This past Friday night my dear wife, Carrie, and I were back in my hometown watching a high school football game.  The Brownstown Central Braves played host to the North Harrison Cougars.  The score was 7 to 6 in favor of the Cougars at halftime.  North lost the game 35 to 9.  I was not happy with the result.  I was rooting vehemently for the Cougars.  That is quite the juxtaposition from where I was two years ago.  That night I was standing on the Braves sideline taking pictures of my Brownstown friends.  I was in the press box at halftime talking on the Braves radio broadcast and having a nice time with old friends.  I turned the page on that night with a post on these very pages.  You won’t find it here now.  I removed it.  I took it off the day I was hired by North Harrison as a school counselor.  North Harrison became the home school again.  I was not going to let my Brownstown allegiance hang around.  After all, when I came back to North I became a Cougar again.

I have that luxury.  I was able to choose.  You see, my Dad worked for both of these schools.  He was the head football coach at both of these schools.  I attended both of these schools.  I played on the field at Blevins Stadium as a fledgling Brownstown pee-wee football player and then a few years later I kicked the first of my many points on that same field as a North Harrison Cougar.  I have friends on both coaching staffs.  I just know the guys from Brownstown a little better, as I have known them much longer.

The Braves in pre-game.

The Cougars in pre-game.

Coach Mark Williamson in a pensive moment.  What he has done for Cougar football is extraordinary.  Thanks, Coach.  And thanks to Mr. Hatton, our principal, for making football welcome at NH like no other principal ever did before.

The field at Brownstown was awful.  They admitted to it.  And for someone from Brownstown to admit to something bad…well, it must have been awful.  I hope they beat Seymour this week.  And I hope we meet them again in the sectional later in the year….on OUR turf!

On Saturday I got my hair cut.  When I got home, I watched college football.  That was my Saturday.  I watched college football on television until I was tired.  I will leave it at that.  Well, I won’t.  You get tired when your noon team(Marshall)  loses, then your 3:30 team (Ole Miss) loses, and then your 8:00 team (Oklahoma) loses…and you wake up at 2 AM to see that at least UCLA was beating BYU 17 to 7.  The Bruins won 17 to 14.

On Sunday we made beautiful music.  Well, Rod Wurtele made beautiful music.  Let me just say God Bless Jeff Carpenter for introducing me to Rod Wurtele.  Rod plays with the Louisville, KY based “Wulfe Borthers”.  Let me just say that Rod is the man.

I have been blessed to be in on many recording sessions.  At each of them we were working with material I had a hand in creating.  Save one, every song I ever recorded was one I wrote.  Still, I have this innate sense that I had little to do with what just happened…when I hear something like I heard Sunday afternoon as Rod layered tracks that were recorded…seemingly for him to add his magic to.  I mean that.  I am not being glib.

One session, many years ago, was a time when my friend and music virtuoso, the late Tim Krekel, was laying some guitar work down.  What he did that day made me feel like I had never felt before.  He played a guitar solo that was over the top.  I was younger then.  I loved it.  As the years have gone on, I have appreciated it more.  Well, I never thought I would ever feel that way about a session again.  I thought I had caught lightning in a bottle and had fortunately recorded it.  That is what happened.  I never thought I would find lightning again.

On Sunday afternoon, Rod Wurtele brought the thunder and the lightning and the hail and rain and the sunshine back out and a beautiful sunset to go with it.  I was just proud to be there.

How could he not?

The control board at Al Fresco’s Recording Studio.

Count me fortunate to have a project going with recording master Jeff Carpenter.

Jeff and I taking it all in.

I sat there amazed and thankful as I listened to Rod’s work.

I think he liked it too.

Know that I will treasure this photo, Thank you, my dear Carrie.

If I never walked into the studio again, as there is more planned work on this collection, I could handle it.  How it will ever be better than this day, I can’t imagine.  But I am willing to give it a shot.

Thank you Jefferson.  Thank you Rod.  God Bless you both.

That is truly speaking the rights!

Danny Johnson

I heard Cheap Trick on the radio today singing their iconic song from the “Live at Budokan” album.  I think it came out in 1978.  That album is tanked #426 on Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums.  That is not much comfort, given Rolling Stone Magazine needs more constipation relief than any publication I ever subscribed to.  Well, used to subscribe to.

The Cheap Trick song I heard was “I Want you to Want Me”.  I am so glad they still play that song on the radio and it gets played a great deal.

5 songs I hear on the radio I wish I would never hear again:

Redbone: Come and Get Your Love

Elton John:  Bennie and the Jets….mundane stuff.

Soft Cell:  Tainted Love…80s music at its worst.

Styx:  Too Much Time on my Hands…too many awful sounds.

Kiss:  Detroit Rock City…If only that car would have stalled first.

5 songs I wish I could hear on the radio more often:

Kiss: Beth…Peter Criss singing a great song.  Love the cranking violins.  Turn it up!

The Moody Blues:  Your Wildest Dreams…because it hit when I was a teenager and it still sounds good.

Joe Cocker:  Anything by Joe Cocker.  Wish I could have seen him before he passed.

The Marshall Tucker Band:  Heard it in a Love Song…solo heaven.

Phil Collins: Against All Odds…The piano intro still makes me stop everything.

On to the picks.  I hit a few softballs last week.  I needed them.  7 winners and 6 losers the first week and 11 winners and 2 losers last week.  That was better.  I need to move it.  It is Thursday evening and the first game I am going to pick is less than a half hour away from kickoff and I will be accused of cheating when you see this pick.

Cincinnati beats Houston…the Cougars will find the Queen City an unpleasant place to suit up.

Marshall beats Akron….another big game for Chase Litton.  The Louisville Cardinals are next.

