Those "Rascals" were right.....

To quote their hit song from the 60's: "Its a beautiful morning. I think I’ll go outside a while, An jus’ smile....."
That's how I feel anyway after what (to me) was a great Thanksgiving/football weekend. DKW and I had a nice Thanksgiving meal with my youngest daughter, oldest son (& his wife & son) and my mom. With just a small touch of drama - but we let it pass - and had a pretty enjoyable weekend.
Sophie (my 18 lb Chi-Weenie - see pic)made out like a bandit. It's been our habit (for several months now) that when I run to town on Sunday mornings to get the newspaper we stop in at the Sonic Drive-In and I have a junior breakfast burrito and she gets a small order of tater tots (except for one or two that I eat). Well, I got up Friday morning and ran to town to get my Sunday paper - ooops! The town was packed. We stopped at Sonic (I had promised after-all) and then headed back home. Other than actually going to town Sunday for my paper (when Sophie got her second order of tots) - the rest of my weekend was spent at home. Primarily because with all the damp, cool weather my leg (injured in the wreck last year)was killing me.
Friday night my Starkville (MS) Yellowjackets played the Ridgeland Titans for the North Mississippi 5A title. After a first half that saw the Jackets fall behind early, the Jackets pulled away in the second half to win 28-7. On Saturday (December 3rd) SHS will play Picayune for the Mississippi 5A State Championship. I plan on being there (in Jackson,MS) along with my oldest grandson to see the Jackets win (hopefully) their first state championship since 2001!
On Saturday, the MSU Bulldogs played their in-state (& SEC) rival - the Ole Miss Rebels. And I'm happy to say that it was pretty much all Bulldogs! With the victory the Dogs become bowl eligible for the 2nd year in a row. There are 3 possible destinations being tossed around but we won't know for sure until Dec. 4th or 5th. The 3 are: (1) the Music City Bowl in Nashville,TN, (2)the Liberty Bowl in Memphis,TN, or the BSAV Compass Bowl in Birmingham, AL. The most likely destination is Nashville, but we won't know until the invites go out. I'd rather they went to Birmingham - cause we could visit friends and I could go to the game. There were a couple of other things (besides beating That School Up North) that made the game special: (1)for the first time in 70 years MSU has beaten TSUN 3 straight years and (2)Vick Ballard finished the year with over 1000 yards rushing.
And on Sunday, my Raiders completed the (for me) football trifecta by beating the Chicago Bears 25-20 and at 7-4, remain in first place in the very tight AFC West.
On a related football note - the nearby (Scooba,MS) East Mississippi Community College Lions will play the Arizona Western Matadors in the 2011 El Toro Bowl (in Yuma, AZ) on December 3rd for the Junior College National Championship. Among JUCOs, AWC is ranked #1 and EMCC is ranked #2. Both teams are undefeated going into the game. Should be a good one!
Everyone have a great day

Thanksgiving Week is here

For the weekend past - it was pretty enjoyable. MSU did get beat pretty soundly by Arkansas on Saturday (44-17)- but that, unfortunately, was expected. The good news is that we came out of it relatively healthy and we are favored over Ole Miss by 18 in the "Egg Bowl" on Saturday (26th). Once we trounce the Rebels, MSU will be Bowl eligible - with the most likely bowl destination being Memphis or Birmingham.
On Friday (18th), my SHS Yellowjackets defeated the West Point Green Wave 20-14 to advance in the 5A playoffs. This coming Friday we will (once again) play Ridgeland High down in Jackson. We played at Ridgeland on October 7th and barely pulled out a 26-23 victory. Its always tough to beat a team twice in one year and even more so with a trip to the Dec. 3rd 5A State Championship game in the balance.
On Sunday, My AFC West leading Raiders pulled a tough Win (27-21) at Minnesota. The Raiders get Chicago in Oakland next Sunday. The Bears will be without QB Jay Cutler as he got hurt in their defeat of San Diego yesterday (which also benefited the Silver and Black.)
Thanksgiving will be here shortly and if I don't get back on here before then - I want to pass my best wishes to all.
Everyone have a great day!

