Had a brief chat with my Aunt Barbara last night.  She reminded me that I have not posted my bowl game picks.  I told her that it was probably a by-product of how the season turned out.  If you are an Indiana Hoosiers football fan, you want to forget it.  Wish I could.

But I am optimistic.  Y’all know me that well. Indiana will bounce back.  I still BELIEVE!

Y’all also know there are so many bowls it is laughable.

One concept ESPN has not grasped yet I bring to you now.

The Toilet Bowl

Yes.  The Toilet Bowl.

Take the two most disappointing teams of the college football season, based on a fan and media vote the Sunday after the rivalry games are played out, and let these two farts of the season stink it up one more time.

But the game in Atlantic City.  That would be even more punishment.

The Waste Management-Rid-X Toilet Bowl sponored by Help for a Cleaner Jersey Shore

The 2021 opponents as the most disappointing teams in college football?

Indiana ( of course) taking on the Florida Gators.  Sounds painful to me.  But I am sure a few dollars could be made for ESPN if a mouth other than mine were to open up the suggestion.

A man can still dream.

On to this year’s College Football Bowl Picks:

My College Football season started with embarrasment and an oh no, here comes the Natural Order of Things to Bloomington again this year.

The Hoosiers’ season opener at IOWA. Awful.

The Seems Like Old Times Crowd at the Rugers game. Awful.

Yes, the game in September against the Cincinnati Bearcats was a little better.

So I am left to root for the Ole Miss Rebels in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor.

I hope the Herd wins tonight in New Orleans vs. Louisiana.

And I will pull for Western Kentucky today.  God Bless those folks in Bowling Green.

Here it goes:

Western Kentucky beat App State in the Boca Raton Bowl…Go Hilltoppers.

Jackson State beats SC State in the Celebration Bowl…Coach Prime getting recruits!

Fresno State beats UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl…Trembling a bit as I type this.  Miners?

BYU beats UAB in the Indepence Bowl…Hope they can keep this game going.  Ugh.

Liberty beats Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl…Coach Freeze can coach.  Terrible name for any bowl.  Toilet Bowl almost sounds better and certainly if you need it!

Oregon State beats Utah State in the LA Bowl…Bless Jimmy Kimmel for putting this on.

Marshall beats Louisiana-Lafayette in the New Orleans Bowl…Can’t pick against the Herd.  Hope they can keep it close.

Old Dominion beats Tulsa in the Myrtle Beach Bowl…Is it me or does Myrtle Beach sound like the name of an old lady you cut grass for?

Wyoming beats Kent State in the Idaho Potato Bowl…Geography and Dan Quayle never get old.

UTSA beats San Diego State in the Frisco Bowl…This has the potential to be the gem before semi-final games get going.  Don’t miss this one.  If you can get past the ugly uniforms, you got some good football to look at here.

Mizzou beats Army in the Armed Forces Bowl…Rootin for Army!

North Texas beats Miami, Ohio in the Frisco Classic Bowl…Geography again.  Though I am glad to see Miami, OH in a bowl game.  They have been patient in Oxford, OH with Coach Chuck Martin.  He left as Notre Dame’s OC to take this job in 2014.  Improvement has been steady.  Good to see coach and school hang in there. I have no doubt he could leave the “Cradle” and find a bigger pan of fish.

UCF beats Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl…Sarsparilla sounds better.

Hawaii beats Memphis in the Hawaii Bowl…Geography again.

Ball State beats Georgia State in Cameillia Bowl…Can’t let old Dave Letterman down.

Nevada beats Western Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl…Nothing like a good wrench on a trophy.

Boston College beats East Carolina in the Military Bowl…Eagles or Pirates?  Well, I am for ECU!

Auburn beats Houston in the Birmingham Bowl…But only of the Tigers show up ready to play.

Louisville beats Air Force in the First Responder Bowl…Louisville fans get the bowl they need.

Mississippi State beats Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl…Memphis gets a compelling matchup again.  In the stadium where Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant got his last victory…

We have Coach Mike Leach at State taking on the school that fired him, Texas Tech, in the days of “Adam James in the Shed and made Daddy Madgate.”  The pressers should be entertaining even when they are not trying to be.

UCLA beats NC State in the Holiday Bowl…Oh yes. San Diego and the Holiday Bowl.  It was 1979 and a 7-4 Indiana team beat and undefeated top ten ranked BYU….no…no…really…I am not dreaming!  That happen.  Look it up.  For UCLA, this will be the best competition they will face outside of practice until they meet Washington in the Rose Bowl next October 1st.  Their first four games of next season are at home:  Bowling Green, Alabama State, and South Alabama and then a trip to Boulder the last weekend in September.

Minnesota beats West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl…Did I really just typ that bowl name?  Go Goldy!

SMU beats Virginia in the Fenway Bowl…Left field is a doozy!

Maryland beats Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl…Coach Locksley is like Robin of Locksley.  Straight shooter and better at hitting targets all the time.

