GA Russell

Berigan, my local library has plenty of videotapes. I suggest you try yours first, and give them the opportunity to turn you down.

Bob Howsam has died. His obit remembers him primarily for his work with the Reds, but I remember him as a Denver guy who founded the Broncos, and who had the Denver franchise in Branch Rickey's proposed Continental League (which evaporated when the National granted a franchise to the Mets). Here's his LA Times obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,3443703.story Bob Howsam, 89; executive assembled baseball's 'Big Red Machine' From Times Staff and Wire Reports February 20, 2008 Bob Howsam, a baseball and football executive who assembled the "Big Red Machine" in Cincinnati, helped put the St. Louis Cardinals in a World Series and co-founded the Denver Broncos, died Tuesday at his winter home in Sun City, Ariz. He was 89. Howsam, who also lived in Glenwood Springs, Colo., had heart problems, said his son, Robert Howsam of Colorado Springs. In 1967 Howsam became general manager of the Reds and is credited with building one of the most dominating teams in baseball history by hiring Sparky Anderson as field manager and orchestrating important trades -- such as the separate deals that brought Joe Morgan and George Foster to the Reds in 1971. Led by future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and Morgan and spurred by Pete Rose, the Big Red Machine won successive World Series in 1975-76. They also captured four National League pennants and won six division titles in the 1970s. "He put together an organization that became the model for all of baseball," said Bob Castellini, the Reds' president and chief executive. "From what I've seen, I think the Big Red Machine could have been the greatest ballclub ever," Howsam said in 2004. "I know the Yankees compared in the 1920s. We had such great balance." Howsam remained with the Reds until 1978, then returned in the GM role from 1983 to '84, bringing Rose back to the team as player/manager. He left the Reds for good after Marge Schott bought the franchise. Before joining the Reds, Howsam became general manager of baseball's Cardinals in 1964, the year they beat the New York Yankees in the World Series. Howsam started his sports career in 1947 as owner of the Denver Bears of the Class A Western League, later taking the baseball team to triple-A as a Yankees affiliate, his son said. Howsam spearheaded the construction of Bears Stadium, which would later be expanded to become Mile High Stadium, the Broncos' first permanent home. Howsam helped found the American Football League in 1959 and was principal owner of the Broncos. His co-owners included his brother Lee. "Without Bob Howsam, the Broncos would not exist; that's all there is to it," Broncos spokesman Jim Saccomano said. The Howsams sold the team in 1961. Howsam later was a member of the Colorado Baseball Commission, which helped bring the Rockies and major league baseball to Denver. He also served as a consultant to the Rockies. Born in Denver in 1918, Howsam attended the University of Colorado, where he met his wife, Janet. They married in 1939 and had two sons, Robert and Edwin.

The Eskimos have cut Pat Woodcock. I think he's done. He was never the same after he left the Als. The Ticats have re-signed their MVP Zeke Moreno, and their backup QB Richie Williams. Williams looked terrific when he got the chance to play this year, and I think he has a real future in the league. The Als cut Mike Strickland, and said that Steve Charbonneau has retired. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Happy Birthday O keeper of the AotW flame!

I figure that comes to about 1.5 Mosaic CDs per week for four years! Do you have time to listen to anything else?

Reggie Hunt has signed with the Als. This article from Dan Ralphs says that both JoJuan Armour and Dario Romero turned down more money from the Als to sign with Calgary and Edmonton, respectively. It looks to me like I'm not the only one who is skeptical of the Als' hiring as a head coach somebody with zero CFL experience. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Mon...4860421-cp.html

It looks like it will be announced tomorrow. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...portsOther/home edit to add subtitle

Happy Birthday Sandy! Hope you got a Mosaic or something else good!

John, I'm jealous that you have the Mosaic! Quite some time ago there was a thread which asked, Which Mosaic do you most regret not buying before it went out of print? At the time, I answered the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis. But today it would be the Maynard Ferguson.

Apple has lowered the price of a 1G iPod Shuffle to $49, and the 2G Shuffle to $69. I think it was jazzshrink who said that he enjoys using his as a spare to his Nano. The 1G holds 240 songs, which I guess is about 16 hours. http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/19/ipod-sh...ice-cut-now-49/ edit for typo

JoJuan Armour has signed with Calgary. The Bombers have re-signed Matt Sheridan, so they were able to keep all three of their top free agents. Where they found the money, I don't know. I guess it will be Grey Cup or bust for Winnipeg this year. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Chas, you're making me laugh!

