Walla Walla Barer: 2008

This month marks the 100th aniversary of Jack johnson becoming the first African American heavyweight champion

Mickey Rourke at the New York film festival discussing the difference between training for boxing and training for pro wrestling.

This is a public T.V. story on the growth of the Walla Walla wine industry.

NOTE: Bill Gates was not able to get leonetti wine on request.
Seven hills vineyard is not related to Seven Hills winery.

WHEN I POSTED A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO SAYING WE HAD TWO FEET OF SNOW I WAS EXAGERATING. IT'S NO EXAGERATION NOW!!!

We have around two feet of snow on the ground

Below I have a link to a U.B. video showing the scene in downtown Walla Walla today.

HERE

I am Really enjoying Mathew Polly's book American Shaolin.

I give it my highest recommendation

The Walla Walla Union Bulletin is promising extensive online coverage of the local political scene on election night.

I just love this press conference.

I attended Washington State university for three years. Twice a day a would walk up to campus hoping an attractive college girl would come up to me and start a conversation. It never ever ever never ever happened!

On October 11th, fourteen years after I left college Dawn and I visited Moscow Idaho. I decided to take Buddy and Zorro on a walk across the University of Idaho campus. During our 45 minute walk I had seven different occasions where I was stopped by girls who wanted to pet the dogs.

Two weeks ago I wondered into the computer with the intention of spending a quick minute or two on the computer. My quick minute turned into a quick hour. When I got up from the computer I creaked. Then I started getting ready for bed. I stood on the bathroom scale and weighed 195lb. That was it .....it was time for a change.

First I got Dawn and myself memberships at the YMCA. While their after we singed up I confirmed my old karate class was still meeting on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Then I went around the corner from our house to the local mixed martial arts gym and signed up.

So now I've scheduled myself for two nights a week of karate and to nights a week of jujitsu or some mixture of those classes four nights a week.

How will it go?

Will my thirty seven year old body hold up?

Ahh.... I guess will find out.

Today Dawn, Buddy, Zorro, and I attended the grand opening of the beautiful new Dog park at Fort Walla Walla.

Here is a nice video of the Sensei who awarded me a black belt back in 2003.

Ted William with Rocky Marciano

Jackie Robinson with Sugar Ray Robinson

Charlie Steiner is comedic gold.

ESPN turns 29 this month. In honor of this milestone I plan on posting several of the classic sportcenter comercials that have been broadcast throughout the years. Here is a definite lol effort as Charlie Steiner is traded to Melrose place for Andrew Shue.

Seven minutes ago I couldn't even spell perspicacious. Now I can define it and use it in a sentence

Adj. 1. perspicacious - acutely insightful and wise; "much too perspicacious to be taken in by such a spurious argument"; "observant and thoughtful, he was given to asking sagacious questions"; "a source of valuable insights and sapient advice to educators"
sagacious, sapient
wise - having or prompted by wisdom or discernment; "a wise leader"; "a wise and perceptive comment"
2. perspicacious - mentally acute or penetratingly discerning; "too clear-eyed not to see what problems would follow"; "chaos could be prevented only by clear-sighted leadership"; "much too perspicacious to be taken in by so spurious an argument"
clear-eyed, clear-sighted
discerning - having or revealing keen insight and good judgment; "a discerning critic"; "a discerning reader"

STEVE IS FAR TO PERSPICACIOUS TO DICUSS POLITICS AT WORK

She did name one of her children Bristol. Coincidentally The Espn campus is in Bristol Conn. Maybe she had dreams of being a sportscenter anchor like Linda Cohn.

Dawn knows if they ever have A UFC(Ultimate Fighting Championship) In Portland We will not be two of the millions watching at home... We Will be two of the thousands in attendance.

Early in the summer rumors began circulating about a possible UFC in Portland. Then the rumors got more specific the event would be in November. Then the rumors trailed off. Then the word on the virtual street was that UFC 91 would be in Montreal not Portland. Unfortunately for fight fans in Montreal the premiere venue in the city the Bell Center is booked by the hockey team for every Saturday in November. So at that point it was almost a forgone conclusion that the November show would be in Portland. Making the speculation even more exiting was word that UFC legend Randy Couture might be settling his differences with the company and headlining the show in Portland.

