GA Russell

Don Wittman has died. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a CFL ballgame in 1996. He was a favorite of mine, and I always thought that it was a mistake to move him off the Grey Cup in favor of the next generation. Here's his Canadian Press obituary: http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...lobeSports/home

My mother was a big Don Shirley fan, and bought two or three of his Cadence albums with virtually identical covers. My mother was not a jazz fan. I remember that Leonard Feather in his Encyclopedia said that whatever it was that Shirley played, it was not jazz. I haven't heard my mother's albums in over forty years. I don't think that anyone in the family still has them, although maybe my sister does. I don't know what I would think of them today. I do recall thinking that he had a nice touch on the keyboard, but I didn't know much then.

I bet some of you remember this guy. Here is his obit from the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...news-obituaries Jack Eagle Comedian acted in TV commercials Jack Eagle, 81, a roly-poly comedian and actor who appeared in commercials, most notably as Brother Dominic in a Xerox ad that first aired during the 1977 Super Bowl, died Jan. 10 in New York, Newsday reported. The cause of death was not given. The 5-foot-4, 210-pound Jewish comedian had a stand-up act in the Catskills before landing the role that gave him international recognition. Playing a medieval monk, he was able to quickly reproduce 500 illuminated manuscripts, to which his abbot exclaimed, "It's a miracle!" "A general call had gone out for a cherubic type," Eagle told a Times reporter in 1977. "Of course, I've never thought of myself that way. I've always seen myself as more of a Gregory Peck type." In 1978, Eagle said in an interview with the Associated Press that he earned more from his commercial work in the previous two years than he had in all his prior work in show business. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 15, 1926, Eagle played the trumpet during the big-band era. He began doing commercials in the early 1960s. Among his other notable parts was Mr. Cholesterol in commercials for Fleischmann's margarine in the 1970s.

Herschel Walker has written a book in which he admits to having multiple personalities disorder. This comes as a surprise to former teammates. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,323927,00.html

Georgia Frontiere died today. I remember after she took over the Rams she wrote a poem with some sorry-ass sexual inuendo which she read on the air during the CBS pre-game show. Irv Cross had a look on his face I still remember when they went from her to him. It was kind of like "Yecchh" times twelve! Here's her AP Obituary: http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home Rams owner Frontiere dies Associated Press January 18, 2008 at 8:28 PM EST LOS ANGELES — Georgia Frontiere, the St. Louis native who became a hometown hero when she brought the NFL's Rams from Los Angeles in 1995, died Friday. She was 80. Frontiere had been hospitalized for breast cancer for several months, the Rams said in a statement posted on their website. "Our mom was dedicated to being more than the owner of a football team," daughter Lucia Rodriguez and son Chip Rosenbloom said in the statement. "She loved the Rams' players, coaches, and staff. The warmth and generosity she exuded will never be forgotten." The one-time nightclub singer was married seven times, starting at age 15. Her sixth husband, Carroll Rosenbloom, owned the Los Angeles Rams at the time of his drowning death in 1979. The Rams moved twice under Frontiere's leadership, first relocating from the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1980 to Anaheim, 55 kilometres away. St. Louis' original NFL franchise, the Cardinals, had left for Arizona in 1988. After the city failed to land an expansion team, civic leaders built a US$260 million, taxpayer-financed domed stadium anyway, in hopes of luring another team. Frontiere, born in St. Louis, agreed in January 1995 to move, causing her to be demonized in Southern California but heralded in her hometown. At a downtown rally soon after the move was announced, thousands chanted "Georgia! Georgia!" "You take my breath away," Frontiere told the crowd. "It's so good to be back in St. Louis, my hometown." The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000. John Shaw, president of the Rams, said Frontiere was a "loyal, generous, and supportive owner who was totally committed" to the team. "This is an enormous loss for me and for the Rams' organization. All of our prayers and sympathy go out to her family," Shaw said. The Rams were the first major sports team to arrive in California when then they moved from Cleveland in 1946. They became the first football or baseball team to leave the state with the move to St. Louis. Frontiere was a fixture at Rams games during the heyday of the "Greatest Show on Turf" teams that made the playoffs five out of six seasons from 1999 through 2004. Led by quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk and receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, the Rams won the 2000 Super Bowl 23-16 and lost the Super Bowl two seasons later on a last-second field goal. Frontiere was born Georgia Irwin on Nov. 21, 1927, and attended Soldan High School before moving to California at age 15. She wed that year, though the marriage was eventually annulled, according to published reports. Her second husband was killed when hit by a bus. She left her third husband to try to make it as a showgirl in Las Vegas. Her fourth marriage — to a stage manager of the Sacramento Music Circus — ended in divorce after three years. Husband No. 5 was a Miami television producer. She married Rosenbloom in 1966, shortly after he took over the Baltimore Colts. He eventually swapped that franchise for the Rams, which his wife took control of after he drowned. Frontiere remarried again after Rosenbloom's death. Her seventh husband, Dominic Frontiere, was an award-winning composer. They divorced in 1988 upon his release from prison after serving time on tax charges related to the scalping of more than 2,500 tickets to the 1980 Super Bowl in Pasadena. Frontiere left day-to-day operation of her team to Shaw, both when the franchise was in Southern California and after the move to St. Louis. Shaw continues to run the team from Los Angeles. The team has missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Frontiere became involved in several philanthropic efforts in St. Louis after moving the team, including the creation in 1997 of the St. Louis Rams Foundation. According to the team's website, the Rams and the foundation have contributed more than $5 million to charities in the St. Louis area. Frontiere also committed $1 million to the Fulfillment Fund, an organization that helps needy high school students pay for college. She has served as a member of several boards, including the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, Saint Louis Symphony, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and the American Foundation for AIDS Research. In addition to her two children, she is survived by six grandchildren, and Earle Weatherwax, her companion of 19 years.

