Friday, January 1, 2016

Oh, Texas (1970)

Happy new year, Jan. 1, 1970, and greetings from Dallas.


I love hotels, and I especially love Holiday Inns ...


Got in from Houston after midnight after the Astro Bluebonnet Bowl (congrats, Cougars!) ...


Have I mentioned how much I love a parade?






OK, time to get down to business: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 9 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. I'm going to be tuning in to my main man from the Humble Oil Southwest Conference Radio Network, Connie Alexander, on the transistor radio from inside the stadium ...


TV Guide has me excited to check out Notre Dame's junior quarterback--I heard a good bit about Joe Theesmann, but I haven't seen him yet ...



The other big games today include No. 3 Arkansas vs No. 13 Mississippi in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans …




And then there's No. 5 Southern California vs. No. 7 Michigan in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California ...




I’ve set my videotaping machine to record those two games back home in Hoptown ...


Tonight, we wind things up with No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 6 Missouri in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Depending on how things shake out earlier in the day, that one could end up deciding who ends up on top of the poll ... 



I just hope I can stay awake to see it after I get room service back at the Holiday Inn ...





57 comments:

  1. “Romance of Travel” is the theme of this year’s Cotton Bowl Festival, and, man, that’s totally right on—we’re having a great time on this trip.

    This is the 13th Cotton Bowl Festival Parade. It’s the 34th Cotton Bowl Classic game—but just the 13th parade. That was a good idea to start doing the parades. I think we should do a big statewide festival and parade around the high-school basketball tournament back in Kentucky every year.

    TV Guide says the theme of the Sugar Bowl Parade is “Queen of Queens.” I think we got a better shake over here in Dallas with “Romance of Travel.”

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  2. Chris Schenkel is having a busy New Year’s Day. He’s hosting ABC’s coverage of the Sugar Bowl parade with Room 222’s Karen Valentine, and then he’s working the game with Bill Flemming and Bud Wilkinson.

    Both CBS and NBC have coverage of the Rose Parade. The CBS hosts are Bob Barker and June Lockhart; NBC’s are Raymond Burr and Betty White.

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  3. The grand marshals in Pasadena are the Apollo 12 astronauts. Captain Kangaroo started a two-part series on the Apollo 12 mission this morning. Hoptown 1969 me has a 6-year-old child, and No. 1 1969 Child (real 2016 me still has to decide whether the child is a boy or girl) watched Part 1 of the Captain Kangaroo feature on the TV set in the hotel room this morning. I caught a little bit of it after I got back from the restaurant with coffee for the wife and me.

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  4. On to the game ... Jack Buck is the CBS radio play-by-play dude. Connie Alexander is the color commentator.

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  5. Connie Alexander: “Happy ’70, everybody!”

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  6. Sorry on the misspelling in the original post. It's "Theismann," not "Theesmann." I was sure I had heard "Theesman," but radio Connie says "Theismann."

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  7. Jack Buck says the field "for the most part is quite playable" but not without its problems after a week of mostly rain following the Cleveland Browns' win over the Dallas Cowboys in last Sunday's first round of the NFL playoffs.

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  8. Notre Dame's bowl history before today is single, 27-10 win over Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl, but the Fighting Irish do not appear any too awed by the stage. Notre Dame is just powering through the Texas defense. This is pretty much exactly what I expected.

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  9. Notre Dame drives to the Texas 9 and then kicks a field goal after two Theismann incompletions. It's 3-0, Fighting Irish. If Notre Dame runs the ball all day, I think they might win by a couple or three touchdowns.

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  10. The Longhorns get the ball back, and they pick up a first down on a naked reverse to speedy receiver Cotton Spreyer after two James Street incompletions. But Texas already looks desperate. I think Darrell Royal knows he cannot afford to simply go toe-to-toe with Notre Dame.

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  11. Longhorns punt into the end zone. Notre Dame takes over with about three minutes to go in the first quarter.

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  12. Notre Dame's winning scrimmage most every down. Connie Alexander's talking about stuff like the average size of the Fighting Irish lineman.

    He knows, too.

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  13. Notre Dame more than doubled Texas's yardage in the first quarter.

    First Notre Dame offensive down of the second quarter, and Theismann completes for more than 50 yards and a touchdown. 10-0. Route is on.

    If I left the stadium now, I could get back to the Holiday Inn to watch the second half of the Sugar Bowl on the TV set in the room and still catch a nap before the Orange tonight.

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  14. Texas is certainly a resilient team. The Longhorns have driven to the Notre Dame 7, and they face a fourth-and-1 opportunity late in the first half. Royal and Street are talking it over at a timeout ...

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  15. They run for it ...

    Connie Alexander: "They're going to measure to see if Texas has renewed the mortgage ..."

    No, sir ... Irish ball ...

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  16. Halftime: Notre Dame 10, Texas 7. I better get some coffee to perk myself up for the second half.

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  17. Jack Buck with a note for #freakinweekend followers: Most of these CBS Radio stations on Saturday will telecast the NFL Playoff Bowl pitting last weekend's playoff losers, the Cowboys and the Rams.

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  18. Third-and-4 at the Texas 24 ... 7:30 to play ... Buck: "You can't imagine them going for the field goal; they trail by four" ...

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  19. OH, MY! THEISMANN THROWS FOR A TOUCHDOWN!

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  20. Joe Theismann rolls right, sees nothing open, drifts left, pirouettes away from one Texas pursuer, gets a terrific block to take out a second and then absolutely guns a pass to a wide open receiver in the middle of the end zone. Buck: "It's like he came out of the locker room, he was so open!"

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  21. Street to sliding Spreyer for 17! Texas out to the 45 ...

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  22. Inside 6 minutes ... inside the Notre Dame 45 ... first down, Longhorns ...

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  23. Buck: "Texas, on a drive that pretty much has to do something for them."

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  24. 4:45 ... another pitch left to Koy ... to the 28 ...

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  25. Pitch left to Koy! First down at the Notre Dame 17!

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  26. Koy again to the left, but this time he's thrown for a loss. This is a hittinghittinghitting game!

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  27. Third-and-7 at the 15 ... "Street did not go to the sideline this time; this will be his call" ... pitch right to Bertlesen ... stopped two yards short ...

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  28. Street completes to rolling Speyer at the Notre Dame 2! First down!

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  29. First down: Notre Dame stops a run to the middle!

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  30. Second down: Notre Dame stops a run to the middle!

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  31. Third down: Fake to Wooster ... handoff to Bertleson ... TOUCHDOWN!

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  32. Theismann, playing out of his head, rolls left and avoids three or four Texas tacklers, heaves way back across the field right and completes near the 40!

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  33. Throws over the middle ... COMPLETE AGAIN ... to the Texas 39 ... 38 seconds to go ...

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  34. OH, MAN! Theismann overshoots a receiver inside the 20, and Texas intercepts. That'll do it.

    What a great, great game!

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  35. Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure this Texas team was the last all-white team to win the National Championship in football.

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  36. Scroll down to "Don't Touch That Dial" for a delicious tidbit, courtesy of the Sports Illustrated Vault, from the 1970 Rose Bowl press box. I can so imagine myself in any of the three roles: the NBC suit who flew off the handle that his network's TV had been flipped to CBS, the NBC underling who is ordered to tape the dial down to only play NBC or the self-righteous sports writer who comes back through and cuts off NBC's tape.

    Thank you so much, SI, for bringing back "The Vault."

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