Well Couture did settle his differences with the company and A blockbuster fight was announced for...........Las Vegas. Yes, The bout between Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar was deemed to big for Portland and will take place in Vegas. So no trip to Portland for us.

The fight is such it big deal it even got coverage by ESPN. ESPN boxing and mixed martial arts coverage has absolutely no rhyme or reason. One fight will get wall to wall coverage and the next month a fight that is equally big will not get any mention.

Well the day after Couture and Lesnar's bout was announced they were all over ESPN

One of the all time great performers.
Here he is in 1953 in Madison Square Garden

A gentle giant who played in two all star games and helped the Blazers reach two NBA finals.

Explaining Why she tries to sneeze 16 times in a row.

Here she is winning a match with a well executed Juji Gatame (arm lock).

Misty May throws out the first pitch to her husband at the Marlin vs Diamond back game

We followed Mike and Deborah to Kirkland.Where We had a great brunch with dad and Regina. I ordered the sausage, eggs and pancake breakfast and proceeded to join the clean plate club.

After breakfast we were going to follow Mike and Deborah out of town. They ditched us. Yet somehow we made it home.

Sada's grandmother Adrian Jacobson is a first cousin of my dad Alan Barer. Which means Sada's dad David would be a second cousin of mine. So Sada would be a second cousin "once removed".

Which leaves me wondering in what generation my athletic ability was...."removed"?

Anyway here is the WIKI explanation of the whole cousin thing
CHART OF COUSIN CONSANGUINITY

Oh and our heroes were on the morning show on CBS!

On Saturday 8-2 Michael and I made another pilgrimage to Issaquah. We visited the Issaquah salmon hatchery and then headed over to the Issaquah brewery. I had a turkey croisant and an IPA. Both were very good.

Saturday night Mike, Deborah, Dawn and I went to Tacoma. Dawn and I went attended Showtime World championship boxing at the emerald queen while Mike and Deborah ate dinner and gambled. A fun time was had by all

You can see me between the two boxers at the 29 second mark

Friday 8-1 We met Lynn at Staples in Issaquah. We then followed her into Seattle where we met Cherie. We rented some kayaks at went out on the lake. We looked at some house boats and as we were paddling back the Blue Angles flew over us. Other then getting a little wet the kayaking was a lot of fun.

We then went with Cherie and Lynn to the Blue Moon restaurant. I had a Hawaiian hamburger that was terrific.

Friday evening we went with Mike, Deborah, Dad and Regina to watch Swing Vote.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie. we then went home and enjoyed some hour d oeuvres and called it a day

If you fast forward and pause at 2:11 Behind Vic Darchinyan's back and above the blue rope the really handsome guy in the blue and grey shirt is me.

Thursday July 31 we took it easy lounging around Mike and Deborah's house until we decided to go shopping in Covington. We capped off our afternoon by taking the poodles to Lake Wilderness Park.

Then we got in our car and drove to Issaquah where we met Mike at Stapples. We followed Mike to a park where we met Lynn and Conner. We were their to see a concert but before it could begin the rain pored down.

So the four of us had a change of plans. We ended up meeting Deborah at a Mexican restaurant. I ate the Huevos con cherizo. Then we went home and called it a day.

Wednesday July 30th we packed up the car and along with our poodles we headed towards the greater Seattle area. I had intended on getting to Kirkland by 4:00 so I would have plenty of time to hang out with my dad. Unfortunately we got going late then I realized I forgot my asthma medicine and had to go back and get it. When I finally got to the outskirts of Kirkland I was quite late then to make things worse I got confused about which exit to take and I ended up in Bothel. By the time I got to my dad's condo we had to jump right back into the car and head for Issaquah.

