Interesting Tweet from Jalen Rose

I always liked Jalen Rose, even when he beat UK.  This tweet, apparently responding to LeBron James's recent criticism of Memphis, is very interesting:

As a Detroiter, Memphis deserves zero slander.  They are our cousins.  (Like Oakland & Atl).  The cultural history of that town is incredible.

There's a lot to unpack here, and I want to give it some thought.

The National Championship

It is bright, sunny, and 56 degrees in downtown Washington today.  We have made it through another winter, and it's time to start going outside again.  Back to the lakes.  Back to the rivers.  Back to the hot dog grills, and bass fishing at 6 A.M., and Dollywood, and Paxton Park, and Noble Park, and garage sales, and strawberry picking, and Vacation Bible School, and the Land Between the Lakes.

But tonight, we have one final celebration of light amidst the darkness.  Tonight, there is a game on Ken Pomeroy's FanMatch for the last time until November:

7:49 P.M. Central (TBS):  (3) Michigan (36-3) v. (7) Connecticut (34-5)

The rankings above are based on the final AP poll before the tournament began.  On Ken Pom, UConn is Number 9, with a Luck Ranking of 33, while Michigan is Number 1, with a luck score of 89.  Michigan's Net Rating on Ken Pom is +39.72, which means that over 100 possessions, Michigan will outscore the average opponent by almost 40 points.  It's the highest Net Rating for any team in the Ken Pom database, going back to 1997.  So if Michigan wins tonight, they will have a strong case to be the best team in NCAA basketball since Kentucky's 1996 powerhouse.  

To put the Wolverines in context, consider the following.  In 1998, UK's champions had a Net Rating of +29.29.  In 2012, the National Champion Cats had a Net Rating of +32.59.  The 2015 Cats, who finished 38-1, had a Net Rating of +36.91.  Under Pomeroy's system, on a neutral court, this Michigan team would be a solid favorite against any of those teams.  That's how good they are.

But they aren't out of the woods yet.  They have to overcome a lot of history.  The last Classic Big Ten team to win the national title was Michigan State, who beat Florida in the 2000 final.  Since that time, seven different schools from the Classic Big Ten have reached the NCAA Final, but they have all lost.  Furthermore, they have mostly lost to teams from the East Coast, and most of these matchups have not been close:

2002:  Maryland 64, Indiana 52

2005:  N. Carolina 75, Illinois 70

2007:  Florida 84, Ohio St. 75

2009:  N. Carolina 89, Michigan St. 72

2013:  Louisville 82, Michigan 76

2015:  Duke 68, Wisconsin 63

2018:  Villanova 79, Michigan 62

2024:  Connecticut 75, Purdue 60

However, I would note that in each of those games, the Big Ten team was the underdog.  This time, Ken Pom is picking Michigan to win by 77-70.  No one respects UConn more than I do, but Duke showed that the Huskies can be beaten, and we'll see if Michigan can turn the trick tonight.  Either way, I think this game will mark a significant turning point in college basketball history.  If UConn wins, they are clearly the dominant program of the 21st century.  If Michigan wins, then the Big Ten is well-positioned to control men's basketball in the same way that it now controls football.  After all, the Big Ten used to lose football playoff games -- but they don't any more.

The National Semi-Finals

We will not have another Saturday with college football or college basketball until late August.  I will miss it enormously, but as I grow older I appreciate different seasons more and more.  Today's games represent one of the best Final Fours in many years:

5:09 PM Central (TBS):  (7) Connecticut (33-5) v. (13) Illinois (28-8)

7:49 PM Central (TBS):  (2) Arizona (36-2) v. (3) Michigan (35-3)

This year's tournament is the first time since 2014 that the names of the four teams are also the names of four different states.  In 2014 the Final Four was Connecticut, Kentucky, Florida, and Wisconsin.

Thirty-Two Franchises: Detroit Lions

Have participated in the NFL since the 1930 season.

All-Time Record:  606-709-34 (.461)

1930-1933:  Portsmouth Spartans:  28-16-7 (.636)

1934-2025:  Detroit Lions:  578-693-27 (.455)

Super Bowl Record:  0-0

Top Passer:  Matthew Stafford (45,109 yds)

Top Rusher:  Barry Sanders (15,269 yds)

Top Receiver:  Calvin Johnson (11,619 yds)

Top Coach:  Wayne Fontes (66 wins)

Top All-Time Player Based on Approximate Value:  Barry Sanders (AV of 149)

