Credit Past Due

     It is past time to right a wrong.   How many of us have seen the original animated "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"?    Only a few didn't raise their hands, the rest of us started humming one of the great tunes from this holiday special.  But the most famous of songs, "The Grinch Song", has never been credited to the singer.

His name, Thurl Ravenscroft (not made up).   

     For Disneyphiles, he is also several voices in Disneyland and Disney World.  My favorite, the singing busts in the Haunted Mansion.  

He is Uncle Theodore, second head from the left, singing the lead.

 

For Sugar Frosted Flakes slurpers, he was Tony The Tiger.

 

Because of this totally unacceptable neglect towards Mr. Ravenscroft,

I hereby declare 

December 15th as Thurl Ravenscroft Day.

Accentuate The Positive....

I have been reminded to stop dwelling on the negative and look towards the bright side of things as we enter the holiday season.

OK, uh....

Burns native and Oregon Alum, Kellen Clemens has led 

the St. Louis Rams to 2 straight wins.

The Duck Men's basketball team is off to a great start 

and has added some exciting new faces.

The Red Wings are playing good enough to 

stay close to the leaders in their division of the NHL.

The Lions are still holding on 

to the top spot in their division.

The Tigers look like they will be able to hang on

to Cy Young winner, Max Scherzer,

 after unloading Prince Fielder's huge contract.

Baylor lost, too.

There, you happy?

Just Shut Up, Already

My favorite quote comes from Abraham Lincoln, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."   When Josh Huff and De'Anthony Thomas popped off about their disdain for the Rose Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowls in existence, they set their team up for failure.  Stupid, is all I can think to say, and we all know what Uncle Si has to say about that,

I would ask you two about the Civil War, but you probably think it's no big deal, either.  I wonder how excited Oregon State is about the game?   Oh and by the way, the bouquet of Roses waiting for you at home is from Stanford.  The card simply says, Thanks.

Cheers & Jeers

Cheers
For Super Mariota!   On the short list for the Heisman, many pro scouts have him at the top of their board for the upcoming draft (stay, Marcus, stay).  And, finally, finally, he got to play in the 4th quarter sending the Dogs to their renovated kennel with their tails between their legs.



Jeers
At Johnny Manziel, leading his team mates in a prayer on the sidelines before last weekend's A & M's game winning FG.  C'mon, if God cared about football, Notre Dame would never lose or have gone through the embarrassing Manti Te'o fiasco.

Cheers
For sure-thing AL Cy Young winner, Max Scherzer has been incredible!  Regular season winner of 21 games, Mad Max has only given up 4 runs and struck out 24 in 16 innings of post season play. 





Jeers
At the Tiger bullpen, sheesh.  GM Dave Dombroski should be on the phone NOW to any top free agent reliever.  Open up the wallet, Mr. Ilitch!

Cheers
To the new look Red Wings currently topping the standings in the Atlantic Division of their new home in the Eastern conference.






Jeers
For the greed of the Oregon Athletic Department dropping a Eugene travel agency in favor of a Texas-based firm to save a paltry $30,000 (drop in the bucket for the U of O Athletic Dept.)  Nice gesture for the locals, now the U of O is contributing to Oregon unemployment.    I would think the last business venture the Ducks had in Texas would have left a sour taste, but I guess not.   Anybody know if Willie Lyles does airline rez?



Cheers
For me, finally getting my wife a new car (this may earn me a jeer, as well, for waiting so long).  Her old one had no heater and the shocks were so shot it was like riding a roller coaster.  By the way, the hamsters did not come standard.


 


Jeers
For the Duck's Colt Lyerla leaving the team in mid-season.   Obviously his agenda was more important than the team's.   Good bye to a problem child, hello to Johnny Mundt and Pharoah Brown.

Cheers
To my daughter for leading her junior class to a win over the seniors in their annual dance competition! 











Jeers
To me for not writing anything in such a long time.
What a pathetic excuse for a blogger!

College Job Opportunity

It is apparent that college athletes need more supervision, I propose to the NCAA a new job that college teams should be required to fill.  It would be called the Supervisor of Bozo's or S.O.B. for short.   These S.O.B.'s would be in the hip pocket of the screw ups to make sure they stay within the team and NCAA guidelines.  I could be an S.O.B. with a bit of pushing and welcome the chance to be paid to be an S.O.B.   They would answer to a board from the NCAA.  This board would be known as the Assertive Scholastic Supervisory  Enforcement Section or A.S.S.E.S.   Just to be clear, the S.O.B.'s would answer to the A.S.S.E.S.