We followed Dad and Regina to Issaquah and met Mike, Deborah, Donna, Ethan, Conner, And Cherie for dinner at the Shanghi. The shaven noodles and strawberry chicken were delicious. Conner then informed us their would be a surprise birthday cake. Moments latter a chocolate cake arrived. It was very good. I received several very nice birthday presents (thanks everybody). We then headed to Maple Valley and called it an evening.

Dave Niehaus is going into the Hall of Fame.

I DON'T BELIEVE IT
MY OH MY!!!

My favorite Dave Niehaus call.

Dave Niehaus along with Rick Rizz on All Most Live

If my life had a soundtrack the late eighties portion would be dominated by Great White.
Mike put up Once Bitten Twice Shy in my honor. When that song came out I really didn't like it(although later I found it was fun to perform in karaoke).

Here are a couple of my favorite Great White Songs.

ROCK ME

SAVE YOUR LOVE

CALL IT ROCK AND ROLL

Congratulations to Michael on spending his fifty first birthday in an octopus's garden in the shade.

Click on the picture to see the flying dog

Round up the usual suspects.
Buddy and Zorro along with Don and Darleene's new dog Nora

I was driving back to work at noon on Thursday when a bee flew into my car.
It decided to torment me by buzzing and walking around my ear. The bee crisis started at the corner of Palouse and Main. For two blocks I considered pulling over and trying to shew the bee away. I eventually decided I would wait it out. So for four blocks and a couple of stop lights I thought pleasant thoughts and ignored the bee. Finally when I arrived at 4th ave it decided it had messed with me enough and flew out the window.

I would've loved to have gone to the dedication ceremony honoring Gus and D.J.

We just got back from a wonderful vacation to the coast. Dawn, Buddy, Zorro, and Steve spent three enjoyable evenings at the Coho Inn.

The Walla Walla Barer household regularly watches Bravo's top chef. We are currently in the middle of the two part season 4 finale.

I thought I would take a moment and look back at my favorite top chef moment. Which is also my favorite reality show moment. This is from season three. Hung Huynh spent most of the season playing the no nonsense make no friends take no prisoners villain. Then in this episode he gets the short end of the stick. For his quick fire challenge he has to make a dish with his only resource being the cereal aisle at the grocery store. Hung say f it and the results are hilarious. Although Hung Huynh didn't win this quick fire, he did win the season finale.

Tonight the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons to earn a trip to the NBA finals. The Celtics opponent in the championship series will be the L.A. Lakers .

It's been 21 years since these two historic teams have met in a NBA finals. The day the Lakers vanquished the Celtics and won the 1987 championship I was in L.A. (Westwood to be exact) attending my brother Danny's graduation. I also vividly remember the legendary Ella Fitzgerald singing at the ceremony(the commencement ceremony not the basketball game).

Today I walked down to the farmers market along with Dawn Marie, Buddy, and Zorro. It is was a very pleasant 3 mile round trip.

The Walla Walla farmers market as grown considerably over the years and now takes up most of the parking lot behind city hall.

When You visit Walla Walla I recommend you make time to visit the market. It runs May through October on Saturday and Sunday.

Last month I was in Maple Valley shooting hoops with my big brother Michael. He mentioned to me that my grandfather Barer(who passed away four years before I was born) enjoyed watching wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Abdullah The Butcher.

I mentioned to Mike that Abby was still wrestling. Mike didn't think it was possible.

Well I did a little research. Larry Shreeve aka Abdullah The Butcher broke into the wrestling business as a teenager in the late 50's. By the mid 60's he was a big star especially in Vancouver B.C. territory. And yes it is the same Abdullah that still wrestles in Japan and on the indy scene in U.S.

The Butcher also owns a restaurant in Atlanta called Abdullah's House Of Ribs and Chinese Food

The Abdullah character has been one of the most successful and enduring gimmicks in the history of wrestling. With his greatest success coming in Japan.

