in Jacksonville, Fla., where Yost was raised, in the early 1960s. In 1967, the band relocated to Atlanta, and a year later they had their first national hit with "Spooky." A year later "Stormy" was a hit, and "Traces of Love" made it to No. 2 in 1969. That same year, the group had a top 20 hit with "Everyday With You Girl." Buddy Buie, co-writer of the group's songs with guitarist J.R. Cobb, said: "Dennis had an incredible voice -- just a great voice for love songs." The group eventually changed its name to "Dennis Yost and the Classics IV." Although the group's lineup changed, Yost continued to perform with the group until 2005.

The Globe & Mail reports tonight that the Arena league is in danger of folding. The league has 16 teams. Jim Popp estimates that 3-5 players per team are good enough to play in the CFL. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Happy Birthday West Coast Ghost!

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