Louisville beats Florida State...I think the Cards will do it.  They won’t let down the shot at “GAMEDAY”.

Tennessee beats Ohio….I think.  I am always rooting for Coach Solich though.

Penn State beats Temple…The Nitters got beat by the western boys from Pitt last week.  The Philly boys come calling this week and the Lions will run up the score if they can.

Kansas State beats Florida Atlantic…I always pick against FAU…no offense.

Alabama beats Ole Miss…Of course they do.  They will not lose.  Nevermind Ole Miss has beaten the Tide twice in a row and Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium will be decked out in Powder Blue, so said the edict I received from Oxford via email today.  It does not matter.  The Tide will Roll…again.  They can’t be beat.

East Carolina beats South Carolina…in a twin win for the Pirate faithful.  Last week the poor boys from Greenville beat the gang from Raleigh.  At least NC State had the guts to play in Pirateville.

Kentucky beats New Mexico State….they have to.

LSU beats Mississippi State… The boys in the Red Stick need a win.  So does Coach Mullen.  This could be very entertaining.

Duke beats Northwestern.…Wish I could get to this one.  Ryan Field by Lake Michigan…watching a Duke win.  Then a deep dish pizza.  Enjoy, Chicago.

USC beats Stanford...Do I have a choice here?  Not when it comes to the Trojans.

UCLA beats BYU…Do I have a choice here?  Not when it comes to the Bruins.

It is almost time for kickoff in Cincinnati…by way of ESPN for most of us.  Go Bearcats!

What the heck is a Bearcat anyway?  It is the nickname of my mother’s high school teams in Mississippi.  And the Mississippi Gambler is coaching Cincinnati now.  I know one uncle who I am sure is glad of that.

Have a great weekend.  I will.  Tomorrow night I am heading up to Brownstown with my dear wife, Carrie, and my Dad.  The North Harrison Cougars are going to have some fun 50 miles up the road tomorrow night.

I can’t wait!

Later this weekend I will write about it, and well, I will…

Speak the Rights.

Danny Johnson

We did it.  My dear wife, Carrie, and I left the Marshall football game Saturday at halftime.  A big storm was brewing.  The Herd was up 49 to nothing and it was only going to get worse for the Morgan State Bears.  It did….but it probably could have been worse.  The Herd won 62 to 0.

The fountain, which was turned on the day of the Spring Game, was outlined in a sky of blue.  What a beautiful site it is to see this fountain flowing.

The first entry into the Joan C. Edwards Stadium of the 2016 campaign.  “The Joan” is a great place to watch college football.

Was there a storm brewing?  I think so.  It was quite windy before the game.

And so it began.  There is certainly reason for optimism in Huntington.  The two toughest games are against Pitt on October 1st at Heinz Field.  The other is the week before when the Louisville Cardinals come to town.  If the Cards beat Florida State this week…and I think they certainly can…the Herd will be entertaining a Top 5 team.  With an 8 o’clock kickoff…The Joan will  be rocking and rolling at kickoff, if not before.  Wow.

2nd down early in the game.  Chase Litton, sophomore quarterback for the Herd, was 13 of 16 for 309 yards and 6 touchdowns in the first half.  The offense was very impressive and the defense was improved as well.  I thought the defense was going to be better after watching them in the Spring Game.  I knew the offense would be sound.

Another touchdown and a scoreboard that better have plenty of fresh bulbs on the Marshall side.  This thing is going to be busy.

The storm was brewing to the west.  Note the clouds to your right, they were building in the Northwest.  And though the game went on, it was very wet and windy for much of the second half we did not see.  We relied on Steve Cotton to give us the play by play on the radio.

On the way home from Huntington on Sunday, it was September 11th.  As we drove through New Salisbury, we found this at the fire station.

I took pause.  I, like so many others, can’t believe it has been 15 years since our world changed for the very worst.  Remember how we all wanted to help each other out after that dreadful day happened.  I ask…where did that spirit go?  We need it back.  I hope it is not a national tragedy that brings it back.  But I think history will tell you that is what it would take.  Sad, but true.

I was in a classroom at the school I was working in at the time.  It was my “prep” period.  As was the custom, I went to see one of the friendlier teachers there to visit with him and just chew the fat.  I walked in his room.  I looked at the TV hanging from the top of one wall.  I thought he watching some documentary.  Then between his announcement and the urgency I heard from the television, I knew it was real.  I sat down and watched in bewilderment.  It was not horror, not yet.  It was a dumbfounding bewilderment.  I could not believe what I was seeing.  One of New York’s twin towers was in peril.  Then, I could suddenly believe and bewilderment did become horror.  As I watched the television, I saw the second plane fly into the unscathed twin.

The planes that fly into the Louisville airport, when they are using a west to east landing pattern, fly over our house.  We can hear them.  We can see them.  For a period of time, there were no planes in the air.  It was a surreal time…lonely in a way.

A couple summers ago Carrie and I were in New York City and we visited the site of the World Trade Centers.  I won’t forget this any time soon.  I wrote about it here then.

Names on stone and a place to reflect upon them.

This poor lady stood and rubbed her hand against a particular name over and over and over again.  She was there for a long time.  I wanted to give her a hug.

Lady Liberty is still hanging in there.  Lord knows it ain’t easy.

I have no doubt she could…speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

Two Saturdays ago my dear wife, Carrie, and my brother-in-law Stevarino went to see John Fogerty in Evansville at the Ford Center, a nice new multi-purpose facility that opened in 2011 in style hosting a Bob Seger concert.  I was not there.

