The last college football full slate weekend of games goes on this weekend.

Carrie, my dear wife, and I will be in Bowling Green to root on the Green…Marshall Thundering Herd Green…that is.  The Herd is 9 and 2.  The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers are 9 and 2.  The winner will represent to East Division in next weekend’s Conference USA Championship.  It is a pretty big game.  The Herd is not know for playing very well away from Huntington.  I hope that trend is put aside.

I picked 8 winners to 2 losers last week.  The past two weeks include 17 winners and 3 losers.  Maybe I should quit while I am ahead.

It would be too much to ask to see Ole Miss win and Alabama lose.  I hope it happens that way.  Sorry Brother Tim.  The only team yet to visit Atlanta from the SEC West is Ole Miss.  You can thank a 4th and 25 gaffe against Arkansas for that!

Anyway…the last ten picks of the last full weekend of College Football.

Ole Miss will beat State…Cotton in the ears to offset the cowbells…Ole Miss needs this one.

UCLA beats USC…One of my sentimental favorite match-ups.  I love this game.  I want to go some day.

Stanford beats Notre Dame…The Irish nearly fell at Fenway in Boston of all places.

Alabama beats Auburn…I have said it for a longtime now…Bama will come out on top this year.  They will be the champs of everything.

Washington State beats Washington…the Apple Cup  is Cougar bound.

Indiana beats Purdue…and gains Bowl eligibility in a good year to do it.

Iowa beats Nebraska…The Hawkeyes finish 12-0 and Kirk (we can’t fire him cos his buyout is too large) Ferentz is looking mighty smart right now.  Let this be a lesson to LSU.

Michigan beats Ohio State…Harbaugh statue may be cast by April.

Michigan State beats Penn State…and heads to Indy for a classic against Iowa.

Western Kentucky beats Marshall…that is all I have to say about that.

Oh…Go Herd!

Speaking the college football prognosticating rights.

Danny Johnson

I am thankful for this picture of me and my Uncle Roger Hines.  He is fine southern gent.  He has a mind of his own and he uses it to look out for others.  I am proud to know him.

I am thankful for memories of Hines Family Reunions past…specifically the ones way back there in the past.  As I was a youngster the Hines Family Reunion fell on Thanksgiving Day.  Wow…talk about special.  Get to Central Mississippi around Thanksgiving and you will find it decidedly warmer than it was when you left Brownstown, Indiana.  That was nice.  The food was great.  Southern cooks are the best.  So are Southern accents.  I think I have mentioned before here that Southern accents are appreciated in the Northeast much more than you would be led to believe. In our recent travels to New England the past two summers, folks have made over my accent that is part Southern Indiana and part Southern Mississippi.  What can I say?  I have been linguistically,  dialectically, and just plain blessed.  When you are asked to repeat a word because someone thinks the way you say a word in pleasant and appealing, you should be thankful and acquiesce; remember that no one ever asks someone from New Jersey to repeat anything (it is usually so loud the first time it echoes anyway).

Our Thanksgiving Reunions were something of Rockwellian nature.  Laughter.  Innate respect for our elders.  Love of family.  Love of watching football (we played out in the yard and when that game was over we would gather around and watch the Detroit Lions). A chance to learn more about family and the South.  The best food 1977 had a chance to see and eat.  Loving to get there and hating to leave.

You see, my Mother had sixteen brothers and sisters.  That may help to put things into context a little better for you.  There was a great deal of all of the things I cataloged in the previous paragraph. To say I was fortunate to be there would be an understatement.  To know I am related to such a time, place, and group of wonderful people is humbling.  There was never a better bunch to hang out with.

The photos above are of me and my Grandaddy Hines.  He died when I was eleven.  You can see a great deal of him in the picture of my Uncle Roger at the top of this post.  My Mom and my sister are in the picture top right.  Taken in Scott County, Mississippi, these photos are treasures to me.

Oh… and the football games we played (my cousins and I)…here we are in an offensive huddle.  I am on the right in a blue shirt.