Wait! I think it went: Double your pleasure, Double your fun, With double good double fresh Doublemint gum! Something like that.

7/4, that was Certs! Certs is a candy mint. No, Certs is a breath mint. Certs is two, two, two mints in one! Doublemint was, Double your pleasure, Double your fun, Double your (something, taste?) with Doublemint gum!

In September ECM released a 2 CD set of Keith Jarrett's performance at Montreux from a couple of years ago called My Foolish Heart. Equal billing is given to Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. All of the songs are standards. I've had it since October and have been playing Disc 1 quite a bit. I really like it. It is much more joyous than the other Jarrett ECMs I have, which were from the 70s and early 80s. Yesterday I played Disc 2 for the first time. I like it too, but not quite as much as Disc 1. I think Disc 1's improvisations are more closely aligned with the melodies than Disc 2's. I noticed last month that this made a number of people's Top Ten lists for the year. I don't think I could quickly name ten records from the year that I like more, but I wouldn't say that it is such an obviously superior performance that the set deserves to be considered in a year's top ten. But I would give it a very solid four stars. I'm not the world's biggest Keith Jarrett fan, although I like all of his that I have. (FWIW, my least favorite is The Koln Concert.) I think he kept the flame for standards alive between 1970 and 1990; and I think he deserves more credit for that than what any particular record calls for. If you like Keith Jarrett, I can definitely recommend this. CD Universe has it for $21.99. By the way, four of the songs are in a ragtime style that I find particularly appealling - light, bouncy, and as I said joyous. And the moaning doesn't bother me anymore. I kind of like it now!

jmjk, I've played this record more than any other this month, and I'm really digging it. Without a doubt my favorite new record in many months.

Following the new regime taking over at EMI, The Rolling Stones are, for their new album, letting Universal release it rather than EMI, which continues to be their record company for the time being, whatever that means. Inasmuch as the Stones have their own record company, Rolling Stones Records, I don't understand what difference it will make; but I have to think that EMI is not pleased. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/17b24080-c487-11...00779fd2ac.html

Here's a surprise: Jason Maas has signed with the Eskimos to back up Ricky Ray. This article says that they are now admitting that Maas had two arm surgeries and two back surgeries. No wonder he hasn't been any good since he left Edmonton two years ago! Personally, I'll be a little surprised if he makes the team. I think he's through. The article says that Montreal cut him, and I don't think they would have if he had anything left. Edmonton has Stefan LeFors as their backup QB, and I don't see them paying three guys who can start, unlike BC. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsFootball/home

Happy Birthday HBJ!

Wow! Kent Austin has resigned as head coach of the Roughriders to become the offensive coordinator of Ole Miss. http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/sto...169&k=78303

I have cdrs much older than five years old with no sign of any deterioration at all. Great news, Lon! But I'm not making it up. Don't CDRs go bad sooner than professionally made CDs?