Iowa State beats Clemson in the Cheez-It Bowl…Iowa State has a better “we still care” ratio than Clemson does, studies show.

Oregon beats Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl…Another VERY GOOD matchup.  San Antonio will sell something well.

North Carolina beats South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl...Oh my.  At least someone is paying attention to what fans might want to look at, in addition to running an adding machine behind money’s closed doors.

Purdue will beat Tennessee in the Music City Bowl…PU stunk it up here against Auburn a few years ago and they will be ready for the Vols this time around.  I have been to a sold out Music City Bowl and it is a good time.  This one should be close to that.

Pitt beats Michigan State in the Peach Bowl…Michigan State has proven it can play well against tough opponents and just as fast get blown out as a top ten team the next week. Pitt’s loses were 3 and 4 points and they have only lost two games.  They were (THAT) close to putting the UC Bearcats where they belong…the Peach Bowl.  Bama will up on UC by 30 points at halftime.

Arizona State beats Swissconsin in the Las Vegas Bowl…I refuse to pick Bucky for anything.

Wake Forest beats Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl…I know, I know, but Wake’s not bad.  Turnover here or there, missed field goal, I just think it is going to work out for Wake this time.

Miami, FL beats Washington State in the Sun Bowl…El Paso still has the Sun Bowl on CBS.  There are still a few traditions that have stood the test of whine.

Central Michigan beats Bosie State in the Arizona Bowl…The Chips are a good team.  They will tag you.  The Broncos are on the need of a win.  Not so fast myfriend!

Alabama beats Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl…Won’t be close.  Have you seen the way the offensive schemes for Bama have swiss-cheesed linebackers and beyond?  UC can answer that?   Yeah, I know.  What do I know?  I made reservations for Pasadena in June to see the Hoosiers play in The Rose Bowl.  The difference?  I love Indiana.  I enjoy watching Alabama and don’t always root for them!  This is a College Football Playoff Semifinal game.

Georgia beats Michigan in the Orange Bowl…It’s an SEC World and the Big Ten is not living in it.  I hope Michigan wins.  I would be delighted to see BAMA play Michigan in the final game.

Arkansas beats Penn State in the Outback Bowl…Coach Pittman is impressive at Arkansas.  Give him this much time to prep for Penn State and I think we will see an entertaining game and a few trick up the sleeve that come out.

Kentucky beats Iowa in the Citrus Bowl…Don’t tell my sister-in-law, or my father-in-law.  If Iowa wins I can still smile.  I still will probably root of UK.  It is nice that we talk about football into November around these parts (Kentuckiana new area).  Once upon a time it was basketball talk in mid-Ocotber that dominated  sports talk.  not so these days.

Notre Dame beats Oklahome State in the Fiesta Bowl…Seen Brian Kelly lately?  This will be a postscript to an Irish exit celebration they did not expect to enjoy!

Utah beats Ohio State in the The Rose Bowl…Can’t root for Brutus.  How his nuts get busted!  This is my game.  The is the one bowl game I look forward to like no other.

This is probably the least compelling matchup I could possibly dream up and it hurts me.

Ole Miss beats Baylor in the Sugar Bowl…The Rebs are back in the Sugar Bowl, as it should be.  Hotty Toddy all the way home!

Kansas State beats LSU in the Texas Bowl… The great LSU experiment begins with more research dollars than most other microscope views on campus.

Georgia beats Alabama in the College Football Final…It’s all about field position and turnovers, Gus.  That is what I told my old radio partner Gus Stephenson when we called high school games.  This will apply here.  Georgia was in a hole a great deal of the time during the SEC Championship, as memory serves.  Uga bites Al this time around.

That is that!  How many of these I will get wrong is a good guess.  But know that my post season prediction record pretty much stinks compared to my history of regular season over the years.

I hope you have enjoyed these.  They have been fun for me.  

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I can’t stop thinking about Mrs. Patti Miller.  Mrs. Miller was my teacher in the 10th grade.  During the 1983-1984 school year at North Harrison, she must have done something to honk the administration at the high school.  Mr. Pitman, I doubt he would say it.  Mr. Davis, I doubt he would remember.  Doubt he was in on it.  But something had to happen for a school teaching assignment roster to include a new class at North Harrison High School.  The class was Sports Literature.  The teacher assigned to said class was Mrs. Patti Miller. Mrs. Miller didn’t know if a football was filled with air or stuffed with feathers. Still,  Mrs. Miller made a difference in my life.  She was the first teacher I had to mark on my writing assignments with positive remarks.  I mean really positive remarks.

She wrote this in my yearbook.  I was honored.

What I respected the most about Mrs. Miller was her honesty.  She made no bones about her lack of sports acumen.  She was a great English teacher and a WONDERFUL drama person.  She put on plays at Jeff High that were legendary.  While at North that year (not surprisingly it was her last), she leaned on her students.  There were maybe eleven of us.  My old friend Paul Haub was in there.  So was Rob “Cube Root” Ray.  In earnest, I kind of took the lead in that class.  Never one to shy away from a chance to guide for the good, Mrs. Miller gave me a great deal of rope that sounded like this, “What is going on in sports right now, Danny?”