The prayer my Grandaddy was known for:

He spoke the rights.

So I look back on many things…many people…many places.  When I stop and think about all the sights and sounds my dear wife, Carrie, and I have been able to witness I pause and give thanks.  It really is mind-boggling to look at where we have been and what all we have seen recently.

I am glad I had my phone handy to take this picture on a field trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Medora’s 4th grade class last spring.  Thank you, Mr. Disque.

Thankful indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

A year ago I couldn’t stop posting on speaktherights.com.  I was almost obsessed.  What I was…well…I was being cathartic.

A year ago yesterday my Granny died following a month long journey to the end.  I chronicled her illness a bit.  I wrote about her obituary.  I wrote about her funeral service.  I wrote about her later.  She was a subject that offered unlimited material in good times and bad.  She was one of a kind.  My grandfather said they broke the mold when she was made.  I think he was right.  I know…I know… we are all individual.  But Granny, well, she was an interesting study.

I suppose Granny’s death was a bit of a tipping point in me finding a new job.  I found out it was time I thought about leaving Medora…not driving so far to work if I could help it.

These days I don’t want to get too close to this blog for the same reasons.  I thought about how much I needed to write just to keep myself satisfied within the context of what I was dealing with.  I don’t want to write about it for the same reasons.  While I had to, a year ago, deal with losing Granny, now I don’t want to deal with the fact that she has been gone for a year.

Oh well.  I will press onward.

I hate to admit it…but my interest in the National Football League is starting to diminish.  I have always…and I mean for over forty years…been a root for the player and then the team kind of guy.  Ken Anderson was my favorite player when I was a kid.  He played for the Bengals.  When he retired, I retired the Bengals.  I was in no man’s land for over a decade. Then came along Peyton Manning.  I rooted for him and the Colts.  Now I root for him and the Broncos.  I am a feared that is over too.  Peyton looks like a shell of his old self.  I hate to type that.  I really do.  It is rather painful to watch the old boy.  I still watch though.  I wait for that next touchdown pass.

I also root for the New York Giants because their quarterback is Eli Manning.  He is my Ken Anderson of today.  When he is gone, I will be a free agent.  Trouble is I am not liking what I see out of the NFL.  Soap operas about bad behavior.  Inflated salaries.  Some players seemingly playing for self-preservation rather than what is in the best interest of their team.

Maybe I will be a Vikings fan.  I like Teddy Bridgewater.  He is no bigger than a minute.  But he plays larger than life.  He is fun to watch.  Oh well.

Twenty-nine years.

It was twenty-nine years ago this very minute that I was in the Louisville Gardens watching The Moody Blues play a concert.  I thought they were old.  I was 18.  Graeme Edge, the drummer, was 45.  I thought he was over the hill.  Little did I know.  I have tickets to see The  Moodies on March 30th at The Louisville Palace.  It will be Graeme Edge’s 75th birthday that day.  How awesome is that?  I say it often.  I picked the right group.

The greatest compliment I ever received was when my friend Darrell Persinger looked at the picture above and said it looked as though Carrie, my dear wife, was getting her picture taken with the band.

I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.

Speak the Rights.

Danny Johnson

The good news?  I picked nine winners and one loser last week.

The bad news?  I doubt I will be that accurate this week.  This week and next week will provide some really interesting and crazy NCAA Football outcomes.  Wait and see.

The season total so far 104 winners and 41 losers.  I can’t say that I am thrilled with this record.

You know something, a year ago yesterday I took this picture:

No Southern Indiana snow yet this year.

On to the picks…

Maryland will beat Indiana…Coach Wilson has the Hoosiers taking teams to the final bell before the boys from Indiana get knocked out.  This is a road game the Hoosiers need.  I don’t think they will get it.  Maryland has a new identity since they fired their coach.  The Hoosier players are trying to hold on to their coach.  Good attendance at games this year may be his saving grace.  I will tell you this…the Hoosiers are an entertaining bunch.

Minnesota will beat Illinois…Goldy needs this one.