Happy Birthday Clunky!

ak, for a couple of years now there has been a shortage of quality QBs in the Canadian league. Good QBs have played well past their prime because the teams didn't have anybody to replace them. Danny McManus and Damon Allen come to mind right away. Today, the BC Lions are the only team whose backup is considered any good. I get the impression from commentators that many are unimpressed with most NFL QBs as well; but I am not sure whether the quality is going down, or maybe we just have more commentators who treat as a bum anybody who is not good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. Still, my feeling about the pass receivers is based upon the number of times I've seen passes dropped that hit the guy's hands. Can't blame the QB for that!

ak, thanks for your interest! For as long as I have been a sports fan, I have felt that in pro football there was no shortage of quality players. The shortage was in competent management and coaching. However, the last two years we have seen a great many dropped passes in both leagues, and I now feel that there is a shortage of quality pass receivers. Remember the Super Bowl between the Steelers and the Seahawks? That game was loaded with dropped passes by both teams. One of the Seattle players took the brunt of the criticism in the press, but he had plenty of company. I believe the fault lies with the college coaches, who are recruiting and playing guys with speed instead of guys who can catch.

The league has increased the salary cap $150,000. to $4.2 million. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/New...4774690-cp.html The Bombers' Kyries Hebert has jumped to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ticats have named former Stamps defensive co-ordinator Denny Creehan as their new defensive co-ordinator. http://www.thespec.com/Sports/article/305759 ***** I received for Christmas a book called The Canadian Football League - The Phoenix of Professional Sports Leagues by Steve O'Brien. I learned a great deal about the financial difficulties of the league in the mid-90s and the US expansion of that same period. I recommend it. ***** I also received for Christmas a book about the American Football League called Going Long by Jeff Miller. I was an AFL fan when I was a boy, and I recommend it if any of you are old enough to remember that league. It mentions that Cookie Gilchrist today has his own website at http://www.cookiegilchrist.com Edit to add: It looks like Cookie Gilchrist has taken his page down. Oh well! I lived in New Orleans when he led the boycott of the league's all-star game there. Then I remember when he refused induction into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, claiming that he was the victim of racism. According to the book, he was a headache wherever he went. But he was a great player!

What you say has the ring of truth, Chris. My first thought upon reading your prognostication was that people would want to collect "hard copies". But upon reflection, I think the audio fidelity will have something to do with it too, just as 50s LPs are sought after, while 80s LPs are not. I remember that 1987 was the year in the US that CDs started to catch on. The following year, the record labels said that they would not accept vinyl returns, so the retailers quit ordering vinyl, giving the consumer no choice but to buy a CD player and CDs. But by then you could buy a decent CD player for between $100. and $150., so people were willing to go along. But most important, most people perceived that the CD provided better sound. That was because a cheap hundred dollar CD player did indeed provide better sound than a cheap hundred dollar turntable did. But now it is different. I think that most people feel that an mp3 is good enough, but no one thinks that it is superior to a CD. So I expect that sales of downloads will depend upon the price. The price for an album download at AAJ is typically $12., I think. I don't think many people will be willing to spend that for a download. Jim has suggested that a download should cost five bucks, and I can imagine that there are people who will spend that amount who won't spend twelve. The other issue about downloads is the question in my mind about how long the burned CD will last. As I understand it, burned CDs of downloads go bad after five years. Is that right? Does anyone have any personal experience in that regard? I think there are a lot of adult music collectors who will be unwilling to spend more than a few bucks for a record that's going to go bad in a few years. Let me mention one more point. We here use the internet, and I suspect that none of us is intimidated by the concept of downloading, although few of us will prefer it. But I read a number of times last year that Walmart is the #1 music retailer in the US. A lot of people who shop at Walmart don't have computers. They spend their money on big screen TVs to watch Nascar (at least in the Southeast which I am familiar with). I can't recall what I read sometime in 2006 about the percentage of total album sales claimed by country music, but it was a lot. I can't believe that the country music labels will stop making CDs to sell at Walmart, because I believe that a sizeable percentage of country music fans will never become used to dealing with the internet. One final thought. No matter what the majors do, I suspect there will always be a supply side demand for CDBaby. There are going to be artists who will want to sell CDs at concerts, and will have CDBaby keep a few copies on hand for internet sales. So while the days of Blue Note (and other old recordings) CDs may be numbered, the days of current artists selling their own hard copies may be just beginning.

Thanks for posting that 7/4. It's funny that these articles about iTunes and such never discuss the success of eMusic. If the majors are willing to go without DRM, why aren't they doing business with eMusic?