John Fogerty is a concert you wish you could take everyone you know to.  Everyone gets it.  I wish everyone got The Moody Blues.  That just ain’t gonna happen.  You listen to The Moody Blues and you are left with a certain amount of thought that goes into what is going on.  You like what you think, or you run away from the very thought.

With son Shane.

Fogerty is a special case.  His music is straight-forward unlike anything else I have ever witnessed.  He smacks you in the face with a brand of original 60s/70s rock and roll that almost seems like it was made up…a point in time you think you know but don’t understand how it can be so good.  It is that good.  And the old boy can still sing.  We could go on for pages about how he was cheated out of a fortune that would probably make him the richest man in American music, had he played his cards right.  He didn’t.  He got record company cheated like so many others in those days.

You rock and roll aficionados notice Kenny Arnoff playing drums.  The whole band was great.

As I write these words, I am listening to The Lovin’ Spoonful.  John Sebastain is a genius.  I would listen to him read the phone book.  “Darling Be Home Soon” is a favorite.  It reminds me of old friends.  It is right up there with Barbara Streisand’s “Places That Belong To You” when it comes to remembering old friends.  The older I get, the more I seem to lose track of my old cronies.  I suppose that is the way of the world.  Most of you might remember “Do You Believe in Magic” or “Summer in the City’ or “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice”.  Those are more recognizable Lovin’ Spoonful songs.

I could go on.  I probably should write some more about music, cause I sure don’t know much about college football.

Last week was an abysmal 7 winners and 6 losers.  Pathetic.  I am embarrassed.   There, I  said it.  It must get better.  This week, it will.

U of L beats Syracuse…I was in Syracuse this summer…drove through there.  Basketball country.

Boston College beats UMass….the Massholes should have stayed in FCS.

Minnesota beats Indiana State…nice trip for the tree boys….they will have fun then get chopped down.

Penn State beats Pitt...used to be the backyard brawl on the last game of the year.  Good to see these two playing again.  Might be close.  Pitt might win.

Michigan beats Central Florida…I need this game to help my percentage.

Ohio beats Kansas…Coach Solich can’t get beat by the Jayhawks.  His Nebraska pedigree won’t allow that mess.

Florida beats Kentucky…poor UK.  You gotta feel sorry for this bunch.

Notre Dame will beat Nevada….wake up the echoes after a loss to the Longhorns.

Duke beats Wake Forest…Blue Devils go 2-0…then it gets tougher.

Alabama will beat WKU…of course they will, they can’t be beat.

Indiana will beat Ball State….they darn well better.

Ole Miss beats Wofford…Wofford is just fun to say.

Marshall will beat Morgan State…Carrie and I will be at The Joan for this one.  Kelly Green Out.

That is it sports fans.  I can’t write anymore about College Football today.  I start having visions of last weekend.  It was ugly.  It has to get better.

Tomorrow night the NFL begins with Denver hosting the Carolina Panthers in a Super Bowl rematch.  Peyton Manning is gone and so is most of my interest in this game…and most other NFL games that don’t have a Manning playing.  Go Giants!  Isn’t one of Cooper’s boys on the way to the NFL?  Please say yes.

Have a great weekend….and don’t forget to…

Speak the rights.

Talk about a guilty pleasure, I have moved on to  Michael W. Smith….“Go West Young Man”.

Danny Johnson

I have not worked much during this Labor Day Weekend.  On Saturday I played golf and watched a great deal of college football on the television.  Carrie, my dear wife, worked on Saturday.  She made blueberry pies and bread pudding cups and I don’t know what all for a Baby Shower that was given in honor of new Mom to be, Laura Goins Callahan (and husband Ryan Callahan).  The event was held at the home of one of Laura’s aunt and uncle’s in Louisville, Kentucky.  A good time was had by all, by all accounts I can report on.  It was great to see Ryan and Laura.  They are good young folk.

The Saturday golf game went well.  My scrambling team was 2nd.  We played to 4-under…that was nice.  6-under won it.  I rolled in a putt that was a double breaker from a long way out and that was my personal highlight.  It was fun playing with a great team.  Thank you Sam, Matt, and Damien.

On Friday night the North Harrison Cougar football team ran its record to 3 wins and 0 defeats.  We are once again in some air…flying high.  It is a great thing to behold, for no other reason than knowing we don’t have a group of knuckleheads on the team.

A few scenes from Friday night from The Hill.

There was another great crowd on hand.

The Cougars won 39-21.  In confidence before the game, I predicted a twenty point victory.  By the way, The Cougars are 14-2 in the last 16 games.  Very proud of this group indeed.

My Dad’s rule is ALWAYS STAND UP FOR A KICK OFF!

The linemen heading to scrimmage.  We need more pictures like this one.

About to score the final points.

Let me add that it was delightful to see NH kick a 30 yard field goal on the last play of the half.  I believe that was a first…a fg with 00s left on the clock.  Nice job by the line, the snapper, the holder and Ben Waynescott the kicker.  That is ALWAYS nice to see.  Fun to watch it for a change.

I BOW IN DEFERENCE AND SUPPLICATION to my friend Brother Tim, the Alabama King of Marengo, Indiana.  I picked USC to beat Bama.  Bama slaughtered them 52 to 6.  When USC was up 3 to nothing, I thought about texting Tim to ask him if Bama was planning on scoring tonight?  I am glad I did not send that text.  He too used more than a modicum of restraint by not reminding me, after each Tide, how dreadfully wrong I was.

Perhaps Tim, who was on The Hill with us Friday night, was right.  He said I picked USC because I am going to see them play UCLA in November.  I also picked UCLA to beat Texas A&M and UCLA lost.  There may be something to Brother Tim’s logic.