It was a second semester class.  The biggest professional sports story was happening early that semester.  The Colts were moving from Baltimore to Indianapolis.  We watched sports movies.  “Bang the Drum Slowly’ and “Brian’s Song” were a couple I remember.  Nothing like the movie projector days before the VCR!

I wish Mrs. Miller could have been in the crowd this weekend as her old sports pupil was in the role of Drama Club Sponsor.  Oh no, I did not direct the play.  An excellent student was in charge of that.  I was the guy who turned the key and was the sounding board when I needed to be.  I also was in the tech booth high above the play taking care of the sound effects and music that added to the performance.

These kids were awesome.  This poster is affixed outside my classroom in the main hallway.

I think Mrs. Miller would approve.

Earlier today I went for a walk. Enjoyed taking pictures.

The Blue River

The empty fields behind the house.

My attempt at photography.

Take care of each other.  When you need to, speak the rights!

Danny Johnson

Good times tonight at North Harrison High School.

I have been fortunate enough to be the Drama Club Sponsor this semester at NH.  I have been blessed to be surrounded by a great deal of talent and the drive to do something with it.  Those two don’t always work out the way we want them to.  Tonight, they did just that.

When it was over, I was able to let things marinate a little bit.  Most folks know I enjoy taking pictures.  God Bless Alan Fessel and his crew for getting the lunch tables up and the seats out.  It looked marvelous from the stage.

It didn’t look bad looking at the stage either.

No, I didn’t take photos as the play was in action.  I was peering through a window above a rendition of Starry Night.  My job was to throw in sound effects and music when the script demanded.  It was a nervous fun I can tell you.  I enjoyed being a part of the process.

Don’t anyone mistaken me as being the director of this play.  I handed that over to a very capable student.  I know when to yield for the good of the cause.  I was just glad to be a part of it.

Just another great experience and putting one foot in front of the other to do so.  A new challenge is usually a good thing.  This certainly was.

Thanks to all the cast and crew.  I don’t want to single any one person out.  This was a total collaboration and that is one of glorious things about the theatre.  It takes ’em all to make it work.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

This is it, college football fans.  After this weekend we will find out which four teams will play for the NCAA College Football Championship that I beleive is just as mythical as when in 1990 the AP had Colorado and the UPI had Georgia Tech finishing number 1.  We have accomplished very little, outside paying “college” coaches more than what pro coaches make.

Conference USA….Western Ky beats UTSA…I know I know, but I have a feeling.

PAC 12…Oregon beats Utah…ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Big 12…Oklahoma State beats Baylor…as if we in the Midwest care.

MAC…Northern Illinois beats Kent State…Huskies should always beat Flashes.

Mountain West?  I didn’t know they still had teams?  I am told they have uniforms and everything!  San Diego State beats Utah State.  Brady Hoke is loving the weather.

AAC…Cincinnati beats Houston…Shame though, if Houston wins, it will save Cincinnati some SERIOUS embarrassment should they make the playoff.

SEC…Alabama beats Georgia…I know what is on paper.  Yes, I believe Georgia has a defense of the ages.  Yes, I know how good Georgia is. But, did you see the IRON BOWL last week?  Bama had no business winning that.  Hint hint.  Georgia will get another chance to beat these guys in January and they will (sorry Brother Tim).

ACC…Pitt beats Wake Forest.  Pickett v. Hartman.  Best QB match-up of the year save Corrall v. Young.

Big Ten…Iowa beats Michigan…Yes, I know what is at stake.  But, at the end of the day, I will take a Kirk Ferentz coached team over a Jim Harbaugh coached Michigan team.  It took how long for him to beat Ohio State?

USC beats Cal…Covid game make-up.

Hey…

This evening I went for a walk.  I got home much earlier than I usually do and it was 67 degrees around 5 PM here in Southern Indiana.  That is a WOW!

I posted the following on facebook this evening, as I truly believe it.

Enjoying God’s Light Show. 67 degrees in Southern Indiana after 5 PM on December 3rd. There is always HOPE, LOVE, and LIGHT! Written listening to #9 Dream

…and I included these photos…

Have a great weekend!

And, of course, speak the rights!

Danny Johnson

When the pandemic hit and we were all under house arrest, I took to the patch of St. Louis road in front of the house and headed west, as Horace Greeley once suggested a long time ago.

My walks have been published here, along with some solitude musings.  It was all we had for a great while.

In that time, I found an appreciation for taking pictures.  I am not still often.  I may appear to be…but my mind is usually looking for the next song to write or the next story to write.  The pandemic slowed a great deal of that for me.  It was the fear of the Great Unkown that had me unhinged.  I saw, in photographs, things I had not paid much attention to before.  For that, I am thankful.  Inspiration doesn’t always have to find you working.  Wondering is a source that we can’t discount.  For me, being still and listening can be an inspiring time.  All of us are wired differently.  We used to know that.