Johnny Podres died yesterday. I had his bubble gum card in 1959. I would say that he more than anyone else was given credit for Brooklyn's World Series championship. Baseball is a team game, but Podres got all the credit! Here's his AP obituary. The obit mentions Tommy Byrne. I read in Byrne's obituary a few weeks ago that he became quite a civic leader of Wake Forest just outside Raleigh. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...tsBaseball/home Obituary: Johnny Podres, 75 Pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title Associated Press January 14, 2008 at 2:41 AM EST GLENS FALLS, N.Y. — Johnny Podres, who pitched the Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series title in 1955, died Sunday at the age of 75. A spokesman for Glens Falls Hospital confirmed Podres' death but said he didn't know any details. The left-hander was a four-time All-Star and the first Most Valuable Player in World Series history. He became a hero to every baseball fan in Brooklyn when the Dodgers ended decades of frustration by beating the Yankees to win the World Series. It was the first time a team had won a best-of-seven World Series after losing the first two games, and it was Brooklyn's only World Series victory. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. A June, 2007, file photo shows members of the 1955 world champion Brooklyn Dodgers, from left, Johnny Podres, Duke Snider, Carl Erskine and Don Zimmer in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Dodgers lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium, then the Dodgers won the third 8-3 at Ebbets Field. Podres, going the distance on his 23rd birthday, scattered seven hits. In the climactic seventh game, at Yankee Stadium, Podres shut out New York 2-0 on eight hits, relying on his fastball and a deceptive changeup. As the story goes, Podres told his teammates to get him just one run and the Dodgers would win Game 7. They got him two, and the franchise celebrated its first and only championship while playing in Brooklyn. Years later, Podres was uncertain he made such a brash statement. “I don't know if I said it or not. That's what they said I said,” a grinning Podres recalled in 2005. “Probably young and dumb — something like that would haunt you your whole life. ... You put on a big league uniform, you've got to think you're pretty good.” Tommy Byrne, the losing pitcher in that game, died Dec. 20. Podres' career spanned 15 years with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. He retired in 1969 at age 36 with a lifetime record of 148-116. Podres also served as a pitching coach when he was older, helping develop Frank Viola when he was with the Minnesota Twins and Curt Schilling when he was on the Philadelphia Phillies staff.

Gerry Staley has died. I had his bubble gum card in 1961. I remember seeing on the card that he was born in 1920, and was one of the oldest major leaguers at that time. Nowadays, there are plenty of 40 year olds in the majors, but then it wasn't so. Here's his LA Times obit: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-...news-obituaries Gerry Staley, 87; 3-time All-Star pitcher From Times Staff and Wire Reports January 6, 2008 Gerry Staley, a three-time All-Star pitcher who was a key reliever for the 1959 Chicago White Sox team that lost to the Dodgers in the World Series, has died. He was 87. Staley died Wednesday of natural causes at his home in Hazel Dell, Wash., his son, Brian, told the Associated Press. The right-hander pitched for six teams during a 15-year career that lasted from 1947 to '61. He compiled a win-loss record of 134-111 and had a 3.70 earned-run average. Staley went 8-5 with 14 saves and a 2.24 ERA in 1959. He came out of the bullpen to pitch in four World Series games, tossing 8 1/3 innings with a 2.16 ERA as the White Sox lost to the Dodgers in six games. He gave up the game-winning home run to Gil Hodges in the eighth inning of Game 4 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Staley led the American League that season by pitching in 67 games. The next year, he went 13-8 with 10 saves and was named to the American League All-Star team. "I played in an era when there were a heck of a lot of good ballplayers," he said in 2005. "You can't single out one over all the rest. If you kept the ball in the park, you were doing a good deed." Staley broke into the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947 and, as a starter, compiled 54 wins from 1951 to 1953. He was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1952 and 1953 and is one of the few pitchers to make All-Star teams as both a starter and a reliever. After pitching for the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees, he landed with the White Sox in 1956 and soon became a full-time reliever. Gerald Lee Staley was born in Brush Prairie, Wash., on Aug. 21, 1920. He played in the minors and served in World War II with an Army evacuation hospital unit in the South Pacific. After his baseball career ended in 1961, Staley returned to Washington state and was superintendent of the Clark County Parks and Recreation Department for 17 years. Staley spent his later years tending to his garden and fishing for steelhead. He was inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame, the Clark County Hall of Fame and the Washington State Horseshoe Pitchers Hall of Fame. "He had to find something to pitch after baseball," Brian Staley said. Staley is also survived by a daughter.

Likewise, Maynard Ferguson - A Message from Birdland is no longer available.

I am close to completely out of touch with today's hits. I read this morning the list of the week's top ten, and I had never heard of any of them or the singers either. But I will say this. When I was in high school in the 60s, all of the kids on American Bandstand agreed that what they were looking for in a rock 'n' roll record was that "it had a good beat and was easy to dance to". I have heard only a few of Britney Spears' hits, but every one of them fit that bill.

Belated Happy Birthday Andy!