So what do we know about this year’s Alabama team?  They are the best team in the country.  If they bring their best twenty players over to Oxford in two weeks and leave the rest of the team at home, they will win by 20 instead of 40.  They are that good.  The NCAA will consider borrowing from high school rules and allow a running clock in the 4th quarter to get the bloodletting stopped when the Tide comes to town.  Nick Saban should drop his clipboard right now and declare himself as a right in candidate for President.  He would win and the country, given the great defense that would be played, would be safer than it has been since The Cold War.

All Hail The Crimson Tide of Alabama!

Pardon me while I climb on top of the house and jump.

It has been a bad week of college football predictions for me.  I picked Notre Dame to beat Texas.  I am glad Texas won.  I picked FIU to beat Indiana.  I am glad the Hoosiers won.  I picked LSU to beat Swissconsin.  I am not glad the Bucky Cheesebadgers won.  And I recant my story of LSU being crowed National Champs at the end of the season.  That can only be reserved for the Crimson Tide of Alabama because they are going to whip every team asking for it.  I bet they will beat Ole Miss by 40!  Think I can get to Vegas and back before 6 in the morning?  That would be some smart money, now!

I have picked 7 winners and 5 losers the long weekend.

I picked Ole Miss to win tonight.  I won’t hold my breath.

Have a great rest of your week!

Speaking the ROLL TIDE rights.

Danny Johnson

First and foremost, I am so so so sad to hear about the injury to Teddy Bridgewater of the Minnesota Vikings.  By all accounts he hurt his knee in practice today and it is not good.  My sources tell me he may miss the season.  You have no idea how troubling this is for me.  My mother wears a Teddy Bridgewater #5 jersey every time she watches him on television.  She already had it out during the pre-season.  This makes me sad.  Sorry, Mom.  I know what it is like to have you favorite player on the bench.  This was going to be a big season for the Vikes in the new stadium.  I hope it still is.  But I can tell you, I too lost another reason to be excited about the upcoming NFL season.  Peyton is gone.  Now Teddy for 2016.

On to the college football picks:

Louisville beats Charlotte…badly.  I hope The 49ers get a nice payday.  Louisville is loaded.  Just wait.

FIU beats Indiana…and I hate it.  The Hoosiers have not played a regular season game in Florida.  Traveling south is not their forte.  In 2011 they went to North Texas and got beat.  The guys in Florida will have a chip on their shoulder when the basketball school comes to town.  If the defense is improved for the Hoosiers, we will find out.  Let’s hope so.

Stanford beats Kansas State…the job Coach Shaw is doing at Stanford is amazing.

Purdue beats Eastern Kentucky…The Boilers need a win.  Hope they improve this year.  Not holding my breath.

LSU beats Swissconsin…The Tigers get to play in Death Valley for home games and other venerable SEC venues…and now they go to Lambeau Field?  Cam Cameron a.k.a The Trash Can (I will tell that story this year) will help Coach Les Miles this year.  They studied hard.  The offense will be more diverse and the defense will take care of business on their way to winning the BCS Title Game.  You heard it here.  I don’t like it.

Iowa beats Miami of Ohio…Practice game for the Hawkeyes, my third favorite Big Ten team.

UCLA beats Texas A&M…Josh Rosen comes out firing.  He better…and he better find his receivers.  A&M still finding itself.

Arkansas beats La. Tech…The Hogs will overwhelm the Bulldogs.  Don’t worry Coach Holtz, you will still have a good season.

Southern Miss will beat Kentucky…UK is a bad penny.  The guy calling plays for USM was fired by UK after last season.  Need I say more?  Southern Miss is where Brett Favre played. The Golden Eagles don’t lose this game.  After the game, Coach Mark Stoops looks to the yellow pages for a realtor.  Sorry Coach.  I like you!

USC beats Alabama…The game is in Jerry’s World….the place the Dallas Cowboys play.  The Tide has been there before.  I don’t think the boys from Troy have been there.  Doesn’t matter.  Bama has played quality openers for a number of years.  This is the most daunting since opening up against a Top Ten Michigan team in 2012 at… well…Jerry’s World.  They dispatched the Wolverines that day 41-14.  This time it is different.  The USC team has their coach….Clay Helton.  He replaced deposed Steve Sarkisian.  He had his troubles.  The players obviously wanted Coach Helton.  He was not a sexy choice for such a program.  Add new Athletic Director, Lynn Swann, into the mix…and folks in Dallas get nervous.  That is the way it will work against the Tide.  The Tide will fall this year.  It is time.  We don’t have to like it.  That is just the way it happens.  No coach or team ever stayed on top.  It was a good run for the Tide.  We must give them that.  We must tip our hat.  It is a new day.  Their old defensive coordinator is now driving the company car at Georgia.  That is quite the Tide compliment.  That…and they are going to miss Kirby Smart.

Clemson beats Auburn…it won’t be a complete loss for Tide fans this weekend.

Notre Dame beats Texas….I hate this pick.  I hope Texas wins.  I don’t think they will.  The Irish have had a tumultuous off-season.  They are just not held in quite as high regard as they once were.  I think it is because they put artificial turf in Notre Dame Stadium.  That is not right.

Ole Miss beats FSU...because this is the stage and opening game they have been dreaming of.  They have watched the Big Brothers of the SEC play meaningful openers (the Rebs did beat Boise St. in the 2014 opener in Atlanta) and they want their shot at a perennial power.

And so it begins.  And though no one in America cares what a white high school guidance counselor in rural Southern Indiana has to say about anything…leading me to feel somewhat oppressed…I will still stand for the playing of our national anthem when I attend the high school football game this Friday night.  Unlike some out there, I know the value of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and know how it can help kids in need be they black, white, or yellow.

