Innsbruck 1976

Lake Placid was pretty cool, but for some reason this was my favorite Winter Olympics. I'm sure it has something to do with this legendary downhill gold medal performance that emerges from my memory vault every 4 years.

And By The Way...

The list grew shorter this year. I was right about New Orleans.

And then there were four. Who will be the next team to get out?

I'd have to say Houston.

How Bad I Did

Yes, I'll point out, unless anyone has forgotten, that in September, right before the start of the football season, I tried to Carnac how the teams would do.

And yes, it is true that I picked the Colts and the Saints, the two best teams this year, to finish 3rd in their respective divisions.

And yes, I picked the Bengals to finish last. But who could have seen that one coming?

I did pick 3 division winners right. Of course, there were 8 division winners total, but is that really important?

I also got the entire NFC West and AFC East correct.

I also picked 16 out of the 32 teams to finish in their correct standing slot, which is up significantly from last year.

So I guess, despite a couple of embarrassing moments, I did okay.

Things Not Appreciated

When it first aired, I watched Hee Haw for the comedy. I'd leave the room when a song started and come back when it was over. Or at the very least, try not to pay attention. Unless there was a cartoon dancing pig or farm animal band.

Even though I still laugh at the jokes and surreal twist on country life, now that I'm watching episodes again after 40 years have passed, I'm amazed at the musical talent on the show. I've probably watched 15 episodes from the years 1969 to 1971, and so far the guests have included Charlie Pride, Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, Tammy Wynette, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Loretta Lynn and George Jones.

And that doesn't count Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Grandpa Jones and Stringbean being on every week.

Here's a clip of Grandpa, String, Roy and Bobby Thompson from Hee Haw.



It's interesting to note how different their playing styles are.

I'll never forget riding to school one day, when I was in 5th grade, and learning Stringbean had been murdered. Sadly, because I didn't watch many of the musical acts back then, all I knew about him until recently was that he was on Hee Haw and he was killed at his home by armed robbers.



Thanks to reruns and YouTube, I have learned what a great talent he was. It's like watching a great guitarist.



There's so much of this stuff out there to enjoy. Beats anything on TV now, most assuredly.

Super Bowl Pick

It's been so long, I've forgotten how to make a post.

Anyway, the long two weeks ends today. For the year, I'm 178-88 in my picks, my best season in years. In the playoffs, I'm 5-5, which actually is pretty good for me.

In the recent past I've gone with the underdog in the Super Bowl, at least the last two years. I'm still pretty impressed by my picking the Giants two years ago, but it was just more of a hunch than anything. I usually pick from my gut, and find over-analysis bad for my picking health.

Last year, I went with my gut again, and almost got another upset.

Both times, I picked the team I was going to root for. As I also noted in the past, that is not a good thing. I usually pick a loser to root for in this game.

But this year is different. No matter how I slice it, I can't see the Colts losing. I'm not rooting for them, obviously, but I can't pick against them.

I find it a rather easy pick, actually.

Baltimore--ERRRRR--Indianapolis wins today, in a game that won't be too close.

And that's all I got for this season.

Adieu, until September, NFL.