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Random notes: February 7, 2011.

Monday, February 7th, 2011

I know I’m “rooting for laundry”, but I have a certain fondness for the Green Bay Packers. A major reason for that is their unique ownership structure. The Packers are a public corporation, with stock and everything. (The NFL will not allow any other team to adopt this ownership structure; the Packers are grandfathered in. This is the kind of behavior by the NFL that would make me want my congressman to start asking questions, if I believed in that sort of thing.) Anyway, here’s a good New Yorker piece that explains how the Packers work in more detail. And yes, my black little heart is filled with delight today. (Hattip: Gruber.)

We have previously mentioned the death of General Vang Pao, and the question of whether he would be buried at Arlington. The answer to that question was “no”; the Pentagon turned down the family’s request. Mark Arax has a good piece in the NYT about the General’s funeral.

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Obits, Sports | 3 Comments »

TMQ watch: February 1, 2011.

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

And so we slog ever closer to the end of another TMQ season. What does Gregg Easterbrook bring us in this, the off week before the Super Bowl? Let’s open up this week’s column and find out after the jump…

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Posted in Geek, Neuroscience, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

The Flying Dutchman and the Sisters.

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Today is cold and wet and gloomy, and I’m pulling a long shift.

So here’s a little story that might brighten your day. Last year, a former employee of Ford passed away. He had no children and no wife, so he left his entire estate to the organization his sister belonged to: the School Sisters of Notre Dame. (The gentleman’s sister was a member of the order; she preceded him in death.)

The heartwarming part of the story is that his estate is estimated to be worth more than $1 million dollars, which will go a long way towards helping the work of the sisters.

But here’s the best part of the story: that estate included an original T206 series Honus Wagner baseball card, which was recently sold for $220,000. (If that seems low for a T206 card, you’re probably right; this one was not in mint condition.)

Here’s a nice bit of detail from the NYT story:

Long before the card was sold, sports were popular at Villa Assumpta, which houses about 75 retired and ill nuns. In the common room, baseball and football games are often shown on the big-screen television. The local teams are the favorites, with some nuns sporting team colors on game days.

Sister Mary Agatho Ford, who died at 100 in 2003, had received a signed photo and baseball from Cal Ripken for her 98th birthday. They are displayed in a glass case next to other cherished items, including chalices that deceased sisters held dear.

My opinion of baseball is well known, but God bless you, Sister Mary. And God bless Cal Ripken, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and the gentleman in question (who is not named in the NYT article).

Posted in Clippings, Sports | Comments Closed

And I rode away on the Tennessee stud…

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Jeff Fisher out as coach of the Tennessee Titans. Well, that was somewhat unexpected. (Nashville Tennessean link.)

It will be interesting to see where, if anywhere, Fisher lands. He seems to have been a highly regarded NFL coach, but why?

Fisher’s record with the Titans is 147-126 including postseason. His 147 wins — including postseason — ranks him third among active coaches in career wins behind Bill Belichick (177) and Mike Shanahan (160).

Yet Fisher is also just 5-6 in the playoffs and hasn’t coached a playoff win since the 2003 season. His teams also lost at least six games in back-to-back seasons, and posted five-game losing streaks in five of the last several seasons.

147-126 is about a 54% winning percentage.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment »

TMQ watch: January 25, 2011.

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

It’s a travesty! It’s a sham! It’s a mockery! It’s a travishamockery! All in this week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback, after the jump…

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Posted in Guns, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | 1 Comment »

Random notes: January 24, 2011.

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Things are still kind of up in the air, but improving slowly. In the meantime, have a handful of random crap:

Your Jack LaLanne obit from the NYT. And from the LAT.

Just for Lawrence, a review of the New World Center, designed by Frank Gehry.

Happy belated birthday, John Moses Browning.

The Pack is back, baby! (Mostly, I’m linking this for the font: may not be valid after 1/24. Did they drag the “Japs Attack Pearl Harbor!” font out of the Linotype case?)

Should General Vang Pao be buried in Arlington?

Posted in Art, Clippings, Gehry, Guns, History, NFL, Obits, Sports | 1 Comment »

TMQ watch: January 18, 2011.

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Is it possible to be a football atheist? Plus Easterbrookian ignorance about guns and stealing jokes from FARK. All in this week’s TMQ after the jump…

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Posted in Guns, Media, Music, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | 5 Comments »

TMQ watch: January 11, 2011.

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Nudity! Gambling! This week’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback! Now!

(more…)

Posted in Geek, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

The Happening.

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

The train wreck is now official. I expect this to be about as successful as M. Night Shamalamadingdong’s latest movies.

And Vince Young won’t be a Titan in 2011. However, it is not clear that the Titans are going to keep Jeff Fisher on as coach, either; that decision is yet to come.

Edited to add: And tying it all together, Richard Justice in the HouChron: “Should the Texans sign Vince Young? Are you kidding? Of course! Today!“

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

The Al Davis reign of terror continues…

Wednesday, January 5th, 2011

Tom Cable out in Oakland, even though he finished this season 8-8.

He posted a 17-27 record during his two-plus seasons as the Raiders coach.