Speaking the Football Rights…

Danny Johnson

I wish I had my camera last night.  I meant to bring it.  Truth is, I was actually a bit anxious as the late afternoon became evening on what Neil Diamond would appreciate….a Hot August Night.

NEWSFLASH….MY DEAR WIFE, CARRIE, TOOK SOME PICTURES WITH HER PHONE!

Last night the North Harrison Cougars played host to the Corydon Central Panthers.  The team in blue, the Cougars, won by a score of 49 to 0.  What I witnessed on the field was one of the finest team efforts ever put forth by a North Harrison team and know that I have seen plenty.  When quizzed what the difference in the teams were, I came up with one thing that stood out.  We were ready.  I use the pronoun “we” because I have strong ties to the school I attended and played for and am now employed by.  We were ready to play.  That included at the top of the list a well conditioned group of players.  They put in the work prior to getting here so they could reap the harvest.  Our linemen were in better physical shape than their backfield.  You win that way.  Thanks goes out to Coach Williamson and his staff.  You can’t imagine how much time and effort they have put in to have these young men where they are right now.  You have no idea.

While the Panthers were with hands on hips and thigh pads and knee pads looking for some remote quality to come through the thick August air they were looking for, the Cougars were still on the field bouncing around like prize fighters.  I was very proud of the Cougars last night. The season record stands at two victories and no defeats.  Next week we host the Salem Lions.  I hope it is a little cooler next Friday, though I doubt the NH Cougar Football Team cares.

At some point during the halftime, a gent showed up over my shoulder.  He is a stealthy sort.  I can’t tell you how glad I was to see him.  It was my old friend Mick Rutherford.  When I say old friend.  I mean it.  I have written of him before on these pages.  It was a hot August morning in 1979, my first day of school as a 6th grader at North Harrison Elementary.  He and Kelly Samons came and sat down by the new kid.  Am I ever thankful they did just that.

When I was punting the football and kicking the football on the field we were looking upon last night, Mick gave me the ball each time.  He was the long snapper and I can tell you…”Old Porter never missed a snap!”  Porter is a nickname that has a long derivative lineage we won’t go into here.  Just trust me.  Mick was a great teammate.  I wish we would find a way to get together more often.  Our euchre games are stuff of legend.  I am blessed.

Was it good to see him?  What do you think?

We were missing one old friend last night and I would be remiss not to mention him here and now.

Our dear old friend Malcolm “Corner King” Lincoln died 19 years ago yesterday.  Above is a picture of the two of us the day Carrie and I were married in 1996.  It is a treasured photograph.  It hangs on a wall in my home office space.  I look at it often.  Ironically, the good fellow that took this picture, Bryan Moss, was gathering up photos at the NH-Corydon game last night.  It is always good to see him.

On October 23rd,  Mick and Kelly and Gus Stephenson and I will be playing our 17th Annual Corner King Classic Golf Tournament.  It is a one round event.  A golf course can only take so much punishment from four old hackers.

Good game, good game, good game….that is what is usually repeated and repeated and repeated during a scene like this.  There is not much time for anything else to be said.

And so it goes.  And the band played on.

By the way, the North Harrison High School Band sounded great last night.  We are blessed to have Mr. Dathan Echols leading our fine high school instrumental music charge.  Keep up the good work.

As it was winding down last night I sat relieved, happy, and very content next to my old high school football coach and my always dear old Dad.  A nice way to take in an evening.   Thank you, Carrie.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

• Coming soon…Week 1 College Football Picks.

This morning, as my dear wife, Carrie, and I were heading east to our place of work, I heard a song on the radio that came back to me very heavily.

What possessed an 8 year-old kid to fall in love with this song is beyond me.  But it was me in 1976.  Released on The Eagles album “Hotel California” on December 7, 1976, “New Kid in Town” was the A-side of a 45 that featured the tune “Victim of Love” (great guitar lick) on the B-side.  I was not a new kid in town in 1976.  I was living in Brownstown, Indiana  the same town I was living in when my Mom and Dad broght me home from the hospital.  Still, there was a dark tone that resonated with me even when I was eight.  I know that sounds silly.  It may be.  It may not be.  When I hear two particular phrases in that song, time stands still.  There is still the same angst that presses up against my spine that did all those years ago.

“There’s so many things you should have told her,
But night after night you’re willing to hold her, just hold her.
Tears on your shoulder….”

“Where you been lately? There’s a new kid in town.
Everybody loves him, don’t they?
And he’s holding her, and you’re still around…”

Those just hit me just right.  They seemingly always have. There is a twinge of desperation…a sort of cry in Glenn Frey’s voice that is not to be found in many straight-forward Eagles songs.  It was a nice reminder this morning.  It was neat to go back for a few minutes and think about a song that should not hit an eight-year-old like that one hit me.  But…I have always had a funny musical sensibility.  When my friends wanted to hear Hank Williams, Jr. or Alabama or David Allan Coe…I wanted Elton John and Neil Diamond and Paul Anka. Don’t even ask how The Moody Blues were considered.  And…I knew it had to be that way.  They are still my good friends.  We don’t listen to music together.  We never did too much even then.  The football locker room and the high school weight room were where we listened to music.  We did pretty much depend on 96 WQMF in those hallowed spots…rock and roll…fast paced tunes help the muscles move.  I don’t care what Richard Simmons says.

For the record, I have never been too enamored by The Eagles.  I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt…but  if anyone ever called The Moody Blues “pretentious”…they never heard of The Eagles.  I was at a solo concert given by Don Henley, “Mr. Desperado” at the Louisville Gardens in 1990 at the HEIGHT of his solo hit album “End of the Innocence”.  He sang 13 songs.  That was it.  He did make a bleeding heart plea about saving Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden Woods Project”.  The Eagles did not pursue Thoreau’s plea to “simplify” unless it meant simply charge more for your concerts when folks show up to kiss you musical ring.