Classic Big 10 Matchups: Football

Illinois v. Indiana:  46-25-2

Illinois v. Iowa:  39-38-2

Illinois v. Michigan:  23-72-2

Illinois v. Michigan St:  19-27-2

Illinois v. Minnesota:  33-40-3

Illinois v. Northwestern:  57-55-5

Illinois v. Ohio St:  30-68-4

Illinois v. Purdue:  45-48-6

Illinois v. Wisconsin:  39-45-7

Indiana v. Iowa:  28-46-4

Indiana v. Michigan:  10-62-0

Indiana v. Michigan St:  18-50-2

Indiana v. Minnesota:  26-40-3

Indiana v. Northwestern:  35-47-1

Indiana v. Ohio St:  12-79-5

Indiana v. Purdue:  42-77-6

Indiana v. Wisconsin:  20-41-2

Iowa v. Michigan: 15-45-4

Iowa v. Michigan St:  25-22-2

Iowa v. Minnesota:  52-63-2

Iowa v. Northwestern:  54-28-3

Iowa v. Ohio St:  15-47-3

Iowa v. Purdue:  41-50-3

Iowa v. Wisconsin:  46-49-2

Michigan v. Michigan St:  73-38-5

Michigan v. Minnesota:  77-25-3

Michigan v. Northwestern:  59-15-2

Michigan v. Ohio St:  61-51-6

Michigan v. Purdue:  47-14-0

Michigan v. Wisconsin:  52-17-1

Michigan St. v. Minnesota:  30-19-0

Michigan St. v. Northwestern:  40-20-0

Michigan St. v. Ohio St:  15-37-0

Michigan St. v. Purdue:  36-29-3

Michigan St. v. Wisconsin:  31-24-0

Minnesota v. Northwestern:  56-37-5

Minnesota v. Ohio St:  7-47-0

Minnesota v. Purdue:  41-35-3

Minnesota v. Wisconsin:  62-63-8

Northwestern v. Ohio St:  14-65-1

Northwestern v. Purdue:  34-53-1

Northwestern v. Wisconsin:  38-62-5

Ohio St. v. Purdue:  41-15-2

Ohio St. v. Wisconsin:  63-18-5

Purdue v. Wisconsin:  29-53-8

2024 College Football Preview: Classic Big 10

Same as it ever was:

2.  Ohio St.

9.  Michigan

23.  Iowa

33.  Wisconsin

51.  Minnesota

57.  Illinois

58.  Northwestern

63.  Michigan St.

74.  Purdue

83.  Indiana

Ohio State will play Michigan in late November.  That's all I know, and all I need to know.

Between them, the Classic Big 10 and the Classic Pac 10 have three teams in the top 20, and 12 teams ranked 50 or higher.  The Classic SEC and the Classic ACC combine to have six teams in the top 20, and only four teams ranked higher than 50.

The Unofficial College Football Championship

The Washington Huskies have held the Unofficial College Football Championship since November 12, 2022, when they defeated Oregon 37 to 34.  Since then, they have defended the U.C.F.C. on 17 different occasions, including back-to-back bowl wins over Texas (last year in the Alamo Bowl and this year in the Sugar Bowl).  They've also beaten Oregon twice this year (36-33 in the regular season and 34-31 in the Pac 12 Title Game).  They survived a 15-7 game with Arizona State, a 22-20 battle at Oregon State, and a 24-21 game with Washington State.  It's the longest run in the U.C.F.C. since Ohio State defended the crown 18 times before losing to Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.

Of course, tonight is the last college football game of the season, which means that whoever wins the U.C.F.C. tonight gets to keep it until at least the last day of August.  If Washington wins, the Huskies will next defend the title on August 31, 2024 at home against Weber State.  If Michigan wins, they will next defend the title on August 31, 2024 at home against Fresno State.

This is the first season since 2014 where a team from the Classic SEC didn't play for the national title, and that's a disappointment to a lot of us.  But on the whole, it's been an entertaining season, and whoever wins tonight is certainly a worthy champion.

Kentucky 73 - 69 Michigan (London, England) (No. 2,359)

Huge win for the Cats, who get their first victory of the year against a major-conference opponent.  Since the beginning of the 2020-21 season, here's UK's record in games where the margin at the end of regulation was four points or less:

12/01/20:  Kansas 65 - 62 Kentucky

12/12/20:  Kentucky 63 - 64 Notre Dame

12/26/20:  Louisville 62 - 59 Kentucky

01/02/21:  Mississippi St. 73 - 78 Kentucky (2 OT)

01/05/21:  Kentucky 77 - 74 Vanderbilt

01/20/21:  Georgia 63 - 62 Kentucky

02/09/21:  Kentucky 80 - 81 Arkansas

02/13/21:  Kentucky 82 - 80 Auburn

02/17/21:  Vanderbilt 78 - 82 Kentucky

02/27/21:  Kentucky 67 - 71 Florida

03/11/21:  Mississippi St. 74 - 73 Kentucky (SEC Tournament)