Michigan will beat Penn State…I want to pick Penn State.  But…my head must win out over my heart.  I hope the Mt. Nittany is a happy hill…but I doubt it will be.

Va. Tech beats North Carolina…Most folks would ask if I need my temperature taken to pick the Hokies.  The rough and tumble bunch from Blacksburg won’t let guys from Chapel Hill (sounds like a place for a soap opera) get the best of Coach Beamer as his farewell tour is ending.

Iowa beats Purdue…11-0 for the Hawkeyes.  Good for them.  Even better for them is that they don’t play Ohio State, Michigan, or Michigan State.  Like I say, the rain has to start and end somewhere.  This year Iowa stood under a scheduling rainbow.

West Virginia beats Kansas…I told you I am picking with my head.  Couches will burn all weekend in Morgantown.  There will be a run on hot dogs and marshmallows at the grocery store.

Ole Miss beats LSU…in a season that will be known as the one that got away, the Rebels will pull together and make the defensive stops they need before the home crowd as they take care of business a week before taking on the Cowbell ringers from Starkville.

Arizona State beats Arizona…Rivalry a week early?  Still not as bad a LSU playing Arkansas last week instead of the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Pitt beats Louisville…I think.  Might be a close one.

Clemson beats Wake Forest to continue their all out assault on the ACC this year.  They act like they belong in the Southeastern Conference or something.

Have a great weekend.  Enjoy some college football.  Stay safe and every now and then…

Speak the Rights.

Danny Johnson

On Saturday my dear wife, Carrie, and I went to see the Marshall Thundering Herd play the Florida International Golden Panthers (my FBS school #66 to see in person in my life) at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.  I must say I am DELIGHTED that the Herd was ahead 38 to 0 at halftime.  We left at halftime.  The next morning I sang, along with my sister and my Dad, at the Brownstown Baptist Church.  It was Old Home Sunday.  We moved from Brownstown 36 years ago.  We sang and met with friends that had tears in their eyes because of the great memories we were able to bring back.  Thirty-six years on…that doesn’t happen just anywhere.  It was great to be back home.

When it comes to football, Carrie and I are at “home” at the Joan C. Edwards Stadium (The Joan) in Huntington, West Virginia.  I chronicled our journey and affinity to Huntington many posts ago.  We had driven past the exit to Huntington many times on Interstate 64 as we were hurtling toward the North Carolina coast.  We passed the exit and waved for years.  One year, I think it was 2008, we stopped by, trying desperately to extend our vacation a few more hours as we were coming home from North Carolina.

What did we find in Huntington?  We found our football home.  Like I have said before, I have seen many sports movies.  I saw We Are Marshall.  It moved me.  I enjoyed  the movie Miracle about the 1980 hockey team more.  I did not go out and buy a hockey stick.

What did we find in Huntington that July day as we were driving home?  We found a town consumed with its college football program unlike you can imagine.  At the gas station they were talking Herd football.  At a local diner they were talking Herd football.  Ironically enough, the Herd was having a season ticket selling drive and the Joan C. Edward Stadium was open that day to prospective season ticket buyers.  Carrie and I went in.  I walk down on the field and looked around.   It felt like we were at home.  In 2010 we actually had season tickets.

So far we have seen the Herd play no less than 22 games the last few years.  None of those games were as significant and meaningful as the game we saw last Saturday.

On Saturday morning, November 14, 2015, the 45th anniversary of the plane crash that killed 75 people including Marshall players, coaches, staff, boosters, and a Southern Airlines flight crew, there was a “Silencing of the Fountain” ceremony.  The fountain outside the Memorial Student Center was turned off…as is the custom on November 14th every year.  I can tell you that when I watched the water cease to flow…my heart hit the bottom of my feet.  It was a humbling experience.

Stephen Ward, whose father, Parker Ward, was on the plane that crashed 45 years ago spoke to a large, solemn gathering.  His words were hopeful.  His words were from the heart. Anyone that was there understood heart.

Coach Doc Holliday addressed the crown with an emotional tone.