Here is what I know.  When The Eagles reformed in..what was it…1994/95?  They hit the big barn circuit with their concerts and charged out the nose.  A few years earlier I had seen Pink Floyd play for over three hours at Rupp Arena for 18.50.  When The Eagles came to Deer Creek in Noblesville the pavilion seats were 85 bucks.  This was over twenty years ago.  This is when the concert ticket prices decided to sky-rocket.  The Eagles got it and so did everyone else.   I can say not all have gone this route.  Bob Seger has been kind.  The Moody Blues have been relatively kind.  Garth Brooks is kind.  Paul McCartney is not kind….but he does sing 36 songs!

Last week Joe Walsh, Eagles guitarist and singer, played The Louisville Palace.  He sang twelve songs.  I knew the set list beforehand.  I wanted to go.  I think he is great.  I will not, however pay 7 bucks a song to hear anyone…The Moody Blues included…so far.  Carrie and I saw Joe Walsh open for Bob Seger in Detroit in 2013.  Walsh played seven songs then we heard Bob Seger’s huge set…and the tickets were comparable to Walsh’s ticket prices at The Palace.  Not good. Not good at all.  But that is the way it is.  Some groups just like to milk the old cow.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

There is a blue sky above my screened in porch and I can see it between the trees and under the side of the porch I look form.  It is clear.  It is nice to be afforded a luxury to be out on the porch in the middle of the day without having sweat permeate my shirt and shorts as my demeanor grows less and less optimistic.  Not so this day.  Though I am dumbfounded that it is already Sunday afternoon, the weekend has been a good one.

This is a beautiful day on the porch.

Friday Night…

On Friday night my dear wife, Carrie, and I picked my Dad up at his house and the three of us drove over to Crawford County High School to watch the North Harrison Cougars play the Crawford County Wolfpack in high school football game.  It was the first game of the season and to tell you the truth it was a bit of a clunker.  North won 38 to 8.  The game started like a season ending contest when at the end of the season both teams barely have a pulse and are ready for the season to be over.  I am not sure why?  North had the better team.  The eye test proved that.  North had a better record last year.  North had three times as many player as Crawford.  Still…it did not seem like game day when the ref blew his whistle and waved his arm to move the kicker to approach the ball for the first kickoff of the season.

I know better games are in store for North this year and that we will no doubt see the plot in full, juicy thickness next week when the North Harrison Cougars host the county rival Corydon Central Panthers in Ramsey.  The band will be there.  The hill will be full.  The smell of pork wieners will fill the air and the pads will no doubt be popping a little bit harder with more regularity.  But as I told a few near me: a win is a win is a win and you take’em however you can get’em.

Topsail Beach is well represented on the back porch.

To my right is my great-grandmother’s “floor fan” and it packs a punch.  It can flat move the air and it runs like a sewing machine.  As a child I sat on it to cool off after baseball practice circa 1977.  She lived in that house on Bridge Street some 53 years before she moved in 1979.  I am sure this fan was there many of those days.

Friday night/Saturday Morning…

My in-laws needed a ride from the air port on Friday night.  Carrie and I were glad to provide the ride.  While at the  Crawford County football field,I got a call from Mike, my father-in-law.  They were in Phoenix.  The plane they were to board heading for Denver was not going to be on time.  Thus, their plane coming into Louisville, where Carrie and I were to pick them up, was not going to be on time.  We started the evening with the plan of picking them up at the air port around 11 PM.  We saw them walking down the pedway from the guarded secure gates to regular groundlings waiting to meet the passengers after 2 AM.  It was late.  I was quickly reminded yesterday, when I got out of bed, that I am not as equipped at handling awkward hours anymore.

This is what I look at as I am speaking the rights.

Saturday afternoon.…a little after 1 PM yesterday, I met up with Jefferson Carpenter, his wife, Mary Kennedy, and drummer-good guy extraordinaire John Hayse at Jefferson’s recording studio in Louisville, KY.  It was my second trip into Louisville of the day.  It was odd.

We sat and listened to the songs we recorded in June.  The got some more treatment in July.  We sat there and listened to each of the songs and compared notes as to what could be done to make them better.  Re-sing this one.  Put fiddle here.  Put backing vocals there.  Put keys here and there.  It is all good fun.  It is also kind of sad.  When you get to this point in the recording process, you know things are on the down hill.  The songs are there….written and recorded (rhythm track wise) and the rest is a tweak here and there and an extra layer here and there and it is wonderful.  But…it is a process that is hard to say good-bye to.  You are having fun dear friends (the songs) and there comes a day when all you can do is open up the album and remember.  That is not a bad thing.  That feeling is not as great as having fun with friends.  Is it ever?

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

For the third year in a row on the same weekend in August,  I am sitting on the porch ready to speak the rights about the upcoming College Football Season.  This is usually a marathon of a post, and I know many of you don’t care about the ACC or how North Texas is going to fare in Conference USA.  Given that I nearly dislocated my right shoulder today (it still hurts) moving a piece of furniture with my brother-in-law Stevarino, all I can say is read on anyway.  I am here for the team.

As has been the case in the past, I will post college football predictions each week.  I pick games based my opinion of the outcome, though my heart may lead the way now and again.  With that said, know that I do not pick and will not pick games based on point spreads or overs and unders or sideways.  Gambling and football don’t live together with me.  I just plain love the game of football.  I always have.   I have played it.  I have coached it.  I have called high school games on the radio.  My Dad coached it.  I know football better than I probably need to.