12/11/21:  Notre Dame 66 - 62 Kentucky

01/25/22:  Kentucky 82 - 74 Mississippi St. (OT)

02/26/22:  Arkansas 75 - 73 Kentucky

03/17/22:  Kentucky 79 - 85 St. Peter's (OT) (NCAA Tournament)

11/15/22:  Kentucky 77 - 86 Michigan St. (2 OT)

12/04/22:  Kentucky 73 - 69 Michigan

So that makes UK 6-11 in these games over the last three seasons.  If those could even out, we might have an enjoyable season.  Cats are now number 5 overall on Ken Pom, number 16 in the AP, and number 254 in luck.  Here's the breakdown in scoring yesterday:

UK:

18-43 in 2-point shots (41.9 percent)

9-15 in 3-point shots (60.0 percent) (4-4 from Cason Wallace, 3-4 from Antonio Reeves)

10-20 from the line (50.0 percent) (2-6 from Sahvir Wheeler, 0-2 from Cason Wallace)

Mich:

17-44 in 2-point shots (38.6 percent)

8-20 in 3-point shots (40.0 percent)

11-17 from the line (64.7 percent)

UK outrebounded Michigan 46-33, but had 14 turnovers to only 7 for the Wolverines.  On the whole, you'd say it was a rare example of UK winning a game with its outside shooting.  We don't see that very often.

1975: Boxing/Pop Music Update

The world-champion heavyweight boxer remains 33-year-old Muhammad Ali of Louisville, Kentucky (though he is about to move to Berrien Springs, Michigan, for a while (Wikipedia is fantastic)). His next fight looks like it might be a thriller: Oct. 1 vs. No. 1 challenger Joe Frazier, 31, originally of Beaufort, South Carolina (though he has been in Philadelphia since going out on his own and catching a bus to there when he was 15 (fantastic!)). Ali lost to Frazier by unanimous decision on March 8, 1971, in New York. Then he beat Frazier by unanimous decision on Jan. 28, 1974, in New York. The rubber match is set for Quezon City, in the metro area of the Philippines capital, Manila.

Back in the United States, Ali is climbing a chart of a different sort. 

That song by Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band has been on the CASH BOX Top 100 Singles for 16 weeks and is up to No. 35 in the chart for the week ending today in 1975. That's a slow rise, and, yet, you might still have a sense that the song has been lingering for a good bit longer than even that:

In late 1972, Wakelin wrote and recorded the original version of the song, under the title "Hungarian Superman (Joe Bugner)" as an homage to the Hungarian-born British-Australian boxer by that name. The single failed to chart, and in 1973 Bugner lost 12-round decisions to former heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Wakelin got the idea of reworking the original song as an homage to Bugner's rival, the boxing champion Muhammad Ali who fought on 30 October 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, against George Foreman in a matchup known as The Rumble in the Jungle. Ali gained victory in the eighth round. Wakelin modified the song's original Eastern-European polka rhythm to reggae at a time when West Indian music was growing in popularity. The new song was Wakelin's "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" released in late 1974.

In January 1975 the song reached number seven on the singles charts of both the UK and Australia. By October of the same year, it had reached number one in Canada on the RPM Singles Chart. It also spent six months in the US Billboard Hot 100 in more than one chart run in 1975, eventually peaking at No. 21 in September of that year.

God Save Wikipedia™!

Here are previous and future 1975 reports.

XXIV Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022 (Paper Flags)

I am Nathan Chen.

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976 
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994 

-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014 

-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018

-- XXIV Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022 (Shustermania!)

What's (Not) On TV Tonight (1973)?

The Indianapolis 500, that's what:

I'm not sure what Channel 3 is going to show now that the race is delayed, but the great news is this frees up my Memorial Day May 28, 1973, Monday evening to watch baseball on Channel 6. In some markets at least, that game is scheduled to be the Oakland A's at the Detroit Tigers.

And if that doesn't happen--the A's-Tigers game was rained out Sunday--I will settle for the Channel 12 sitcom reruns. Per the Paducah, Kentucky, Sun-Democrat, here's what we can look forward to at 8 and 8:30 Central:

Here's Lucy. Lucy lands the job when singer Petula Clark contacts the agency for a secretary who can also act as her companion.

The Doris Day Show. Doris spends so much time interviewing a rock music star that word spreads that the young singer and Doris are seriously involved.

I actually saw both of these episodes when they originally ran during the fake 1972/73 TV season that I've been enjoying, and I would be happy to watch them both again.