I found this clip on you tube. It interesting to observe the difference between the mad man from the Sudan character and the soft spoken man who plays the part.
Also as someone who has an appreciation of wrestling history it's remarkable to here him talk about wrestling Lou Thez in Vancouver in the early to mid 60's while they show footage of Abby wrestling Hulk Hogan In Japan circa 1982.

Hey, thats Abdullah The Butcher!

We watched Iron Man on Sunday. I liked the movie ALMOST as much as I liked the trailer.

As I was driving home from work tonight the thermometer was reading 90 degrees

Our Sonic memories continue as we pay tribute to the late great Dennis Johnson.
D.J. was the MVP of the 1979 NBA finals.

Since Michael put up a classic beer comercial I figured I would put up these two. I wonder how much these guys were paid to appear in these comercials?

I am posting this holiday season commercial Just because I am actually able to identify everyone who appears in it.
Dick Butkus, Booge Powel, Bubba Smith, Jim Honocheck, Grits Gresham, Steve Mizerak,
Carlos Palimino, Billy Martin, John Madden, Tommy Heinsohn and Marv Throneberry

Since we haven't had much Walla Walla related content lately. I figured I would post this clip.

In 1987 Sonic Tom Chambers one the MVP award at the All Star Game held in Seattle.
What made the moment even more specials for the athletes involved is the fact that..Steven and Michael Barer were in attendance(thanks to my sister Teri purchasing the tickets for us).

Chambers and the sonics got hot in the playoffs and made it all the way to the western conference finals before being swept by a juggernaut Laker team. I remember watching the deciding game at My aunt Dorthy's house. We were visiting because cousin Stanley was in town

No entry on Tom Chambers would be complete without the dunk.

We continue are long goodbye to our 1979 NBA WORLD CHAMPION SEATTLE SUPER SONICS.

Today we remember the X Man, Xavier McDaniel who burst on the national scene as a senior at Wichita St where he led the country in both scoring and rebounding.

He went on to be a all star with the Sonics for many years.

The X man is also a tremendous actor. His performance in the 1992 movie singles demonstrated his tremendous range and to this day remains an inspiration in my life.

The enduring image I have of the Sonics in the late 70's early 80's would be Jack Sikma catching the ball in the post then throwing sssweet behind the back passes to Gus William, who would invariably finish with a silky smooth finger roll layup.

When I think of the Sonics in the early to mid 90's I will remember Shawn Kemp's
VICIOUS RIM RATTLING ANTI GRAVITATIONAL DUNKS!

I had fun in earlier posts comparing some WWE promos to The Obama vs Clinton campaign. Well last night.. as George Costanza would say "seperate worlds Jerry".

Electricity in Key arena.

Danica Patrick became the first person to pose in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and win an indy car race all in the same month.

I've read quite a bit of complaining in regards to Ric flair being mentioned in the house of representatives. We are at war the economy is bad.....why talk about a wrestler?

Because it makes people happy and helps them forget their problems for a minute. Is that so bad?

Rep Sue Myrick on C-SPAN

1974 Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling

Highlights of Ric Flair's retirement ceremony 2008

After the show went off the air

Here we have a fun news report on the 1981 exhibition game in Spokane between the Sonics and the Blazers.

Anybody remember Paul Olden?

My brother Danny did a post recently on the Green Hornet and the amazing presence of Bruce Lee.

Which led me to watch this clip on you tube. It shows off Lee's unique charisma and it's interesting to watch as a martial artist. First because his explanation on the different punching styles is excellent. Second, it's interesting to see how is views changed over the next several years has he developed his own style

Let's step back into the Walla Walla Barer time machine again.

Destination 1984.

I've talked about how my grandfather never missed Wall Street Week with Louie Rukeyser and Portland Big Time Wrestling. Well my Grandmothers favorite show was Days of Our Lives.

So instead of talking about the good old days when Wrestling didn't suck, today we'll look back at the era when Days didn't suck. Yes.. back before Marlena was possessed by the devil.. Before Chris Kositchek somehow morphed into Roman Brady.