Personally, my college football allegiances have not changed.  I root for the Marshall Thundering Herd.  Reference one of the earliest posts to find out why.  With family roots running deep in Mississippi, I pull for the Ole Miss Rebels too.  I attend at least one game at Indiana University out of a combination of loyalty, obligation, and pity.  And I also attend hoping they will win one more.  Last year when I prefaced the Atlantic Coast Conference Section, I made mention of how the Duke Blue Devils give cause for Indiana Hoosier fans to take heed and stay optimistic.  Little did we know they would meet in New York City for the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium late last December.

In the third paragraph of last year’s preview, I wrote the following sentence:

“I still dream about one day seeing a game at The Rose Bowl where UCLA plays their home games.”

Yesterday I received these in the mail:

Here’s the thing.  I want to go to The Rose Bowl to see a game.  My Dad wants to go to The Rose Bowl to see a game.  The crosstown rivalry game between UCLA and USC is a game that captured my imagination as a child.  If you are not going on January 1 to THEE Rose Bowl, and I doubt I see the Indiana Hoosiers in it as I have been here 48 years and it hasn’t happened in my lifetime, then the UCLA-USC game is the best thing going.  Dad and I will be there, as he would say “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”, on November 19th.    My thanks goes out to Jasmin Rowland in the UCLA Athletic Department for helping me with making this trip the best it can be.  Mostly, thank you to my dear wife, Carrie, for looking at me and saying you and your Dad need to make this trip.

Now…let’s get down to business.

THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

A nod here to my friend Brian Smith.  Brian was in my office this week and noticed my University of Louisville Mini helmet on display.  He enjoyed the fact that the UK helmet was smaller than the Louisville one.  Symbolism knows no bounds.  And for this year, Brian will be a happy man.

I will continue to root for the Duke Blue Devils.  Coach Cutcliffe is still there and could be for life.  If he enjoys Durham as much as I do and can find peace with not being the microscope darling of the sports world that the guys in the basketball gym are, he may be there for life.  He doesn’t have to win much.  Kind of like coaching at Kentucky.  If the team stinks in October, most of the attention is not on you…it is on the sound of basketballs bouncing down the road from the football stadium.

THE ACC ATLANTIC DIVISION

1.  Louisville:  Call me nuts and see how it turns out.  Lamar Jackson for President.
2.  Florida State:  Because Clemson got’em last year and they won’t stand for it.
3.  Clemson:  An injury or two will hurt them and so will overconfidence.
4. N.C. State:  They are hungry in Raleigh and Notre Dame comes to town.
5.  Boston College:  A downer last year lead to some hard work.  They’ll be better.
6. Wake Forest:  A kind non-conference schedule should help out.
7. Syracuse:  I drove through Syracuse this summer.  Heard basketballs

THE ACC COASTAL DIVISION

1.  Miami:  Coach Mark Richt is back home wondering why they weren’t winning.
2. North Carolina:  Coach Fedora has them on the rise.
3. Virginia Tech:  Coach Beamer will be missed; they’ll play in front of 150,000 at Bristol.
4.  Georgia Tech:  That running game is getting caught on to.  Don’t fumble.
5. Duke:  I am afraid the Dukies are going to get it handed to them now and again.
6. Pittsburg:  The upside?  Same coach…so far.
7. Virginia:  I hope I get this one wrong.  Coach Ruffin McNeil is on the D side of Cav ball.

THE BIG TEN

The best thing the Indiana Hoosiers have going for them is Purdue.  The Hoosiers will not be the worst Big Ten team in the state of Indiana.  If not for basketball, these two teams would be working on their second season as members of Conference USA.  Harsh?  Yes.  But the football has been that bad.  Well, maybe worse, Purdue got beat by Marshall last year.

I gave IOWA the love two years ago and used restraint last year.  The Hawkeyes then went 12-0 in the regular season.  I was delighted.  I was sick when they laid an egg against Stanford in the Rose Bowl.  Another good reason to go toThe Rose Bowl when UCLA is playing USC.  You don’t have to see the Big Ten team get whipped in the Pacific Time Zone.

The balance of Big Ten power is still in the Big Ten East.  Michigan and Ohio State.  Where they go, so goes the power.  But so also goes Michigan State.  They are no slouch either.

BIG TEN EAST

1.  Michigan:  All that blowing off Coach Harbaugh does will pay off.
2. Ohio State:  Great team has Oklahoma on the road and going to Sparty.  Tough stuff.
3.  Michigan State:  The two big boys ahead of them visit East Lansing.  Interesting….
4. Indiana…Call me optimistic.  Defense?  This blind squirrel will find some nuts this  year.
5. Penn State…their meeting Nov. 12 with Indiana will decide if this is flipped with them.
6.  Maryland:  Goofy helmets…Oct. 29 meeting at Indiana will be good day for Hoosiers.
7. Rutgers:  New York Big Ten Network Dollars franchise.  Big Ten in New Jersey?

BIG TEN WEST

1.  Iowa:  Still like them.  Coach Ferentz has done a great job keeping ship together.
2. Swissconsin:  Schedule is tough LSU at Lambeau?  It’s true.  They will rebound well.
3. Northwestern:  Coach Fitz has a brutal schedule.  The Wildcats are getting better.
4.  Nebraska:  I have committed treason here. Hope my friend Tom Osborne isn’t reading.
5.  Minnesota:  Hope Goldy climbs up soon.  I like this bunch.  Coach Kill will be missed.
6.  Illinois:  Coach Lovie Smith is three years away…if he stays that long.
7. Purdue:  Purdue?  Purdon’t.

You can bring the whole family here and have a great time…with room to spread out!