Cases in point:

Johnny Manziel

A case of too much too soon.   Add to that a kid of privilege that has probably been entitled all his life.  In an article with ESPN, his Dad talks about Johnny's temper and his drinking to cope.  OK, Dad put the hammer down, I know if my parents had told me to buck up at age 20, I would have listened.  Or is it too late to start parenting at this point.  Reports indicate A & M will likely be starting a new QB this season.  "Johnny Football" needs a real S.O.B. to keep him on campus - one that will take away his Sharpie, turn off his cell phone, and set his alarm clock.  Remember this kid initially committed to Oregon - glad he changed his mind.   Really makes you appreciate Mariota now, doesn't it?

Jeremy Hill 

LSU recently reinstated Hill after this twice guilty idiot avoided incarceration for the second time.   He had been in trouble once for a reprehensible act while a high school senior, but this time he sucker punched a guy, sending him to the hospital.   He needs an S.O.B. to jack his jaw and then put him on a leash.  I have to say coach Les Miles really needs to grow a pair.   I understand second chances and have promoted them on this blog, but this is his third chance - how many does he get?  Would a 2nd stringer been given this many opportunities?

Michael Dyer

List of matriculation:
Auburn (2 years) - kicked off team for failing drug tests
 transferred to
Arkansas State - never played a game after he was pulled over for speeding and police confiscated a gun in his trunk
enrolled at
Arkansas Baptist - awarded an Associate of Arts degree
headed for
Louisville - where coach Charlie Strong has stated "there will be zero tolerance" of violating the team's five core values, which include no drugs and no guns.  Geez, thanks for spelling that out for me, I thought it would be OK for the kids to dope it up and shoot off a few rounds.  The S.O.B. for Dyer should have his bags packed, no telling where he will head next.

If instituted, my hope is that the  A.S.S.E.S. will be able to oversee the S.O.B.'s efforts to not let any NCAA athlete fall into a crack.

Second Chances

     We have all said or done something that was totally stupid, whether we put our foot in our mouth or acted irresponsibly.   Riley Cooper, in just one word, fixed a label on himself as a racist.  The kid (yep, all of 25) made an egregious error by using a racial slur.   Probably fueled by a few beers, his Jiminy Cricket was on snooze.  He has publicly apologized and from watching his demeanor and body language, I believe he is truly embarrassed and sorry for the incident.

But will he be given a second chance?   I would certainly hope so, especially on a team that includes Michael Vick, whose mistakes left a trail of dead and mangled dogs and landed him in jail.   All that seems to be forgotten now.   If he envisions himself the leader of the Eagles, Vick should be the first one to extend a hand to Cooper and help him understand what his actions have done.   Not with condemnation, but in a human being helping a human being manner.   Team mates need to talk with Riley and let them know how they feel, and offer a way to move on. They also need to look at themselves and realize that they are not all that perfect either.  I hope for the sake of this kid, his team mates step up.  They can make this a chance to improve him or ruin the rest of his life.  Coach Kelly may be a first year NFL coach, but if any one is capable of handling difficult player situations he is the guy.   LaGarrette Blount and Kiko Alonso are a couple of examples.   I have faith in the Chip, but now is the chance to see what the Eagles players are really made of.   I hope for the best.

Quoting from the Human League's song Human

'I'm only human
Of flesh and blood I'm made
Human
Born to make mistakes"

Dear Commissioner Goodell

Hi Roger,

     Watching the NFL network today I was treated to a recap of the brilliant rookie QB's of 2012.   I am a credit reader, so when I saw who was narrating, I thought, "not a great idea."   The rapper Ludacris provided the voice overs.   You do know you have an image problem, right?   Using someone who was fired by Pepsi due to lyrics in his pieces that glamorize drugs, violence, and disrespect of women just doesn't seem to be a wise move.  Distancing yourself from this sort of crowd might be the thing to do - just a thought.   Besides I would have done it for a fraction of the cost that he charged.   Think about it....call me....

                 Sincerely,




















PS, how about that new sports agent, Jay Z?   There's a nightmare waiting to happen....