And apparently, calling one of your fellow employees “sweet baby” and “a–hole” is a firing offense. At least at ESPN. If your fellow employee is a woman. And you have a record of pulling this kind of crap.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

I would like…to feed your fingertips…to the Wolverines.

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Rich Rodriguez has apparently been fired as head coach at Michigan.

I say “apparently” because there hasn’t been an official announcement yet; Lawrence sent me a link earlier, but that link is no longer active, and appears to have been replaced by this link.

Rodriguez was 15-22 during three seasons in Ann Arbor. He lost a school-record nine games in his debut with the Wolverines two years ago, was 5-7 after starting 4-0 last season and turned a 5-0 start into a 7-5 finish this fall.

The Wolverines were also 1-10 against ranked teams, 0-3 against rivals Michigan State and Ohio State and 1-2 against Wisconsin during the past three seasons.

Edited to add 1/5/2011: Now it looks like the decision will come sometime today.

Edited to add 1/5/2011 2: Looks like “This time for sure!” Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a head coach out of my hat!

Edited to add 1/5/2011 3: Yep, he’s done.

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Sports | 2 Comments »

Roundup of local and quasi-local news.

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

I’m running a bit behind today due to a personal matter this morning, so here’s a quick roundup of some things I felt were worth rounding up.

Day after coverage of the Kubiak situation from the HouChron. Kubby stays, four assistants get the axe. And it looks like the Wade Phillips thing is moving closer to happening.

Fire last night in one of our downtown condo complexes. A close friend of WCD and many of our readers (who shall remain nameless here to protect his privacy, but the people who know him know who I’m talking about) lives in that condo one floor above the fire. He’s fine, and his condo suffered what he describes as minor smoke and soot damage.

Local gun store (McBride’s) robbed. This is the second break-in at McBride’s that I can remember; I have it in my head that the perps were caught in the act the first time, but I can’t confirm that now. It struck me as odd that they only stole “several” handguns, but this KXAN article describes them as high-end .45 autos. I think I know which guns were taken, as I’ve seen them in the display case. My recollection is that they were Wilson Combat and Les Baeur 1911s. Nice to know that our local crooks have good taste, but I don’t think they’re going to be able to move those easily. Assuming that they want to move them, as opposed to using them personally…

The Macy’s store in Highland Mall is closing. I’m thinking this is probably the end of Highland Mall. I haven’t been there in…I can’t remember how long. And I haven’t been to that Macy’s since shortly after they dropped the Foley’s branding. (I miss Foley’s.) Highland Mall attempted to file for bankruptcy last year, but had the petition dismissed. The mall itself has been in decline for several years; there are a lot of allegations that it has become a hangout for gangs, and a hotbed of criminal activity. The more recent Statesman articles avoid discussing those issues, but you can pick up on them by reading the discussion and this older Statesman article.

Question: if you level the mall, what do you put there as part of the redevelopment process?

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Guns, Law, NFL, Sports | 3 Comments »

TMQ watch: January 4, 2011.

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Happy new year, everyone. Now that we’re all over our hangovers, let’s see what Gregg Easterbrook has in store for us this week, shall we?

(more…)

Posted in NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | Comments Closed

Monday, bloody Monday…

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

First Monday after the end of the NFL regular season, and the firings have begun.

Mangini out as head coach of the Browns.

More coverage from the Cleveland Pain Dealer.

Watch this space for updates. Thanks to Lawrence for the heads-up.

Edited to add: Looks like Kubiak is staying on as Texans head coach, but Frank Bush is out as defensive coordinator.

Posted in Clippings, Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Firing watch.

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Little snark here, because I find this kind of sad and disturbing.

Mike Haywood is out as head football coach of the University of Pittsburgh, two and a half weeks after being hired, and before he even coached a game. I’m not sure if that’s a record, but if not, it comes pretty darn close.

Haywood’s firing stems, at least in part, from an arrest on felony domestic violence charges in Indiana. According to the Post-Gazette, Haywood became involved in a domestic dispute with a woman he has a child with; the charge was upgraded to a felony because the alleged domestic violence took place in front of the child.

The ESPN story linked above and, to some extent the Post-Gazette story, also seem to suggest that Haywood’s hiring was somewhat controversial; Haywood didn’t have an extensive record as a head coach before he was hired, while the Post-Gazette suggests the hiring process was rushed and driven entirely by athletic director Steve Pederson.

Mr. Haywood had announced that he was bringing two assistants from Miami — assistant head coach Bill Elias and offensive coordinator Morris Watts — with him but neither signed contracts and it has been made clear that anyone whose employment at Pitt was associated with Mr. Haywood will not be a part of the future.

That’s the thing about being a leader; what you do doesn’t just have an effect on you, but on the people around you as well. It disturbs me that the assistants are getting the shaft, and it bothers me a little that Haywood was let go that quickly (without the university waiting for the legal system to take its course). I’m a little hesitant to go along with some of the speculation that Haywood was an unpopular hire, and the university saw a chance to cut their losses and bring in someone else, because that makes me sound like I’m condoning thumping on one’s woman. (I don’t.) It does make me wonder.

(Hattip: FARK.)

Posted in Clippings, Firings, Leadership, Sports | Comments Closed

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