THE SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE….THE SEC

A game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is Oxford, Mississippi is NOT a place you will find room to spread out.  The only single game tickets they have left…and they are sparse…is to non-conference games.  The mighty Wofford comes calling to Oxford on September 10th.  I can’t say much.  Carrie and I be watching Marshall host Morgan State that evening.

The SEC.  Football.  That is the connotation that folks get when they hear those three letters in succession….S…E…C means football.  For all you perception is reality fans out there, you have never seen LSU play Ole Miss.  The reality is better than any perception you can fathom.  By the way, as an old English teacher with four different quality dictionaries  in the house, perception is not reality.  That is like saying connotation is denotation.  I digress.  Someone please kick the soap box beneath me!

The SEC.  As a child I bucked the notion that the SEC was better than the Big Ten.  To quote Niles Crane, “Was I ever that young?”  No…I was that dumb… and ready to argue with my Dad about it.  He wins.  Hey when Woody and Bo were coaching and Lee Corso was making chalk dust fly on his televised weekly show when he was the coach at Indiana, I was enthralled with the Big Ten.  Rick Leach and Archie Griffin and Lee Corso convincing me that the play he drew up on TV was going to work.  I learned.  Maybe I gave in.  Maybe I knew all along.  That was Archie Manning hanging on my cousin’s bed room wall in Forest, Mississippi.  It wasn’t Rex Kern.

THE SEC EAST

1. Tennessee:  With a nod to my friend Bob Biddle, the tuba player better have plenty of wind!
2.  Georgia:  Coach Kirby Smart is back on campus…this time as the coach.
3.  Florida:  10-4 last year under Coach McElwain may have this group ahead of 3.
4.  South Carolina:  Folks want to write’em off since Coach Spurrier left.
5.  Missouri:  Folks want to write off this bunch too.  Maybe they’re right?
6.  Kentucky:  I want to make them 3 or 4.  Just can’t do it.  Hope I am wrong.
7.  Vandy:  Have you been to Vandy?  Not very SEC-like.

THE SEC WEST

The toughest division in football…any league.  This will be LSU’s year.  Bama is going to get beat by USC in Dallas.  Ole Miss is going to get beat by Florida State in Orlando.  LSU is going to beat Swissconsin in Green Bay.  This is just week one of life in The SEC before conference games begin.

1.  LSU:  Coach Les Miles will have this bunch winning the National Championship then he will quit and go somewhere else.
2. Alabama:  It is not for my Brother Tim that I am this kind.  Bama will have issues.
3.  Ole Miss:  It is for me that I am this kind.  Ole Miss already has issues.
4.  Auburn:  Coach Malzahn needs help from the War Eagle…hope he got fed during summer school.
5.  Arkansas:  Pig-Sooooie may be higher than this with some help.
6.  Texas A&M:  Hope they can fill all those seats in that stadium…12th man is all theirs.
7.  Mississippi State:  Cos I hope they lose every game!  Hotty Toddy!

OTHER CONFERENCE WINNERS

PAC-12:  UCLA!  Their win over USC will propel them to the PAC-12 Championship game.  Keep an eye on Josh Rosen at quarterback.

C-USA:  Marshall…The Herd is ready to get another 10 win season. Coach Doc Holliday has done a great job and Chase Litton isn’t a good freshman QB…he is better.  Running game looked good in the spring game.

Carrie and I are ready too.

AAC:  Cincinnati…I refuse to give up on Gunner Kiel.

Big 12:  Texas…Coach Charlie Strong has to have it…or he is G-A-W-N gone!

MAC:  Ohio…Coach Solich will have the Bobcats looking even better.

Mountain West:  Boise State again.

Sun Belt:  Arkansas State…though I give some love to App. State and the job they have done.

Enjoy the games!  Enjoy the upcoming season.  I know I will.  I also know I will start with the games of Labor Day Weekend in picking the winners of the week at speaktherights.com.

A MOODY BLUE NOTE.

On July 27th I posted about a concert that I almost missed at King Island in 1988.  Well, today marks 25 years since The Moodies’ last appearance at Kings Island’s Timberwolf Amphitheater.  I was there.  And unlike the day in 1988, when my buddy Virgil and I barely made it to the concert, the young lady I was with on this occasion, Christy, and I had all day to ride the rides and have fun before we took in the show.

Two things stick out in my mind.  I shared one of them in the July 27th post.  I was bound and determined to impress Christy and anyone else caring to watch with my ability to throw a football.  The dreaded football toss into the cut out hole in particle board…the one where the ball can barely make it through.  Well…I asked Christy which one of the prizes she wanted and she pointed to a big pink stuffed bear…one so big we would have to take it out to the car before we could continue with our day.

I took the ball and instead of trying to lean over to make my toss, like a cocky smarty pants I took a deep five step drop and whizzed the ball toward the booth and it didn’t hit anything except what was behind that little hole it went through.  I did it.  I never doubted I could.  And I would try it again.

After the concert, Christy had never seen The Moody Blues before, she looked at me inside the packed 10,000 seat venue and said “What are these guys doing playing here?  They should be playing at Riverfront Stadium!”  I agreed.

The Moody Blues were touring in support of the recently released (at the time) “Keys of the Kingdom” album.  Below is the ticket, the CD, a T-shirt, and the program.

By the way, Hall and Oates did not show up…a group called “Neverland” opened.

The next year The Moody Blues moved on to the larger Riverbend Music Center closer to Cincy.  My buddy Tim Mullins attended that one with me in June.  They played Riverbend four times.  The last one was in 1996.  My dear friend Todd “Corner King” Lincoln and I went to that one.  I’m sure glad we did.

I’m so glad football season is here.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson