NFL23 Update: Hail to the Chiefs (Again)!

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs! When I searched "Kansas City Chiefs" on Google a second ago, fireworks flew across the screen of my laptop.

And deservedly so! For my money, not I of the previous LVII Super Bowls was any more entertaining than last night's event featuring the Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, Harrison Butker, Chris Jones and the rest of the victor Chiefs; the worthy San Francisco 49ers; Taylor Swift and (hopefully) her future in-laws; Jim Nantz and Tony Romo; Andra Day, Post Malone and Reba McEntire; Dan Marino; Usher and Alicia Keys, and the rest. Starting at about 5 Central, I watched with my family virtually every second of CBS's remaining five hours of TV coverage from Las Vegas, and, my gosh, I felt so thankful to have gotten to experience the thing.

Furthermore, the Chiefs have now won two Super Bowls in a row, played in four since 2019 (winning three) and now are now 4-2 in all-time Super Bowl appearances. All time, that's the sixth-most Super Bowl appearances and fifth-most victories (along with the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants) for Kansas City, which also won more AFL championships (three) than any other team. What a franchise!

Did you know that the Chiefs' defense from 1966 through 1971 was apparently nicknamed "The Redwood Forest?" I did not. In fact, I don't think I exactly knew that the Chiefs' offense from 2018 through 2021 was apparently nicknamed "The Legion of Doom." I remember hearing Nantz and others say "The Legion of Doom" when I happened to be watching football games off mute during that time period, but I guess I always figured they were just making something up out of thin air to promote some comic-book movie that was out at the time and never paid much attention. Anyway, I learned both of these notes this morning from the Chiefs' Wikipedia page, which I intend to read over the next several days as I think back over my favorite memories from my very fun Sunday night.

Of course, at my typical HP pace, that will likely take me right through to kickoff of the Miami Dolphins' victory in Super Bowl LIX (Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans). Hail to the Chiefs, and comments flow!

Happy To Be Here

On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I would like to announce that we are (just) happy to be here, in the NFL22 playoffs. It would be nice to beat the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and we, of course, hope for the best. But, truthfully, this season has been a huge success for us; we are totally satisfied with the results, and everything from here on is just a gravy situation. 

I saw somebody on a message board last night mocking our success with an announcement of a "Qualified-for-the-Postseason" Parade starting from the Dolphins' stadium parking lot this afternoon. I thought that was a pretty clever troll, but I actually do think this would be an excellent idea, and, in fact, I will be conducting a celebratory parade in my imagination all week long and all the way to Buffalo until noon Central Sunday. 

Go, Dolphins!

Not Working This Morning

I think this or this probably was the "small Hilton" in Seattle where Bob Newhart, coming off The Bob Newhart Show, thought of Newhart, per this fun and interesting conversation with a skilled, unnamed interviewer with The Paley Center for Media ...

Here are a couple of facts I wrote down from a book I read that might well have been Great Quarterbacks of Pro Football by Steve and Rita Golden Gelman:

-- Len Dawson was a fifth-string quarterback as a sophomore for his high-school football team in Alliance, Ohio. He was the starter in his junior year.

-- At the half of Super Bowl I, the Packers lead the Chiefs 14-10, and Dawson has completed 11 of 15 passes for 152 yards and a touchdown. On his first pass of the second half, Dawson throws toward tight end Fred Arbanas under the duress of converging Green Bay linebackers Lee Roy Caffey and Dave Robinson. Packer safety Willie Wood intercepts and returns to the Kansas City 5. Dawson finishes the game 16-of-27 for 211 yards.

Super Wikipedia on prolific-children's-and-travel-writer Golden Gorman, originally of Bridgeport, Connecticut: "In 1987, on the verge of divorce, Gelman decided that it was time to live her dream of traveling the world and living among people in other cultures. It's been 24 years and she still has no permanent home; her new passion is to bring the concept of a 'Gap Year' to teens in the U.S. Her organization, Let's Get Global, is dedicated to encouraging and assisting recent high school graduates to have international experiences before they begin the next phase of their lives. The ultimate goal of LGG is to create a cultural norm in the United States that will make it a common practice to extend education beyond U.S. borders. Let's Get Global suggests that graduating high school seniors defer college or the job world for a year while they immerse themselves in other cultures and discover the common humanity of mankind."

April 17, 2006

Back at the Madisonville Community College, which I love. On the UK-blue couches in the student center, I’m listening to the pleasant, purposeful chatter of the snack-bar couple at work.

“What are you cooking?”

“We’re going to need more eggs.” 

And, “do you want me to toast your Pop Tarts?”

There’s also the low murmur of a Law & Order or some sort of crime-investigation drama rerun on TNT. On my left, a buzzcut in work boots reads over geometry text and nurses a 20-ounce Diet Mountain Dew. On my right, a 19-year-old piddles with a video game on a public-access PC.

Al Stewart is playing here Friday. And Saturday. 

COFFEEHOUSE PERFOMRANCE TWO NIGHTS! 
FOLK AND POP LEGEND KNOWN FOR HIS HITS

‘TIME PASSAGES’ AND ‘THE YEAR OF THE CAT 

There are two portraits of Stewart on the poster. Under a heading “Then …” is a black-and-white photo of Stewart in poofy, shoulder-length hair. He’s looking pensively away from the camera, wearing a paisley shirt and silver-studded leather jacket – hands lodged loosely in front dungaree pockets. Next to the heading “and now,” it’s Stewart in a white, collarless shirt and gray sport coat. His hair is short, thinning, wiry and brown. His hands are clutched around an acoustic guitar neck. 

“Now, we’re going to pull out their barbecue separate, right? … Great. … OK, I’m going for a smoke.”

Also among the Madisonville Community College student-center placards are handbills for First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Earlington:

We offer an old-fashioned style of worship in a relaxed manner. Dress as you desire. Some dress up in their ‘Sunday best.’ Others wear jeans and a tee shirt. God looks at the heart. So do we. … We are a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This means we partake of the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. Everyone is invited to participate. The only ‘requirement’ is a confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. You are encouraged to think for yourself. Nobody will tell you what to think. You are asked to give that same freedom to others.

Before I flush the last remnants of Christmas73 from my YouTube "Watch Later" feed, here are a couple of last gems ...

Phil Elderkin in the April 5, 1969, Sporting News offered in his Page 71 "NBA Basketball" column these well-earned observations about some of the league's coaches:

-- The Knicks' Red Holzman is "firm but soft sell" Strong on defense, teaching and matchups.

-- The 76ers' Jack Ramsey is a "very intense person who takes defeats home with him but never really seems discouraged." His gambling defense "requires a collegian dedication."

-- The Celtics' Bill Russell is "guilty of running soft practices," and sometimes the "crisis of the moment takes precedence over the whole picture."

-- The Bullets' Gene Shue is "expert at spotting a cold shooter quickly and hopefully replacing him with a hot one."

-- The Lakers' Bill van Breda Kolf is "outspoken, outgoing and often out of breath."

Rest in peace, Mr. Elderkin, newspaper journalist of 65 years, attendee at every Celtics playoff game 1957-69 and Baseball Writers' Association of America Member 5.

What's On TV Tonight?

Super Bowl I!

No, really, Super Bowl I is on NFL Network right now.