This was one of my favorite story lines. We get to see Bo Brady break out a way cool spinning back kick. Then Roman gets "killed off" in a "cliff hanger" of showdown with Stefano complete with tear jerking death scene.

Without any further ado

We were ready to go. At 3:45 today both Dawn Marie and I were dressed and ready to attend the wedding of Claire and Hailu.

Then I looked at the invitation and realized the ceremony isn't until tommorow.

Fiddle sticks.

You know someone is a life long Wrestling fan when:

Their sleeping on the couch with Sports Center on then all of a sudden North Carolina is mentioned and that someone has the uncontrollable urge to jump up and scream....... whoooo!

Darn it, I blame Ric Flair.

No T.V. personality has entertained me more over the last 25 years then Ric Flair.

At the age of 59 Ric Flair is retiring as an active pro wrestler. I tuned into the last 20 minutes of WWE Raw on Monday night because I had read that they would being paying tribute to Flair and his amazing 36 year pro wrestling career.

For all the things the WWE does that irritate me sometimes they really get right.
They did an amazing job honoring Flair's career in the wrestling business. At the end of the show they introduced many wrestling greats past and present one by one they walked down to the ring to congratulate Flair. For me it was nice to see many of the greats from the 70's and 80's still doing well. What was really touching was seeing Flair sobbing uncontrollably in the ring as many of his all time greatest rivals were announced. Each time Flair would run over and give them a hug before they even has a chance to step through the ring ropes.

For A life long fan like me you couldn't help but be teary eyed to. Flair is the last link to the wrestling that I grew up with. A style and an era that will never be repeated.

What I wouldn't give to be six years old again and have that feeling of awe of watching Jimmy Snuka leap off the top rope. What I wouldn't give as an adult to have a job I enjoyed as much as Ric flair enjoyed being a pro wrestler.

I want to buy a dvd recorder. I am getting a headache reading all the specs on various machines. I also looked at various dvdr vcr combinations which worsened my head ache.

Anybody have any suggestions

The other day I posted a version of the Wide World of Sports theme that was missing the thrill of victory agony of defeat line.

This is a 1970's version featuring the amazing flexibility of Olga Korbut.

Now we learn a little about the ski jumper Mr. Bogataj

Finally here is a 1982 version with the 1980 Olympic hockey team representing the thrill of victory.

Speaking of T.V. theme songs that leave an impression on you. How about ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Here is a 1969 version along with the opening round of a classic bout between Joe Frazier and Jerry Quarry.

Part II of this fight is up at TV Time Limit

A look at the Bergevin Lane Winery and tasting room.

Here we get a look at the W.W.C.C Enology and Viticulture program.

It was only a few weeks ago, but it feels like an eternity. The Los Angeles debate where Barack and Hillary Clinton played nice. When the question of a dream ticket came up the crowd cheered like a 11 year old girls at a in sync concert.

Today's question: Who has more on screen chemistry? Barack and Hillary or The Rock and Stone Cold

To emphasise a calming of tensions the two candidates hug at the end of the debate

This is a clasic clip from 2001. Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock weren't getting
along so to ease the tensions they decide to sing a duet. Even if you hate wrestling this is still entertaining. I just wish I could edit out the last 1:30.
Wasting Away Again In Margarita ville

I was surfing the Internet over the weekend and I read that Jessica Beal had just turned 26. I thought wait a minute how could she have starred in Flash Dance 25 years ago and only be 26 I know she was young then but thats ridiculous.... So I did a little more research and found out I was confusing Jessica Beal with Jennifer Beals.

I use to think I knew what was going on in the world. I think I am starting to get middle age man disease. So I took an hour or so to study the careers of these two fine actresses. This post is the result of hours of pain staking research.

Jessica Beal got her start has a child actress and model.
Here she is on Late Night with David Lettermen discussing her first big break

She has appeared in classic movies such as Blade Trinity and I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry.

Jennifer Beal has appeared in over 50 movies and T.V. shows. Her most famous role being Alex the dancing welder in the American movie classic Flash Dance. I have been involved in the welding industry for fourteen years now and I have never met anyone quite like Alex. Although I did meet a female welding student who was a registered nurse and had decided to change careers.

