GA Russell

Calgary Stampeders 41....Montreal Alouettes 30 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home The Stamps had a big lead after three. The Als scored 20 points in the fourth to make the score respectable. Considering how much better the Als are than the rest of the East, it looks like we might see an all Western Grey Cup game. Henry Burris passed Peter Liske for team career passing yards, now trailing only Doug Flutie. I had Liske's bubble gum card when he was a rookie with the Jets. The next year the Jets signed Joe Namath, and it was good-bye Liske!

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 39....Toronto Argonauts 9 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4179314 http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home Milt Stegall entered the game 16 yards behind Allen Pitts' career record for most pass receiving yards. His first catch was a 16 yard TD pass, so that tied the record. His second catch was a 92 yard pass and run TD catch to break the record. Some day, huh? Kerry Joseph stunk the joint out. He threw 3 ints in the first half. I'm sure everyone in the stands was wishing that the Argos hadn't given away Michael Bishop, considering how well he has done in Saskatchewan. Don Matthews had told the players that he didn't owe anyone on the team anything, and that he considered this game to be a tryout for everyone. So I have to think that there will be some changes made before the next game. http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Football/article/497785 ***** I'm now listening to the Stamps-Als game. With the score tied at 10 and less than a minute to go in the half, the Stamps score a TD to take a 7 point lead. The Als go two and out, and the Stamps have the ball on the Montreal 52 with time for one play. Henry Burris heaves it up into the endzone, and Johnson catches it while covered by three guys!

The price here jumped today from $3.63 to $4.19.

As we have discussed before, I was an AFL fan when I was a boy. I had Sherrill Headrick's bubble gum card in 1961 when he played for the Dallas Texans. He was good. I didn't know that his teammates called him "Psycho"! I guess that was the sort of information the announcers of the time didn't pass on to the audience! Here's his LA Times obit: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...0,4500296.story September 11, 2008 <h2 style="">Sherrill Headrick</h2>Aggressive linebacker Sherrill Headrick, 71, a former Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, died Wednesday, the Chiefs announced. The Kansas City Star reported on its website that Headrick died of cancer. Nicknamed "Psycho" by his teammates for his aggressive play and personality, Headrick played eight seasons (1960-67) for the Texans/Chiefs franchise in the old American Football League before it merged with the NFL. He was selected to five all-AFL squads and started at middle linebacker during the team's AFL title wins in 1962 and 1966, as well as the first Super Bowl. He spent his final season with the Cincinnati Bengals after the 1968 AFL expansion draft and finished his career with 15 interceptions. He was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1993. At 6 feet 2 and a shade over 200 pounds, Headrick was small for his position but known for his ability to play through pain and injuries. In his rookie season he collided with a teammate during pregame warmups and, although his neck ached, he played anyway. Two days later doctors discovered he had a cracked vertebra. "That's why they called him Psycho," former Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson said years later. "Who would play with a broken neck?" In recent years he was wracked by debilitating arthritis. Sherrill Darlon Headrick was born March 13, 1937, in Waco, Texas, and was a star at Texas Christian University. He left TCU after three years and played one season of pro ball in Canada before signing with the Chiefs as a free agent. [He is not listed in my CFL Encyclopedia. He may have played in the Ontario league (the Ontario Rugby Football Union, aka the ORFU) like Gino Cappaletti did.]

Two games tonight, and two tomorrow night. Fred Williams Week 12 preview: http://64.246.64.33/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=s...aspx?id=4179225

Gregory Mcdonald was the author of the Fletch books. I read the first one, just called Fletch, about 2000 and really enjoyed it. But when I went to look for more, I found that they were all out of print. About a year ago, I saw at an airport book store one of the later Fletch books in quality paperback, so one of these days I'll try the next book in the series, which I think was called Fletch, Too. Here's part of his LA Times obit: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...30.story?page=1 September 12, 2008 <h2 style="">Gregory Mcdonald</h2>Author of 'Fletch' mystery books Gregory Mcdonald, 71, a former Boston Globe reporter whose best-selling "Fletch" mystery books also were made into films, died of cancer Sunday at his farm in Pulaski, Tenn., according to his manager, David List. "Fletch," published in 1974, was the first in a series of books about an investigative reporter named Irwin M. Fletcher. Actor Chevy Chase portrayed the lead character in the 1985 movie "Fletch" and the 1989 sequel "Fletch Lives." Mcdonald twice won the Edgar Allan Poe Award presented by the Mystery Writers of America and published 26 books, including "Flynn," "Running Scared" and "The Brave." Born Feb. 15, 1937, in Shrewsbury, Mass., Mcdonald graduated from Harvard University in 1958.