Catching Up

It's been a little over 3 weeks since my last entry because DKW and I took vacation for a couple of weeks. We had a very pleasant time. We did some touristy things like the Ave Maria Grotto and The Lost Sea. Visited the area where DKW grew up in Catawissa, PA and got her undergrad degree (Bloomsburg University). The we had 4 days at a very nice resort where DKW participated in a Knitting Retreat and I just enjoyed the area. Then we went and visited one of her childhood friends who now lives in Elyria, OH, (near Cleveland). While there I went to the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton and we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. As much fun as the trip was - we were ready to get back home. It will probably be a while before we take any more long trips.
On the football front. SHS won their last two regular season games to go 9-2 overall and 7-0 in Region 2-5A . The first playoff game was this past Friday and was not as close as the final score (42-28). SHS played a lot of subs in the 2nd half against Hernando High. SHS is now the favorite in 5A since the #1 5A team (Waynesboro High) was upset. Its not going to be easy though since we will be playing last year's 5A State Champion, West Point High. Not to mention that West Point is only 30 miles from Starkville - so Yellowjacket Stadium will be packed when the Green Wave and fans come to town. (5A Bracket-Click here)
MSU won Homecoming (UT-Martin) and lost at Alabama to go 5-5 on the year. We play at Arkansas Saturday afternoon and finish with Ole Miss on the 26th (at 6PM on ESPNU). State is predicted (by USA Today) to go 6-6 and play the University of South Florida in the BBVA Compass Bowl (in Birmingham, AL) on January 7th. I hope they are right.
My Raiders are 5-4 and in FIRST Place in the AFC West. The other 3 teams in the division are 4-5. So its still anyone's race with 7 games left before playoff time.
Tomorrow (11/16) is my sweetie's birthday. Everyone wish DKW their best!
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff that I'll want to put in later - but that's enough for now. (Oh! The pic is me and the ZZ Top Car at the R &R Hall of Fame!)
Everyone have a great day!

Monday, Monday.....(again)

As far as football this past weekend - mixed emotions. First the Raiders - without their starting QB (out for season with broken collarbone)-they looked horrible against KC and lost 28-0. Even with that though - they are only one game out of first in their division with 9 games to go - so.... fingers crossed. MSU had a bye week - so no news there. This coming weekend (Oct.29th) they play at Kentucky and Tyler Russell will get his second start - so again....fingers crossed.
Much better news on the SHS front. They pitched their first shut-out Friday - defeating Yazoo City 35-0. As a result the Jackson (MS) paper has moved them into their "Super 10" (regardless of class) at number 8 and among the 5A teams at Number 2. Starkville is 7-2 overall and undefeated (5-0) in Region 2-5A. As a result they have already clinched a play-off spot with 2 regular season games to go. They play Callaway (1-4 in Region 2-5A) at home Friday and then finish up at Neshoba Central (4-1 in Region 2-5A & currently tied for 2nd place). SOOOO - Go Jackets.
Everyone Have a great Day!

Hmmmm..................