Here's the music video from Flash Dance

Now Jennifer Beals stars in the Showtime original series the L word. It's the only T.V. show I have ever seen that has the F word in it's opening theme song.

Do you see any similarities between these two clips?

Here's a look at the Walla Walla wine scene.

Twelve years ago Justin Wylie and I were in similar positions. We were representing the fourth genration of our fammily in Walla Walla and we were attempting to carry on our respective family businesses. My family business involved scrap metal and steel while Justin's family made Grave stones and markers. Justin decided the toomb stone business wasn't for him.

Today he run Va Piano Vinyard.

HOLA!

For the last two months I have been dynamically imershed in Rossetta Stones Spanish language program. It's going pretty well........I think?.!#*^%

Adios!

Some of my funnest moments in Karate involved getting pummeled or getting pushed to the point of exhaustion. It' hard to explain, but when some nutty 220lb 20 year old college kid starts throwing high kick at your head with no control it has the effect of about 6 energy drinks. Up till that point in my life that is the most focused and alive I had ever felt.

Here is an episode of Discovery channels Fight Quest. Are resident goof balls Doug and Jimmy go to Israel to train Krav Maga with members of the Israeli military and get more then they bargained for.

Part II and III are up at T.V. Time Limit

E 9 a
by eMMA-TV

I had not updated my T.V. Time Limit blog since November.

When I originally started the blog I wanted to have a mix of old and new. With reviews of current events and classic bouts and matches from the past. What I have found is that I rarely feel inspired to write reviews. Writing a review of an event that you just watched for two or three hours is like watching the cooking channel after a five course meal. I am not in the mood for it.

What I want to focus on is upcoming events I am interested in watching. Discussing why I will be tuning in and why someone else might be interested as well.

Over the next few months fight fans will have several opportunities to watch quality bouts that are not $50 PPV'S.

These are the the shows I will be focusing on in the coming months.

I am starting my efforts with Saturday nights title bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov. Also Saturday night, in honor of black history month HBO will debut a documentary on the life of legendary heavyweight champion Joe Louis

to see my preview click here

First Steve Largent became a congressman and now Jim Zorn has become the head football coach of the Washington Red Skins.

Jim Zorn was the first quarterback for the Seahawks. Zorn is also a viola player. He inspired me to join the orchestra when I was in grade school.

I wish Mr. Zorn the best in his new job. He is an easy guy to root for.

Some where amist all the polls, graphs, pie charts and mind numbing analysis I herd 15,000 people attended a rally for Obama in Boise Idaho.

Idaho is one of the whiteist states as far as population and one of the redist states as far as political party prefernce. So when I herd about this event I had to find visual evedince, because this has to be seen to be believed.

After announcing here that I was boycotting the primaucuses.. We decided to attend today.

I still feel that out system is seriously flawed. Dawn spoke with her mother Friday evening, her mother was under the impression that she could not take part in the caucus because she voted in the primary. This would be true on the republican side but not on the democratic side.

With that said.

We arrived at Garrison middle school at 1:00. A huge line stretched out the door down the side walk around the corner all the way to the ball field. We finally got in, we stood in line to find out what precinct we are in. We then joined our caucus. Their were 17 people reresenting our precinct. 15 voted for Obama 1 voted for Clinton and 1 uncommited.

It was an interesting experience. Washington switched to an all absentee ballot system few years back and I miss going to the polls to vote. Today we had beautifull weather after weeks of snow. The pleasasnt weather made the wait in line kind of nice. I still believe that a primary is a better way to determine canidates.
It allows more people to participate and is much less confusing.

As I was watching Super Tuesday unfold yesterday a few thing occurred to me.

Several of the small states in the democratic race made a mistake moving up there primaries. If they would have stayed where the were they would have been an even bigger deal and would not have been lost in the shuffle on Tuesday.

I find it ironic the hole process is designed to end quickly and just the opposite is happening.