So today it was not a walk.  It was a RIDE!  Was it ever.

True story.  Gather around, kids.

MANY MANY years ago I was on the back porch in winter time.  The crops in the field behind the house were cut and gone.  The trees between the house and the field were bare.  In the field, Jarrett was taking Cody for a ride on our 4-wheeler.  I was taken aback.  You are running your younger brother WAY TOO FAST on that ATV, I thought.

When the boys got back to the house, I took Jarrett aside and told him he needs to slow it down when Cody is riding behind him on the 4-wheeler.  Jarrett took it well.  With a couple of exceptions over the years, he usually did.  Then, he looked at me.  “Do you want to take me for a ride ?” he asked.  I told him sure.

As I was driving and he was holding onto me, we are talking twenty years ago, we took off for the field behind the house.

When we reached the entry to the field, I didn’t waste time with the throttle.  ZOOOOOOM!

A few seconds later I could feel Jarrett’s grip on me tighten considerably.  And then, I heard his voice like I had never heard it before as he leaned into one side of my helmet (yes we were smart enough to wear helmets), “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”

I was going too fast.  That is what I was doing.  I have yet to ride a 4-wheeler since.  Much like the last time I rode a motorcycle was when I was in high school.  I had a wreck testing my limits with speed. Haven’t been on two wheels since.

The irony?  Cody and I rode roller coasters at Opryland and Kings Island that Jarrett would never think about getting near when they were kids.  But, later down the road, Jarrett had his legs hanging out of the back of a Chinook taking off in Afghanistan.  Jarrett spent more than his share of time hanging out of Blackhawk with a 50 caliber maching gun between his legs over Afghanistan and Iraq.  Those were not pleasure trips.

Though some things change, some do not.  I pushed the envelope in that Polaris RZR today.  I caught myself in a curve going just a little too fast and I was in doubt for just a second and I liked it way too much.

I have a love affair with the gas pedal.  I don’t need to ride that thing alone again.

But it sure was fun today.

I have taken a phot of this patch on my walking journey’s before.

This is just before my usual .85 miles form the house before I turn around.  That would be just on the other side of the house in the badckground.

Another piece of my regular walking route.

This is a stretch I did GET ON IT.  This thing will gain speed in a HURRY.

Can’t leave this out.  On the Milltown-Frenchtown Road.

It was a great ride.  Most of my life has been.

Speaking the Rights…

Danny Johnson

Oh my.

How did we get here so fast?

Sure, I know there are Conference Championship Games to be played.  There are a bazillion and one bowl games to be decided.  We have the College Football Playoffs to be decided.  4 teams to decide it?  To me that is just as mythical as the AP and UPI Polls back in the day.  And they were more fun to debate and argue about.  Nevermind.  That was when folks could argue in peace.  We know what has happened since then, sad as it may be.

Yes.  I know, all you know-betters.  I thought the Indiana Hoosiers were going to have a great season.

They didn’t.  The Hoosiers are 2-9 going into the final game against Purdue on Saturday.  Those who know the code (I can’t pick against the Hoosiers) know why I won’t touch this game this week.  Or did I just do exactly that?  It has been tough this season.

I was there with my dear friend, Jerry Brown, when the season started in Iowa City.

This was not a good day for Hoosier fans.  It made us all say, “Uh-oh.”

The last time IU won a game was September 25th at Western Kentucky.

A bomb of a field goal helped to preserve a 33-31 victory over the Hilltoppers.

Did I say it has been a long season?

On to the final regular season picks of the season!  Save a cut of the cheese last week when I picked Michigan State to beat Ohio State, I was 13-1 last week. You know my proclivity for not picking against the Hoosiers.  It works the other direction when it comes to Ohio State and Swissconsin.  Can’t stand either one of them!

Here we go.

Ole Miss beats Mississippi State…They have to.  In all my years of watching and attending college football games, the closest I have come to attending this game is driving by Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in the 1970s as the game was commencing.  There was no TV.  We were driving by listening to the radio, as we were visiting relatives in Jackson over Thanksgiving Weekend.  The Rebs have been a great breath of fresh air this year.

While we are at it, the only SEC teams I have not seen play in person are Mississippi State, Florida, and Texas A&M.  My feelings are not hurt.

North Carolina beats NC State…I may lose this one.  I owe one to the NC State fans at the Farmer’s Market in Raleigh.  We love that place.  I am a Mack Brown fan moreso.  When you walk onto the field of The Rose Bowl where Vince Young crossed the goal line to beat USC and win a National Chamionship in the last game Keith Jackson called there, you root for the one who was there.  Mack Brown.  Go Mack go.

Michigan beats Ohio State…I hate hornets.  I hate wasps.  I hate Buckeyes.  Get the picture?

Iowa beats Nebraska…That is where we started all this Big Ten mess.