Oh, Kentucky

Greetings from Kentucky:

Happy 53rd, WKDZ!

On the table on the Hill: Suspending 101 of 380 academic programs (including 45 with no students currently), altering 55, growing 15 and maintaining 209 as they are.

I lived on Griffith Avenue in Owensboro for a little while, but it's gotten a lot hipper since I moved away.

We had family living in Bardstown for several years, but they moved just about the time the community orchestra was getting together.

Taste the Mayfield.

Kelly is getting together for a chat Thursday evening, and there is a lot to talk about.

The most depressing part about this MLive article about the visiting AAU coach who was arrested Saturday and charged with punching out an official at the Paducah Regional Sports Plex are the comments from the Michigan readership about Flint.

Kresge's is (really) gone.

You might hear some shooting today in Stanford, but, thankfully, it's only a drill.

Mine 9 opens Friday in parts of Kentucky and elsewhere, but, this time, it's only a movie.

Hiring in Whitesburg.

Corbin Pediatric Associates remembers that it's National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

There are all kinds of people doing all kinds of neat stuff out there.

Forty First Podcast

The forty first podcast is up. Thanks to freemidi.org for the audio files. Eric and Matthew finish simulating the Fake CBK.

RSS Feed

CFB53 Update

Hey, my dad went to this game. Here's a picture of his ticket.

It's fun to imagine his parking somewhere near West Drive, entering Gate F (passing through the future Terry Donahue Pavilion) and settling in to his seat and view of the game.

Dad and Mom had moved out to California from Indiana for him to start a university course of study in computerized engineering, but the school turned out to be a sham. Here's what Dad wrote about the aftermath of that experience before he died in 1999:

I dropped out and found an office job with a local heavy construction firm in Alhambra. It was there I met A.G. 

Born in Tennessee and a graduate of Vanderbilt University, A.G. was without doubt the most intelligent, honest and informative person I have ever been associated with then or now. A chemical engineer by profession, he also had earned a degree in business and finance.  It was in finance that he excelled. He was 66 years old when I first met him.

The company at which I had been hired as an assistant bookkeeper contracted with A.G. to assist them to work out some of their difficulties. A.G., having little faith in those responsible for records, promptly called a stockholder meeting and, at days end, I had been appointed comptroller. Within hours everything was pad-locked, and I had the only keys.

Quickly I learned of A.G.'s background. Back during the middle and late 1920s, A.G. thrived in the stock market. Foreseeing the coming crash of 1929, A.G. sold all his stock, gathered his wife, Tilly, and his belongings and went to France. Due to exchange value between the dollar and franc, A. G. was worth even more in France. He remained there until middle 1938 when, fearing World War II and the Nazis, A.G. sold his interest in France and returned to the United States.

By then, the United States was booming, so A.G. invested in those businesses he believed would serve a war effort and forthright earned more wealth. After the war, in 1946, A.G. once again returned to France as agent for a large American air compressor manufacturing plant and there established their sales organization. In 1948, A.G. came home again, established a small plastic manufacturing plant and produced and sold small ladles for dipping ground coffee from sealed cans and small plastic caps for soda bottles once metal caps had been removed. In addition, he contracted his talents to bonding companies, banks and other investment interests to investigate conditions of troubled corporations. He also sidelined as an agent for various universities to seek endowments for which he received 5 percent for his efforts. ...

... I found myself resented by others at the company. Hired only as an assistant bookkeeper, I now was untouchable. They also resented my work schedule, and I couldn't blame them. A.G. was more of a 9-until-noon-type person than 9 to 5. We worked maybe two hours in the morning and spent the afternoon in the club room at Santa Anita race track. During afternoons I was driver, valet and bet maker. Mornings, I gathered what information he needed and sat with him in our conference room while he scrutinized everything in detail. By noon, we were off to the races again.

New Year’s Day 1954, A.G. and I watched Michigan State play UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Jinny spent that same day with Tilly watching the Rose Parade and doing what women do.

Comments flow!

XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 2)

So we've got a Team USA guy in contention in some live luging going on a little after 10 Sunday night in Pyeongchang County, but I've got to finish up getting ready for Sunday school here in a couple hours this morning in Madisonville. Hmmm ... challenging ...

Previous reports:

-- I Olympic Winter Games, Chamonix 1924
-- II Olympic Winter Games, Saint Moritz 1928
-- VIII Olympic Winter Games, Squaw Valley 1960
-- XII Olympic Winter Games, Innsbruck 1976 
-- XVII Olympic Winter Games, Lillehammer 1994
-- XXII Olympic Winter Games, Sochi 2014
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Preface)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Introduction/Day 0)
-- XXIII Olympic Winter Games, Pyeongchang 2018 (Day 1)

The Freakin' Weekend (1971)

I love Disney World.