I also think we are heading for some serious controversy.

After all you can win a state and get less pledged delegates, you can win more pledged delegates and have fewer total delegates due to super delegates or you can win a primary and not have it count at all. Hmmm

My brother Danny has a sports related entry on his blog. I figured I would put an anime related post on my blog. The only anime I am familiar with was the Star Blazers series that I watched back in the early 80's. Clip one is a Japanese version of the opening and number two is an American version.

Super Bowl XI: Raiders 32
Vikings 14

This is the first Super Bowl I can remember watching. I was 5 years old and I watched it at the house on Palouse. The Raiders Beat the Vikings up and stole their lunch money.

Super Bowl XII: Cowboys 27
Broncos 10

I watched this Super Bowl at Grandfathers. If the Raiders were bullies, the cowboys were the snobs who beat you without even trying. Grandfather always rooted against the the Cowboys. At the time I thought the shot gun was unfair and should have been banned.

Super Bowl: XIII: Steelers 35
Cowboys 31

I watched this Super Bowl at grandfathers. This Is one of the few Super Bowls where two really great teams met. I remember thinking the Steelers would win. I was right.

Super Bowl XIV: Steelers 31
Rams 19

This was January of 1980. I started my day in Spokane WA. My hockey team had an early Sunday morning game at the Lilac city ice arena. We got home just in time for the start of the game. This was the last Superbowl of the Steelers dynasty. I remember the Rams leading at the end of the third quarter and sprinting to the other side of the field to start the fourth quarter. Terry Bradshaw hit two long touchdown passes in the final 15:00 and the announcers mentioned about 100 time that John Stalworth was the most underrated receiver in football.

Super Bowl XV: Raiders 27
Eagles 10

This was very similar to the Raiders victory in Super Bowl XI. The Raiders mugged the
Eagles and earned another Superbowl trophy for Al Davis.

Super Bowl XVI: 49'ers 26
Bengals 21

This is the beginning of the the 49er's Dynasty. I remember watching part of the game on the big screen T.V. at the Stereo shop at the East gate mall.

Super Bowl XVII: Redskins 27
Dolphins 17

This was the strike shortened season. It didn't seem like the Dolphins really wanted to be Tackling John Riggins.

Super Bowl XV: Raiders 38
Redskins 9

I missed the first half of this game. I was playing the viola at a youth orchestra concert at Cordiner Hall. Who schedules a concert the same time as the Super Bowl?
This was one of the most impressive team performances in Super Bowl history because the Raiders blew out a very good Redskin team.

Several weeks ago as I was preparing to get out of bed I listened to Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN II. They were promoting the Mike and Mike celebrity roast. Now I know celebrity roasts were once cool so sayeth the Guthy Renker infomercials for the Dean Marin celebrity roasts. But this isn't the 1970's and celebrity roast and political correctness don't go together.

My intuition told me some one was bound to get themselves into trouble. Sure enough ESPN II First Take host Dana Jacobson got herself into deep trouble when she went up to the dais swilling vodka and decided it would be a good idea to go on a anti Notre Dame rant. Dana's colorful metaphors in regards to touchdown Jesus and Notre Dame led to a week long suspension from her show. She is fortunate that the tape didn't see the light of day. In the end I think ESPN was fair. Hopefully the network will think twice before sponsoring anymore roasts.

I really enjoy my cousin Lee Goldberg's blog that pays tribute to T.v. show theme songs. It's not that I am nostalgic for the shows, it that I find myself curious. I see their was a show called super train in 1979 then I find myself googeling the show to find out what it was about and what the actors are doing today.