Arkansas beats Mizzou…Used to be a Friday after Thanksgiving Classic with Arkansas and LSU.  Same for Colorado and Nebraska back in the day.  Go Hogs.

Georgia beats Georgia Tech…I know Lewis Grizzard is smiling.  I know it.

Alabama beats Auburn…Let me rephrase that for clarity and my dear friend, Brother Tim Petty, I hope Alabama beats Auburn.  I think they will.

Oregon beats Oregon State…The Civil War.  You gotta love rivalries.

Marshall beats Western Kentucky….This is a big game.  Also marks this first season since 2009 my dear wife, Carrie, and I have not been to Huntington to see The Herd play sans last year’s Covid debacle.  Go Herd.  I miss you.

Minnesota beats Swissconsin…See Ohio State notes.

Louisville beats Kentucky…Opps.  I said it.  I believe it.  It is Louisville’s time.  I hope UK proves me wrong.  I don’t think it will work out that way. Too much Card O.

Oklahoma beats OK State…I’m a man! I’m 50!

Pitt beats Syracuse…This Pitt team is fun to watch.

UCLA beats Cal…The last home game in The Rose Bowl for UCLA.  I’d be there every home game if I could.

I split the uprights there!

And I took my Dad there.

He was like me.  He couldn’t believe it either.  All those January 1st days in Southern Indiana as we watched the Big Ten take on the PAC 10 and dreamed about this place.

Santa Monica Pier behind us.

Go Bruins!  You won’t see this field on TV with less paint than this!

Speaking the rights!

Danny Johnson

Have you ever heard of a portent of doom?

I have heard of that notion.

Last Saturday walking on the South side of The Assembly Hall, the home of Indiana Hoosiders Basketball, my dear friend Brother Tim Petty and I were heading toward Memorial Stadium with hopeful hearts and frozen feet to see the Indiana Hoosiers take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a Big Ten Football tilt.  (You have not seen an old school phrase like that in a while, have you?)

Out of the Northwest wind under a gray streaked sky, here that portent came.  It came flying toward me and Brother Tim.  Actually, it flew over the first row of cars parked next to Assembly Hall and then tried to find us.  I was taken aback and trying to get out of the way.  Tim braved it better than I did.  He grabbed and held on for dear life.  What did I do?  Why, I started taking pictures, of course.  After I snapped a few shots to capture the moment, I joined the fray and helped out.

Someone’s pre-game tent came and nearly went.  It was finally somewhat dismantled and that was that.  Walking from there to the stadium, I had a bad feeling for sure.  And for good reason.

It looked like Gerry Dinardo was in the house.  This photo was taken not long before kickoff.  The Hoosiers received the opening kick.

On Indiana’s the first play from scrimmage on offense,  the Hoosiers fumbled.

It took 1 minute and 13 seconds and Rutgers was looking at kicking an extra point.

It didn’t get better.  Rutgers 38 Indiana 7.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, it looked even worse than the old days.

No, I am not going to touch the game tomorrow against Goldy.  Minnesota comes calling to Bloomington.  We won’t be there.  Just didn’t work out this week.

Last two weeks have been kind with 21 winners and 7 losers.  At least that was better.

Tomorrow!

Ole Miss beats Vandy….It will be fun in Oxford as the Rebs go to 9-2.

Harvard beats Yale…Go Harvard!

Michigan State beats Ohio State…Let’s get rid of those Bucknuts once and for all.

Kentucky beats New Mexico State…Play’em all!

Purdue beats Northwestern… Boiler up indeed.  Keep up the good work, Mark Hagen.

West Virginia beats Texas…The Horns don’t want to go Morgantown.  Couches all over WV will be on fire.  Too bad they don’t want to play the Herd.

North Carolina beats Wofford…Hey, I get a cupcake too.

Iowa beats Illinois…Too bad Coach Belima can’t coach against his alma mater.

Notre Dame beats Georgia Tech…The Rudy Bowl.

Alabama beats Arkansas…The Offense will play better this week.

Marshall beats Charlotte…Go Herd or Go Home!

Pitt beats Virginia…In a good one.

UCLA beats USC…Go Bruins.  My Sentimental Bowl.

NC State beats Syracuse…By a bunch!

Took this in the front parking lot at North Harrison this week.

This would be the moon tonight.  Took this on the Tunnel Hill Bridge.

Have a good weekend!  Speak the rights!

Danny Johnson

Last week was good. 

11 winners and 3 losers.  UK let me down.  So did Louisville.

Can’t win’em all.  Hoosier fans know that all too well.

This week I am picking the Indiana Hoosiers to beat Rutgers.  I swallow kind of hard when I think that the last game the Hoosiers won this year was September 25th at Western Kentucky.  Seems like forever ago.

The Hoosiers won 33-31 in Bowling Green.

Let’s the picks begin!

Michigan beats Penn State…It’s at State College.  Still, the Wolverines will do fine.