2017 me watched a Dan Marino profile on the NFL Network last night, and he was thrilled to learn that Dan Marino's dad was a truck driver for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1971 me has been looking at a lot of the Post-Gazette and it's fun to pretend that Dan Marino's dad was the one bringing my pretend paper to the pretend gas station where I purchased it.

Meanwhile, in the NBA, ...

The absolute best part of this very, very good Milton Berle episode of Dick Cavett is the boss college-football commercial narrated by Keith Jackson.

You've probably been wondering what's been going on with CFB71, and the Roger and Pam Stanton and I are here to tell you.

The Stantons run a publication called The Football News, which I had never discovered until this 2017 summer. I bought a bound volume of 1971-72 issues, and it's a treasure trove.

My favorite feature is Mrs. Stanton's regular "A Women's View" column. In one issue, she had an item about connecting with the wives of Joe Robbie and Don Shula at the league meetings, and I LOVED THAT!

It's a thick tabloid, dense with news reports and lots and lots of agate--the college results and rankings, pro transactions--that is sometimes pretty hard to find in the newspapers of the day. 

Also, Mr. Stanton throws in his own hot-take-ish commentary paragraph on pretty much each news item, in which he almost always sides with the largest institution in play (league > team > coach > star player > non-star player). I really should've taken a picture of one of these, but I forgot to, and I want to get this thing posted. I'll put one in the comments soon. Suffice it to say for now that Mr. Stanton could be a bit of a lightning-rod figure.

Along with Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell and other friends, Mr. Stanton bought The Football News in 1962. "He filled it with interviews and gossip, with opinion, news and statistics, including a compendium of team results and upcoming schedules, point spreads and predictions. The latter coupling into one handy package all the information casual gamblers needed triggered the growth of the Football News and made it the most successful publication of its kind." That's from a bizarre remembrance to Mr. Stanton in the Detroit Free Press after his death in 1990, which goes on to tell about some curious runs-in he had with Tom Brokaw and William Clay Ford--and one Mrs. Stanton had with Howard Cosell.

Anyway, I'm enjoying following football through the words of the Stantons this fall, and it's time for me start paying a little more attention to CFB71 in particular.

Guess who the Virginia Tech quarterback who is coming to Lexington on Saturday, Oct. 30, 1971.

Here's hoping John Ray's Wildcats can close the regular season with a big four-game win streak and become bowl eligible (and congratulations to the 2017 'Cats, while we're at it).

Oh, Kentucky

Good jobs news from Carrollton.

You know, until about 10 years ago, I had never even heard of "heirloom seeds," but now I have a bunch of them in the garage freezer.

No, I did not know how Hart County got its name.

They're planning to get together in Kevil on Oct. 24.

The eighth-graders are celebrating at Hickman County High.

KY Poet Laureate Frederick Smock works with AP students. #Royals #amwriting @MCHSRoyals1 pic.twitter.com/yRzdJ2ieoj

— MCHS Royal Decree (@MCHSRoyalDecree) September 29, 2017

Meanwhile, in other news from the University of Louisville, ...

Baseball Update (1971)

So here's my ballot (with bonus pitching suggestions for the managers) (*-indicates that Phil Roof is from Paducah!) ...

And here are the actual teams (National League manager Sparky Anderson and American League coach Billy Hunter not pictured) ...

Comments flow!

What's Going On?

Check out the new Marvin Gaye song on the radio today 1971 ...

Hoptown 1971 me wonders if there might be a new whole album on the way.

The Freakin' Weekend (1969)

It's a huge college-football Saturday, Nov. 22, 1969.

Looking at the TV listings in Hopkinsville's Kentucky New Era, it appears we're going to get at least two and maybe three college-football games on TV.

No. 1, national-champ Ohio State is 8-0. Under its new coach, Bo Schembechler, Michigan is 7-2 and ranked 12th. 

Should be a good game, and here's Bill Flemming with Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes to talk about it ....

And here's the game: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

If not the whole game, maybe we'll also get some highlights from No. 16 Nebraska at Oklahoma ...

Early in the evening, we're on for No. 5 USC vs. No. 6 UCLA ...

By the way, as you know, Kentucky lost to No. 18 West Virginia a couple of weeks ago. (The Mountaineers' only loss to Penn State.) I just wanted to post these great pictures of UK's scoreboard and uniforms in that game ...

On Sunday, of course, we'll see what four pro-football games we get ...

Maybe more Saints love ...