Back to Mike and Mike in the morning. One of the big topics last week was a poll that listed the greatest NFL teams of all time. My pick for the top spot goes to the 84-85 49ers who had a 15-1 record and seemed to have a pro bowl player at every position. Of course the 84-85 team didn't finish in the top ten in the ESPN poll. This leaves me scratching my head. Did no one see the Super bowl that year? A little research show that it was one of the highest rated Super bowls of all time. Well I guess people have short memories. I do remember watching the game I also remember recording it(and amazingly I still have the tape . Two things stick out on the tape, ABC's constant promotion of the new "hit"??? show Magruder and Loud (I'll be impressed when that theme song shows up on cousin Lee's blog). The other notable tidbit from the game is that a teenage Teri Hatcher(superman and desperate housewives) was a cheerleader for the 49er's at the time and is shown repeatedly on the sidelines.

The democratic and republican parties in the state of Washington will hold caucuses on February 9th. They will also hold primaries on the 19th????

A 1988 initiative mandates a primary. hence we have A primary. The democrats will hold a primary on the 19th and if you swear on a stack of bibles that you are a democrat they will hand you a ballot and you will fill it out and then they will crumple it up and toss it in the waste basket. Gee thanks

The republicans aren't much better. At least they are giving some weight to the primary
in choosing delegates.

While it is important to vote. Both parties have banded together to do everything in their power to thwart the will of the electorate. I an am disillusioned by both parties and I will not be participating in their primacaucuses.

As I have have said before on this blog I don't need to have a rooting interest in a game or a political contest to enjoy watching the proceedings. I usually just sit back and enjoy the show with little if any emotional involvement.

My Grandfather on the other hand watched sports and politics with the zeal of a pro wrestling fan. Cheering the mensh and booing the momzer. While interjecting the occasional Yiddish word or phrase.

This post is in grandfathers honor.

I found two people in the news this week that are so irritating they have even been able to get under MY skin.

Mitt Romney needs a klop in kop

While I would urge UCLA alumni to put down their lokshen and examine the whole Rick Neuheisel mishegoss at the U.W. Then ask your administration fahr vuss.

Fahrshtay'n?

"All I wanted was the simple things. A simple kind of life"
Gwen Stefani

"You're doing a heck of a job Brownie"
George W. Bush

"Where the heck is Brownie"
Steven J. Barer after 48 hours with no electricity or heat

Just as our lives were starting to return to some normalcy. We had a wind storm.

Growing up in Walla Walla I have experienced some prodigious wind storms. The old house on Palouse Street had several old trees that made quite a ruckus when strong winds blew through. Occasionally you would hear a creak and you would wonder if one of those big limbs was about to fall on you. The next day you would drive/ride around and see branches and limbs down here and there.(Palouse street was hit very hard by the wind storm as was the Walla Walla country club)

Friday January 4th we had a wind storm unlike any I have experienced before.

The front door at work opens and closes on it's own when we have brisk winds. Around 9:00 am on Friday the door started to gently open and close on it's own. Soon it started opening and closing more violently. Finally we had to lock the front door to keep it from slamming shut. Meanwhile the lights flickered on and off eventually going off for good.

By 11:00 the winds subsided and it was time for me to go to lunch. With all the stop lights out I was focused on the road. The reality of the situation set in when I arrived home to find the pine tree across the street uprooted and laying perilously
across the power line.

I Headed back to work at 12:00 only to be sent home at 2:30 due to us shutting down for the day. I spent Friday night with Dawn in a cold dark house.

Early Saturday morning I took the dogs for long walk. Every block had at least one big tree down some resting against power lines others crushing porches and a few smashing cars. It looked like a war zone.

Monday I went back to work. My coworkers were discussing what time on Friday they got electricity back. I chimed in that we got our power back at 5:30 last night(meaning Sunday) they all looked at me and said "you mean Saturday" no Sunday night.

Despite my whining and our long cold dark weekend, we were very very lucky.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Monday, October 06, 2008

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Monday, September 08, 2008

Friday, September 05, 2008

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Monday, August 25, 2008

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Monday, August 11, 2008

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Monday, August 04, 2008

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Monday, July 21, 2008

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Friday, July 04, 2008

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Friday, June 27, 2008

Monday, June 23, 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Friday, May 30, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Monday, May 19, 2008

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Friday, April 18, 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Friday, April 11, 2008

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Wednesday, March 26, 2008