Indiana beats Rutgers…Rutgers, indeed.  Sounds like something that would clog the kitchen sink.  New York market Big Ten Dollars at work.

Louisville beats Syracuse…If a storm moves in and they have to call it after three quarters the Cards will win with ease.  If not, it might be a photo finish.

Georgia beats UT…Sorry Rocky Top.

Iowa beats Minnesota…Floyd of Rosedale likes Iowa City.  I do too.

Marshall beats UAB…Attendance in Huntington has been bad, even with a good team.  I have a conspiracy theory.  Marshall has inked Chad Pennington’s son as a future Herd player.  Chad is a coach of his boy’s team.  Will both of them be in Huntington eventually?  Attendance was one of the reasons Herd coach Mark Snyder got shown the door before Doc Holliday.  I miss Doc.  Hope he is well.

Michigan State beats Maryland…After Purdue made them look silly, Sparty is back.

South Carolina beats Mizzou…I’d like to see the annuals to look at how many times the Gamecocks have played this far west?

Arizona State beats Washington…Sun Devils are doing well.

UK beats Vandy…They better or basketballs will be pounding even louder than they already are!

Ole Miss beats Texas A&M…Hotty Toddy!!!

LSU beats Arkansas…Used to be a Friday after Thanksgiving staple.  I miss those days.

Notre Dame beats Virginia…The ND mystic, with their own TV network, still has to succumb to ACC dollars.  Wish they had the schedule they once had.

UCLA beats Colorado…As they should.

Five years ago a dream of mine was realized.  I was able to take my Dad to Pasadena to see UCLA play USC.

I would give anything to know what was going through his head as he walked through that tunnel to look at the field inside The Rose Bowl for the first time in person.  The greatest college football venue ever made is The Rose Bowl.

Yes, of course we got there early.  It was a long time coming.

Before the game, he got to hang out with some UCLA cheerleaders.  Some guys have all the luck!

Dad hangs out with cheerleaders and I look at kickers in pregame warm-ups. Go figure.

The Sam Darnold-led Trojans won a good game.

Two years later, I had to take my dear wife, Carrie, out there.  We made it to the field on Thursday before the game and I was able to split the uprights in The Rose Bowl.  Still does not seem real.

How does that happen?  It did.  Long story.  Thank you, Bart Bigham and your students.

I’m Sad.

Graeme Edge passed away yesterday.  He is standing to Carrie’s right. What a great picture.

I always liked this picture.  It was taken the last time The Moody Blues played at Red Rocks outside Denver.  Graeme looks to be taking it in at the end of the show.  This was May of 2011.

Always a fan of this shot, away from his drum kit and leading the way.  This was taken in 2012 in Indianapolis.

Graeme Edge was behind the drum kit of The Moody Blues from 1964 to 2018.  I saw the band play more than 50 times from 1986 to 2017.  The earliest incarnation of The Moody Blues, pre-Justin Hayward and John Lodge, toured as the opening act for The Beatles on their last concert tour.

Now, it is officially over…if you ask me.  It was fun while it lasted.  It was so much fun.

I’ll be in Bloomington for Indiana’s noon kickoff.  That means we will be home in time to see the Rebs play the Aggies.  Good times indeed!

Listening to The Moody Blues.

Danny Johnson

On November 10, 1967, The Moody Blues, with the newly minted classic line-up that added Justin Hayward and John Lodge, released their classic first album Days of Future Passed.  It did well, eventually, it did VERY WELL.

Though released in 1967, it is my Moody Blues lore understanding that in 1972 a DJ in Seattle was turned on to the Moodies’ sound (well into their 7th album), and played the whole 7 minutes-plus version of Nights in White Satin on FM radio.  This long song, that included Graeme Edge’s poem Late Lament at the end of the tune, gave the DJ a break compared to other songs.  He had time to smoke or call a friend or eat a midnight hamburger.  If this is true, I really don’t know.  Better still, I don’t care.

As I typed these words, I just heard Ray Thomas sing Twighlight Time and we are now into Justin Hayward’s Nights in White Satin.  Nights is the Moodies’ most recognizable song.  I heard Justin Hayward sing it last month in Nashville.

Here he is with Mike Dawes, Karmen Gould, and my friend Julie Ragins.

When I was in high school, there was a stereo in the locker room.  It was in the football coach’s office.  When we were all in the locker room, the coach, my Dad, would let us choose the station and then there would be one speaker sitting outside the coach’s office door.  It was blaring always.

One day, when I may have been thirteen, I remember hearing The Moody Blues singing Nights in White Satin.  I was taken by it.  Then….wait for it…there was a poem at the end!  That was in this old Southern Indiana country boy’s wheelhouse.  No one else understood my attraction to this surreal stuff.  Best thing I can say about that is that I did not care. It was my music to enjoy.

Not far from that locker room in late February 1983, I walked into a weight room with an ice cold back, having just jogged four miles on a frozen cross country course with my friend Pete Rutherford.  After our run (in the freezing cold…), I went into the weight room.  I looked across the room and saw guys removing weights from the squat rack.  I told them to hold it.  I needed that weight.  So, me and my ice cold back went under the squat rack.  The weights on the bar and I went down.  We didn’t come back up.

There was a high profile Sports Medicine Doc in Louisville.  When Denny Crum was coaching the Louisville Cardinals college basketball team he always had Dr. End of the Bench.  I will never say a bad word about the man.  He misdiagnosed me.  The cortisone shots only helped what was not a strained sacroiliac so much.  When a CAT scan was ordered the truth came out.  He ordered the scans. He had a tear in his eye when he told me the results.  He knew when he had earlier sent me out the door with my cortisone shots, the EXERCISES he thought would help were only making things worse.  I had disc problems at the L-4 and L-5.  That was a whole different ballgame.

I was referred to a neurosurgeon.  After one of my visits to this doctor, on my 15th birthday, March 18, 1983, my mother and I stopped at a department store that in four short years I would be employed by.  I was looking around.  I saw this cassette tape on an endcap that one day I would know well.

I looked at the cassette.  What interesting artwork, I thought.  I picked it up.  I read the following words:

Including NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN.

Done.

That is where my Moody Blues musical journey began.

MANY years later, I heard Justin Hayward, the man who wrote NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN,  say that Moodies fans had a tendency to discover the band for themselves.

I did just that.

My friends didn’t get it in 1983 as I was listening to DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED and a bootleg copy of a friend of mine’s old ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM from 1969 that belonged to his Dad.  That was it.

In the Spring of 1986, I seemed “with it” when The Moody Blues were hitting the Top Ten in my senior year of high school with the single YOUR WILDEST DREAMS from the album titled THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE.

The years pass quickly.

The first concert I saw The Moody Blues play was in 1986.  I heard YOUR WILDEST DREAMS IN PERSON.  I never dreamed I would hear Justin Hayward sing this song again in 2021 in Nashville.  I did.  It was special.

I could go on.  My dear wife, Carrie, and I saw our last THE MOODY BLUES concert at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in July 2017.  They were playing DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED in its entirety, as it was the 50th Anniversary of the album’s release.

It was a great time.

IT WAS ALWAYS A GREAT TIME…except for one clunker we saw in 2005.

Great memories of taking my loved ones to see The Moody Blues.  My dear wife, Carrie, my boys, my parents, my siblings, my granny, my niece and nephew, and so many dear old friends. Granny saw The Moodies twice.

This week I talked to some of my students about things that make us glad and sad at the same time.

I heard so many good examples.  I was proud of the kids sharing stories of their grandparents and their pets and their personal endeavors…and so on.  It was refreshing to hear good times and bittersweet times.

I hemmed and hawed.  I spoke up.

Justin Hayward has been quoted about the significance of holding on to the MUSIC OF YOUR YOUTH.  I think I have done that.  More than most.

I then told the class that 25 years ago I had a young lady in my class draft a letter to Justin Hayward to let him know they were enjoying his new solo album THE VIEW FROM THE HILL.  The young lady had twenty-five classmates sign it, unbeknownst to me. They were 7th and 8th graders

The student who drafted the letter asked if I knew the address to send it to Justin Hayward.  I told her I did know the address to Moody Blues headquarters in Cobham, Surrey England.  I assured her I would send it across the pond.

Eventually, Justin got it.  He responded like I never imagined, in my wildest dreams, he would.

Justin Hayward wrote me a personal letter of thanks.  It is in the middle of this frame.

Earlier this week, I was talking to one of my classes about things that were important to them.  We talked about grandparents here and gone.  I joined in that conversation!  How I loved my Granny!

Eventually, I told them the story of the student in that class who penned the letter to let Justin know that they, like I, enjoyed his new solo album, THE VIEW FROM THE HILL.

I told my current students I kept Justin’s letter to me on a shelf out of sight for twenty-four years.  I told them that as long as I kept it out of mind and out of sight, I felt like it was an acknowledgement that I didn’t care that much about it as I did the next show I was going to where I could hear the guy sing.  That, to me, is what was most important.

When I put the images VERY PROPERLY framed on the wall of my home office, I knew it was not a good thing for me.  It was over.  I liked that letter more when it was not on display. I’d rather look forward to another show.  I don’t think I will be doing that again.  No offense, Justin.

All these years on.

Yes, that cassette in this photo is where it all started.

It was worth it.

I was 18 when I saw my first Moody Blues concert and I was 49 when I saw my last.  This past October I was 53 as Carrie and I listened to Justin Hayward sing so many Moody Blues classics.

I smiled and chuckled to myself.  When you have spent most of your lifetime seeing your favorite music group, you know something went right.  I am a blessed man.

All I know for sure is that I still listen to the music of The Moody Blues with the same old optimism that I did when I was a teenager; this music feels good.  In 2021, now more than ever, we need to feel good! 

