Cotton Bowl 2008 ...Hog Roast

Having Mizzou blow the game against Oklahoma and thus a shot at a national title was tough, but then to find out they were matched against the Hogs in the Cotton Bowl was a real blow. For fans of both teams, like me, this almost ruins the experience...but not enough for me not to make a prediction. The unqualified anaylsis begins.... The Hogs have to be in somewhat disarray due to the quick departure of a true player's' coach in Houston Nutt. Plus, throw in the fact that interim head coach Reggie Herring (Hog's defensive coordinator under Nutt) was passed up for the job after publicly stating he was interested in being Head Hog makes your wonder what passion he will have for coaching the game. Mizzou, on the other hand, has a coaching staff that is looking at no changes or upheaval and with a little chip on their shoulder for being passed over by the BCS for Kansas, a team they manhandled just a few short weeks ago. Considering what has transpired in the last few weeks Mizzou will have a distinct advantage over the Razorbacks. The interesting aspect of the game is the Hogs running game featuring the Heisman finalist Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, versus a weak-against-the-run Mizzou D. While the most suspect of the Hogs game is the defensive backfield, a fact I am sure has left Chase Daniels salivating. I really think Mizzou has the better over all team, and as much as it hurts, the E. E. Lawson prediction gives the nod to Mizzou....31-17. Please remember to wager responsibly...it's the law.

Fogelberg to O'Keefe

Up through the branches
The stars shine above on the arroyos and mesas you loved
And as the moon rises, the black mountain mourns
For the old friend he'll look on no more
Jacks-in-the-Pulpit, bones in the sky
Long winding rivers that never ran dry
And the secrets she gathered from the wild blowing sands
Breathed in her heart and her hands
I sing to your spirit where all my dreams dwell
The vision--the freedom, the life lived so well
And I sing in your canyons and the echoes ring clear
And I wish somehow you may still hear

Daniel Grayling Fogelberg August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007

Saving the National Pastime

In the wake of the Mitchell Report..here are some recommendations to save baseball. 1. Move to a two-tiered playoff system...have all teams play for the right to face Boston or New York in the World Series. The winner of the Boston/New York playoff would face the unfortunate, undermanned team that emerged from the regular season as the league winner. NY or Boston would then promptly sweep the series, or maybe lose one or two games for fun, the media could then continue to do the same thing they do now.....talk about NY and Boston. 2. Simulcast Tony LaRussa reciting the alphabet backwards across all the stadiums' big screen thingamabobs before each game....that would so much fun. Or you could wait until the 3rd inning when everybody is drunk and they could try it with him. 3. Remove that mound thing in the outfield at Houston....this ain't miniature golf...this is MLB. 4. Bring baseball back to Montreal for gosh sakes....DC is not doing anything with it anyway. 5. Make television stop using all that high-tech, sound effect-laden, graphic stuff. When you watch a game now it feels like you are outside at an airport...(thanks Fox for all your great "innovation"). Go back to simply flashing a giant sized score on the screen on occasion like you see on the ESPN Classic games. 6. Eliminate now the DH, interleague play, and these new-fangled teams such as the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Devil Rays or Da' Rays, and any other team prior to 1975.

Final recommendation: Stop playing fantasy league baseball and game system baseball, then go outside and play pitch and catch with your sons and daughters. Oh yes, outside....I remember it well.

Ha Ha Tonka...the Band?

I was properly admonished by a distant relative residing on the left side of the right coast this week for not knowing about this band from right here in river city. My excuse… I am getting old and it is deer season. (No I don’t hunt, but if is dangerous to drive into the city with all the spooked deer running across the road.) Ha Ha Tonka (formerly Amsterband) borrows its name from one of the greatest natural spots in the Ozarks. Gutsy move boys…taking this name sets a high standard…just think Chicago, Boston, Kansas…you get the picture…okay…that really defeats the point, but anywayssss, in your case, I hope you can live up to it. So…before I committed to a download expense, I gave them a spin on Rhapsody (membership has its privileges). Result….very pleasantly surprised. Not that they need an endorsement from someone who post a lame OMDD survey on his BlogSpot…but these guys meet the E. E Lawson test! Their debut as Ha Ha Tonka is on nothing other than Bloodshot Records…a label with a stable of great indies. Check out “Gusto” and “Caney Mountain” for starters…then feel confident about downloading the rest..

Here is a link to their site: http://www.hahatonkamusic.com … .here is a link to the Ha Ha Tonka State Park site: http://www.mostateparks.com/hahatonka.htm Don’t confuse the two…one is a band and one is a state park…both are worth the visit.

One more time...for the good times

Remember alt-country and the good times you had trying to dance to it.. If it is time to dust off an old playlist or start a new one, here are ten (of many) that matter…these all rank 3 of 3 stars on the E. E. Lawson meter….the last word on country/roots/rock music excellence.

1. The Long Cut….Uncle Tupelo (Uncle Tupelo…their sound is like blending Wilco and Sun Volt)
2. I Ain’t Ever Satisfied…Steve Earle (He is married to Alison Moorer…he has got to be satisfied now!)
3. Joy…Lucinda Williams (Let’s just hope her love life remains in the dumper…that is when she does her best work)
4. Callin’ the Kettle…The Doxies (From Columbia MO???? Yes…Chase Daniels and the Doxies…two reasons to visit Columbia)
5. Crossfire…Kasey Chambers (I love it when an Aussie gets made and lives to write about it)
6. Six O’clock News…Kathleen Edwards (She perfected darkness with a catchy hook)
7. Oh My Sweet Carolina….Ryan Adams (He perfected catchy hooks with darkness...btw Ryan…still love summer of ‘69)
8. Box Full of Letters…Wilco ( Sometimes sounds like half of Uncle Tupelo)
9. Mountain Girl…Blue Mountain (One of the many reasons to visit Oxford Mississippi…the drinking town with a football problem)
10. Windfall…Sun Volt (Sounds like half of Uncle Tupelo…the weaker half)

Iman Cometh...Again

Last Monday marked the return of Don Imus to KWTO (The Jock). I am not sure what Imus has to do with sports, but yet, I am not sure what MSU Bears football has to do with sports either and KWTO covers them. I admit, I was a rather dedicated listener until the Iman finally spilled too much venom for his on good and was correctly yanked from the air…but he’s back…this time simulcast on RFDTV (home-based in Branson USA) and broadcast on WABC-AM in NYC. Branson meets NYC…what’s next, a Branson Theater featuring a Russian Comedian still joking about the Cold War….uh….okay…moving on. Bottom-line…meet the new Imus…same as the old Imus, sans the junior high locker room humor of old. I tried to listen this week only to quickly tire of the same old line-up of regulars….Howard Kurtz, Rudy Giuliani, Michael Beschloss, yadda, yadda, yadda….it was as predictable and as old as Imus himself. This week’s show quickly reminded me of the most aggravating aspect of the cowboy full of contradictions, the Iman brags about him and his wife being the only registered Republicans at his voting precinct in Manhattan, but yet they rail against the lack of environmental focus by government and business. Go figure Iman. Guess I could give Morning Joe on MSNBC another shot as my wake-up routine…second thought, I will just sleep in a little longer.

Hogwired

It was painful for us Hog fans...but it looks like A.D. Mr. Long found his man in Mr. Petrino. Sure, everybody in Atlanta hates the guy for the way he left...but, hey, now Falcon fans can go back to their other favorite sport...dogfighting! Most important upside to this new hire...no more bad Houston Nutt puns such as "Houston we've got a problem," or some other slam-dunk use of the name Nutt and Houston. Pig Soeeee! over and out.