This past weekend DKW and I made what has become our annual pilgrimage to Natchez to celebrate our anniversary (2nd this year) though we did go a couple of weeks early this time to partake of the annual hot air balloon festival. While it was an enjoyable time with us having great fun at the Natchez Little Theater production of the "Mississippi Medicine Show" - a salute to the riverboat shows of days of yore - with a tip of the hat to vaudeville thrown in.
While I was celebrating over the weekend - my football teams did this: Starkville High defeated Canton 38-7 and are in first in Region 2-5A. MSU lost a heartbreaker to South Carolina 12-14 and have a bye-week on the 22nd. The Raiders defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-17 to go 4-2 on the year (their best start since they went to the Superbowl in 2002). In the process QB Jason Campbell broke his collarbone and is out indefinitely - so they signed Carson Palmer away from the Cincinnati Bengals. Even with this - the Raiders are favored this weekend against Kansas City.
Read this morning that Kent Hull had passed away. Kent played for MSU and was on 4 Superbowl teams with the Buffalo Bills. One of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys you would ever want to meet. Also read this morning about Delta State (Cleveland, Miss.) overcoming a 10 point deficit in the final 5 minutes oftheir game against #1 (in Division 2) North Alabama to become the new NUMBER 1 team. And by coincidence - their game this weekend is against #10 Valdosta State. VSU is where my sweetie got her Master's Degree from. Ought to be a pretty good game.
MSU has announced special "gold-trimmed" uniform for the "Egg Bowl" game against Ole Miss on Nov. 26th. I think it looks pretty cool. Their are a lot of info links in this entry. Take a look if you have time.
Everyone have a great day!

The Weekend That Wuz.....

While I will share all the fun & exciting things that went on this past weekend - I would be remiss if I didn't first comment on the passing of a football icon - Al Davis. (Seen Here shaking hads with close,personal friend - Darth Raider). Al was the youngest head coach in the AFL (at 33) before he became AFL Commissioner, then owner of the Raiders. Definitely unique, Love him or hate him - AL you will be missed.
Friday night started a weekend of nail-biting games for me. SHS scored with less than 2 minutes to go in the game and hung on to beat Ridgeland High 26-23. The Yellowjackets are now 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in their region (currently tied with Neshoba Central for first place.) By coincidence, SHS plays at Neshoba Central in the final regular season game (Nov.4th) for both. This game could be for the Region 2-5A title.
Saturday I was at Legion Field in Birmingham to was MSU defeat UAB 21-3. To be blunt, MSU looked horrible offensively in the first half and trailed 3-0 to start the 3rd quarter. Coach Mullen started Tyler Russell in the second half and it was like the offense finally showed up and won it going away. I have no doubt (even though he's denying it) that Coach Mullen will start Russell when MSU hosts South Carolina this coming weekend. GO Dogs!
To get away from football briefly - While I was at the MSU game DKW was visiting with her friend, Ferah, (who was having a "Funky, Fabulous, Forty" birthday party that evening) and helping her as much as she could. The party was great. We were happy for Ferah and had a good time. But I'd be lying if I didn't say we were glad to get back home that night/morning. (We arrived around 1 AM Sunday).
With the death of Al Davis, Sunday was an emotional day for the Raiders as they played the Houston Texans. It was a very tight game - with several lead changes - and at the end -with Houston at the 5 yard line - the Raiders intercepted the ball in the end zone to preserve the 25-20 victory. WHEW!
Everyone Have A Great Day!

Flick Yer Bics & Raise 'Em High - - -

On this date in 1970 one of my all time favorite singers died at the age of 27. She was, is, and always shall be Janis Joplin! Often imitated - but never duplicated. I'm not going to try and write about her life - there is plenty of info about her online - Wikipedia for example. But every since I discovered her music (at the age of 12 in 1967) it has been part of my collection. Even now, I have her greatest hits in my car! So - Flick your Bics, raise 'em high and get "dem ole Kozmic Blues again!"
Today is also our Sophie's 1st birthday. (or 7th - if ya want to go with the common thinking.) She has so much become a part of DKW's and my life in the past year that its hard to imagine not having her around. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!
Yesterday my grandson had his next to last (7th grade) game of the year. They played the Koscuisko (MS) Whippets and (unfortunately) lost by the score of 18-0. So they are 4-1-1 on the year with one game left on Oct.13th at West Point.
Speaking of football, the SHS varsity won their 2nd region game in Region 2-5A and are undefeated, so far, in region games. Take a look yourself at the standings.
This Friday though we play at Ridgeland High in Jackson. If we win this one, I think we will end up with the number 1 seed for our region come playoff time and will have a real shot at the state title. Go Jackets!
Everyone have a great day!