Some time ago, I reached out to Justin to go back and forth with a few questions.  He was in the midst of a tour and I was told Justin told me he was not doing any press at the time.

Yes, I will press onward and keep on listening to The Moody Blues…be it CD, LP, Video or youtube.

And I hope to heck one day Justin Hayward will respond to my interview request.  I have some heavy questions about Buddy Holly.

Over the years I have been asked if my music was influenced by The Moody Blues.  My answer has always been, do I sound like a British guy twenty-five years older than me?  I don’t.  When I have been wrapped up in my own album projects those are the times I have listened to The Moody Blues the least.

I started recording at age 31.  Had I had an early start, had I known at age 14 that I have the ability to pick up a guitar and a piece of paper and a pen and find songwriting as simple as it for me, I never would have heard of The Moody Blues.

I credit the Moody Blues for helping me become a singer.  I have travelled a great deal on the road all alone and singing my heart out along with The Moody Blues.

I can report that after a recording session of my material flowed like warm cheese whiz out of a water hose, I was void of more material.  Everyone, we had a full band, was still juiced and ready to keep going.  I hit an E-minor and told them to join in.  “Nights in White Satin…Never Reaching the End…”.  It was the only time I ever sang a song into a recording mic that I had no part in creating.  Our rendition is something we did finish and I am proud of it, even though it will never see the light of day.

Hey!  Take care of each other and if need be, speak the rights!

Danny Johnson

Week Number 10.  It is November and I am sad.

No, this is about football.  I don’t want to see the college football season end.

It is November for goodness sake.  How did that happen?  On good thing we have going for us this weekend is turning the clocks back.  Another hour to hang in there and watch late night college football.  Where is UCLA when I need them?  They are off this week.

To quote Van Morrison, “I’m Tired Joey Boy.”  Look it up.  Avalon Sunset album, 1988.  Listen to Coney Island.  Words were never spoken any better.  I am not huge Van Morrison fan.  I do, however, give credit where I think it belongs.

This is where I started the College Football season.   Full of optimism, as my Indiana Hoosiers were ranked in the preseason poll.

At this point, as the photo suggests, we still had SO MUCH optimism.

When I look back on the 2021 college football season, I will find solace in the fact that on one Saturday I traveled to Iowa City with my oldest friend, Jerry Brown.  We had a good time.  We laughed.   we shared a nice meal.  We cruised to parts of the country neither of us had seen.  Indiana football made us cry.  It was a portent of doom.  But Jerry and I had a good time!

This week’s picks!  I did AWFUL last week and I own it.

Ole Miss beats Liberty...This smells bad.  Look out.  I wonder how much Ole Miss offered to buy out of this one?  Did they or did they not?  Like the old Tootsie Roll Pop commercial…the world will never know.

Georgia beats Mizzou…Silver britches plays everybody!

Ohio State beats Nebraska…Hate that Scott Frost came back home to this.  Face it.  The Big Ten may have meant dollars to Nebraska…but the old pride sure has taken a hit.  They will never be what we knew in the Big 8 days.  They are an odd Big Ten apendage.

Pitt beats Duke…Hurts me to pick against the Dukies and Coach Cut.

Louisville beats Clemson…Clemson doesn’t want to come to Louisville.  Saw this in 1981 when a ranked Southern Miss team came up and got spanked by a mediocre Louisville team.  The USM team was undefeated with one tie when they played Louisville in November.  The Eagles were ranked #9.  Their tie?  Alabama 13-13.  Louisville gave them their first loss of the season.  I was there. Less than 13,000 of us were.  Was in also in Hattiesburg the next weekend when Southern took it out on poor Lamar.

UNC beats Wake Forest…Trust me.

Auburn beats Texas A & M…Auburn is coing off a big win against Ole Miss.  In the SEC there is a pedigree factor.  It will show when Auburn beats Texas A & M.

Purdue beats Michigan State…Even though Coach Tucker is telling his team he has seen this movie before, it is a great movie!  Purdue plays the part better than most.  Jeff Brohm is Hollywood tomorrow.  I can call him Jeff.  I was in the antiquated baseball press box of old Cardinal Stadium when he made his U of L debut at quarterback.  John Tong said, “Nagle’s (Browning Nagle) pass incomplete to…”  Tong was corrected and told that Brohm had made this pass.  Tong acknowledged Brohm on the next play.  Tong was something.

Notre Dame beats Navy…No boating miracle this year.

Penn State beats Maryland…Of course.

Cincinnati beats Tulsa…Was ready to pick Tulsa then saw there record.

Alabama beats LSU…This won’t be close in the first quarter.

Arkansa beats Miss State…Hogs outlast the Bulldogs.

Kentucky beats Tennessee…Apparently the Cats were full of themselves last week and got bit by the Dogs of Mississippi State.  It happens.  It won’t happen this week!

No, I did not pick the Indiana game.  I am too much of a homer to pick against the Hoosiers.  Read what you will into that.  What a sweet and sour college football season this has been!

Have a good weekend!

Danny Johnson