Till I figure out what to do, let's try this for the Baja Marimba Band. http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drf...f18442wt49y.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drf...f18443eusx4.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/dri...i67617trjzx.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drg...g18198a1lsg.jpg edit: Well, that's no good. How do I get the image to be large enough to see?

Time's up! The answer is... Baja Marimba Band! As I recall, their first album did not have such a remarkable feature, but these albums did: Rides Again For Animals Only Watch Out! Maybe others as well.

I'm surprised that we haven't had an answer for this yet, especially from TTK! I'll give it a little more time.

BMG/Your Music has had Getz au Go Go since the beginning of the year. Last month it added the new Bossa Nova Albums 5 cd box. This week it has added Getz/Gilberto #2 and SG with Laurindo Almeida. I have added these two to my cart.

All right. Here's another album cover trivia question. What 60s band usually had a man relieving himself on the cover? (I'm going to need help posting the photos. I need to learn how to do that.)

I learned today that a Sonny Rollins dvd will be released October 28 along with a live cd compilation. I expect more details next week.

The Argos fired Rich Stubler today, and replaced him with...(wait for it) Don Matthews! Apparently the players didn't like Stubler. Players have always loved playing for Matthews. It's the press who hates him. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...6710706-cp.html ***** The Tom Canada deal fell through. Canada has a spleen problem. The Ticats have agreed to accept the Bombers' first round pick for next year in exchange for Zeke Moreno. They also get the rights to a guy on the Bills' practice roster. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...6715266-cp.html http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home ***** The teams' taxi squads have increased from seven to twelve for a month, to accomodate the NFL cuts. The Argos have signed two old guys who were NFL first round picks years ago: Duane Clemons (1996) and Kenyatta Walker (2001). http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Tor...710291-sun.html

I was thinking the same thing, Tom! I don't think that Perez's solos are particularly interesting in their own right. I think that he kept them pretty conservative to be consistent with what the strings are doing.

I spent last week in Kansas on a (mostly) business trip. Friday night a friend took me to my first Eight Man high school football game. I have read references to this in the past, but I've never known anyone who went to a school that fielded an eight man team. In Kansas, if the total student population (grades 10-12), including the girls, is over 100, then the school must field an eleven man team. If under 100, then it's eight man. The field is only 80 yards between the goal lines. It is also narrower than usual, by five or six yards I think. There are five eligible receivers, so apparently the three missing men are a back and the two tackles. This was the first game of the season. My friend's team, St. John's, had no trouble scoring. Actually, the team was a composite of two schools' students, St. John's and Tipton. They played Rock Hills at Rock Hills' stadium. The bleachers were enough to accomodate only a few hundred people, and they were only on one side of the field. St. John's had a bench of only four players. Rock Hills had a team of a few more. So everyone was an ironman, playing both O and D. There are no tryouts. Anyone who wants to be on the team can be. St. John's had no trouble scoring. They never attempted a placekick PAT, and went for two (and made it) every time. Early in the third quarter, they scored a TD to make the score 46-0. At that point the game was stopped. There is a 45 point slaughter rule. It was my first high school game since I was in high school. I think that the crowd was made up entirely of the families of the players. Anybody here go to a high school so small that they played eight man football?

I'm wondering what was the issue with My Friend Flicka.

Here's a surprise. The Bombers this afternoon traded Tom Canada to the Ticats for Zeke Moreno. I thought that both of those guys were valued by their clubs, so I am surprised that each team would let their guy go. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Win...6705141-cp.html

Danilo Perez has a new album out on EmArcy called Across the Crystal Sea. (Has Universal moved all of its Verve musicians to EmArcy? So far, I've noticed James Carter, Roy Hargrove and now Perez. EmArcy is listed on the Universal website as being part of the Decca Music Group rather than the Verve Music Group.) The cover says in fine print: "Arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman". I think it would be more accurate to say that this is an Ogerman album with some help from Perez. The original idea for it was Tommy LiPuma's. His goal was to have Ogerman do another album like what he did for the Bill Evans With Symphony Orchestra album. Ogerman's arrangements here are for a lush string orchestra. I haven't heard the Bill Evans album. It has been many years since I last heard Ogerman's album Cityscape with Michael Brecker, but as I recall the arrangements are similar. The orchestra here is in the foreground, as it was with Cityscape. Perez and the rhythm section recorded their music in New York Sept., 2007. Ogerman and the orchestra recorded in Los Angeles three weeks later. Yet it sounds like Perez is accompanying the orchestra rather than the other way around! The rhythm section is Christian McBride on bass, Lewis Nash on drums and Luis Quintero on percussion. I would say that their talents are wasted, because they are hardly noticeable. There are eight tracks; two standards which feature vocals by Cassandra Wilson and six instrumentals for which Ogerman is given composer's credit. However, five of the six are "after a theme" by various classical composers. I like this album a lot, and I like it more and more with each listen. I recommend it. But I think you should know before you spend your money that 95% of your enjoyment will come from Claus Ogerman's string orchetra rather than Danilo Perez's jazz piano. By the way, the press release mentions some albums Ogerman did the arrangements for that I hadn't realized, including a couple of my favorites - Antonio Carlos Jobim's The Composer Plays and my favorite Michael Franks album Sleeping Gypsy.