I got the games on dial up just fine until the middle of the 2006 season, when all of the stations except the Saskatchewan Roughriders' station apparently upgraded their websites, and caused me problems. Most of the stations are owned by the same company, Corus. Fortunately for me, the Roughriders won the Grey Cup this year, so I was able to listen to the important games with no difficulty. But I did miss a few I wanted to hear. I had problems with my telephone connection, static caused by a nearby electric fence, starting in September, and I upgraded to a satellite ISP. The service is much better now. My problem with dial up speed wasn't with most radio stations. It was that I couldn't watch YouTube.

Interesting that you should say that, Chas. Just yesterday I read the text of a speech given by a journalist from England who said that the staffs of today's newspapers are only one-third what they were ten years ago. The result is that the people don't have the time to investigate and write on everything they are assigned to cover. The result of that is that press releases are often passed along as news articles. He said this is also true for 24 hour television news channels. edit for typo

In regard to the indoor plumbing wisecrack ...I went camping a few years ago and used an outhouse. All things considered, it was a more pleasant experience than using these federally mandated johns that don't flush! Chas, I don't watch the CFL games. I listen to them on the internet. All of them are broadcast free. Early on in last year's CFL thread, I posted the links to each of the eight radio stations' websites. Don't tell the CFL, but if I had to I would pay the yearly fee that other leagues charge for their internet broadcasts.

Here's an article that says that Toshiba will announce tomorrow that it will discontinue both hardware and media production of HD DVD next month. http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/18/toshiba...rrow-stop-sale/

Only in America! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1202870361...=googlenews_wsj

Help me out. Wasn't he the one who said, "Jake, it's chinatown"? You can see his picture with the link. Here's his LA Times obituary: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...1,1062640.story Perry Lopez, 78; character actor in 'Chinatown' MOVIE AND TV VETERAN: Perry Lopez was perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Lou Escobar in the classic 1974 film "Chinatown." February 17, 2008 Perry Lopez, 78, a veteran character actor perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Lou Escobar opposite Faye Dunaway and Jack Nicholson in the classic 1974 film "Chinatown," died Thursday of lung cancer at the Rehabilitation Centre of Beverly Hills, according to his friend and executor, actor James Victor. Born in New York City, Lopez got his start on the stage before moving into film with an uncredited role in "Creature From the Black Lagoon." He also had roles in such familiar films as "Mister Roberts," "McClintock," "Che!" and "Kelly's Heroes." In addition, he appeared in dozens of television shows, including "The Lone Ranger," "Bonanza," "Charlie's Angels," "Mission: Impossible" and "Star Trek." Sixteen years after "Chinatown," he reprised the role of Escobar, who was promoted to captain, in "The Two Jakes" featuring Nicholson, who also directed the firm.

I have always felt that when Jack Ruby approached Lee Harvey Oswald, there was a look of recognition on Oswald's face, and that he knew what was coming. Now we have a purported transcript of a conversation the two had two months before Kennedy's assasination. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331045,00.html

Here's a good article from Saturday morning listing the top ten free agents: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/200...852305-sun.html ***** Richard Karikari has signed with Calgary. I suspect he's done, but we'll see. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Cal...854424-sun.html

Is there a specific thread I should be looking for? PS - Welcome, pollock!

I have the honor of picking the next two AotW's, and the first (for the first two weeks of March) will be The Maynard Ferguson Orchestra's A Message from Birdland on Roulette. I want to give you a heads up so that those who are interested will have time to order it. It is available from BMG/Your Music; and from CD Universe (using the Big O Link!) for $13.59. All of it was included in the Mosaic box, if you have that. I'll plan to start the discussion March 1.

Well, let's see: the expiration date on the driver license (1/24/75) happens to be the same date as Larry's death. Is it a gag? Or was the California DMV just amazingly prescient? LOL Ron, do you remember everybody's date of death, or just the Stooges'!

I'm in agreement with Aggie's view of moral duties except for one point. (I do think, however, that Aggie is discussing moral duty and not the law when he discusses a license to enjoy recorded music. I'm not aware of any law or court decision which has stated the law as Aggie describes it.) Does anyone know what the length of copyright was in the US back in the 50s? My concern is with the retroactive nature of Sonny Bono's law. For example, let's say that the length of copyright in 1952 was 25 years. When the recording was made in 1952, both the artist and the record company had no expectation of any ownership rights after 1977. Their efforts and money expended were predicated on having the exclusive right to compensation and ownership for 25 years. When Sonny Bono came along, the copyright was extended retroactively. That's a legal matter. But I don't see it as a moral matter. If the record company and the artist agreed to a 25-year deal, I don't feel that the consumer has a moral duty to pay compensation after 25 years just because the Congress says that the artist and record company have a legal right. That said, I have no problem behaving as if the consumer does have the moral duty. I have never illegally downloaded a song, and I don't expect to. edit for typo