Thanks for your help, BClug! Lots of news to catch up on. I'll try to take it in chronological order. But first I'll tell you something funny. Saturday I was listening to the Nebraska-San Jose State game on Sirius on my drive back home. San Jose State put up a very good fight, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Nebraska was able to put some distance between them. The Nebraska announcer said something like, "As I've said before, when a team can have a ten point lead with five minutes to go in the game, the game is pretty much over." Can you imagine a CFL announcer saying that? I pity the American rules football fan who thinks that a ten point lead with five minutes to go is safe! ***** Now let's begin with a link to the Argos' 34-31 victory over the Ticats Labor Day. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177156 ***** In a blockbuster deal, the Bombers sent Charles Roberts to the Lions for Joe Smith. Roberts is a future Hall of Famer. Smith led the league in rushing last year. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177239 http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/fo...p-4814373c.html ***** Dave Dickenson played more than 30 minutes on Labor Day, but was pulled because of dizziness. Nobody knows on what play the concussion occurred. That's how delicate the guy is. So the Stamps put him on the nine game disabled list, and you have to think that his career is over. The Stamps signed Ben Sankey to replace him. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...f6-1dcbb4294ef8 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...6654211-cp.html ***** Fred Williams Week 11 preview http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177801 ***** Calgary Stampeders 38....Edmonton Eskimos 33 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4177997 The Stamps avenge their Labor Day loss. ***** British Columbia Lions 35....Hamilton Tiger-Cats 12 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178126 The Lions are in last place in the West, but at this point I can't imagine them (or whoever finishes last in the West) not crossing over for the Eastern playoffs. ***** Montreal Alouettes 45....Toronto Argonauts 19 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178351 Was this Rich Stubler's last game as head coach? ***** Saskatchewan Roughriders 34....Winnipeg Blue Bombers 31 http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178413 What a game! The Bombers had a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter. The Riders then scored 20 unanswered points to win the game with a field goal on the last play of the game. Take that, NFL! ***** The Ticats fired Charlie Taaffe today, and replaced him with offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...aspx?id=4178544 http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Ham...6700831-cp.html

Are you sure that Paul55 isn't akanalog?

Happy Birthday sidewinder! In celebration, I recommend that you spend the day listening to your Four Freshmen Mosaic!

Son of a gun. Here is an interesting article published today about people who live without television. I note that it says that many adults point with pride that without television they are out of touch with popular culture! http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/200809...holivewithouttv

I was throwing out some old newspapers the other day, and I noticed that the last tv program I watched was on July 20th! It was an ALMS sports car race at the Mid-Ohio racetrack. So I went the entire month of August without turning on the tv. Isn't that something? I'm sure that I have never gone a calendar month without watching tv before. Now to be fair, I get Fox News, CNN and CNN Headline News on Sirius in my car, and I spent plenty of time listening to them. I don't get cable tv. If I got the Speed Channel, there were a number of races I would have watched. And if I had known when the men's beach volleyball gold medal game was to have been aired, I would have watched that. But still, between my CD collection, the internet and Sirius, I just don't need television any more. The day will come when there is something I want to watch, but I don't have any idea when that will be. Certainly election night. Maybe before! I should check the ALMS website to see if any of their races will be carried by a network. Other than that, I can't think of anything.

ECU is in Greenville. I was in Greenville briefly today. I didn't see any signs of the victory, but I did see a billboard (college football billboards for season tickets are common around here) with Coach Holtz (Lou's son) which said "We're ready. Are you?" On my drive home I was listening to the Colorado-Colorado State game on Sirius. Near home, I stopped to fill the gas tank. During that brief time, I missed two kickoffs returned for TDs on consecutive plays!