Roses were placed next to the silenced fountain.  One for each of the crash victims as their names were called.

This picture is in the Memorial Student Center.

It was a beautiful day for football on Saturday.

The Herd wore their customary block “M” on one side of their helmets and the number “75” was on the other side of their helmets in honor of crash victims.

The Herd beat FIU 52 to 0.  Carrie and I enjoyed that.

We will be in Bowling Green for the game against Western Kentucky that will decide the C-USA East and a place in the C-USA title game.    Go Herd!

We were drawn to Marshall for good reasons.  The love of football.  The love of good people. The desire to pull in the same direction.  Is there a special element that is both spiritual and tangible?  I think so.  I think it was meant to be.  There are other campuses…and alma maters for that matter…that are closer to us.  But for college football for Carrie and me, there is nowhere closer to our hearts than Huntington.  It was meant to be.  And I am not sure why.

The fountain will flow again come spring.

Go Herd!

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

Firstly…prayers go out to the folks in Paris and France after the tragedy that struck them last night.  I hate it.  But…I don’t know why we should be shocked.  There are bad guys everywhere.  There are bad guys in every town.  Given how the the world has been made a bit smaller with all of our social media…with the easy ability to broadcast anything anywhere…why should we be shocked at an attack?  Now I feel even more handcuffed as I try to learn about events from media outlets that are partly informative and large partly political windmills. Hard to know what to believe.  Where have you gone Walter Cronkite?

Last week my college football picks we awful.  7 winners and 6 losers. The season total is at 95 winners and 40 losers.

I write this post this morning from Huntington, WV.  My dear wife, Carrie, and I are in town today to watch the Marshall Thundering Herd take on the Florida International Panthers.  It is also the 45th anniversary of the Marshall Football plane crash that took the lives of 75 players, coaches, staff, boosters, and flight crew.  They will turn the fountain off on campus at 10 this morning, as is the custom.  It will be turned back on in the spring.  After the game, Carrie and I are driving back home and tomorrow morning I, along with my Dad and my sister, will be singing at the Brownstown Baptist Church.  A bit of an “Old Home Week” celebration that is going on for a month at the church as they celebrate their 20th year in their “new” facility after the old church burned down.

Florida beats South Carolina…Coach Spurrier is gone and he was not going to get beat by Kentucky and Florida in the same season.

Georgia beats Auburn…I may miss this one.

Tennessee beats North Texas…the tuba player better be in shape because there will be a great deal of “Rocky Top” being played today.

Ohio State beats Illinois…this is not the year of the Illini.  I wish it was. I want the Buckeyes to roast.

Northwestern beats Purdue…PU is better.  Northwestern having a stellar season.

Texas beats West Virginia…just can’t pick the Eers to win this one. Coach Strong has his team stronger.

Louisville beats Virginia…Cardinal football never looked better.

Marshall beats FIU…an emotional game that hopefully won’t take the legs out of the Herd.  Could be close.

Michigan beats Indiana…my dear friend Adam and his son are going to be my correspondents for this one.  Hoosiers lose their 6th in a row.  It is 1985 all over again.

Iowa beats Minnesota…Do the Hawkeyes still do the hokey-pokey after a win?  They did with Coach Hayden Fry…he told me so.

I would make a call on the LSU-Arkansas game.  I refuse.  This game is supposed to be played the Friday after Thanksgiving and it was rescheduled for bad reasons I am sure.  Another college football holiday tradition down.

Have a great weekend.

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

The Chargers are playing the Bears on ESPN’s Monday Night Football as I write.  Why?  Cos there is very little on television that interests me and watching Monday Night Football is what I do.

The best thing about MNF to me these days is the show’s opening.  At the beginning of the broadcast there is a montage of ABC’s Monday Night Football highlights from the past.  I can relive the night in 1978 that my Dad let me stay up to watch the Oilers, led by rookie sensation Earl Campbell, beat the Dolphins.  There are other great moments that are on display and I enjoy them.  That is the best part of the broadcast for me.  Monday Night games don’t hold the star power they once did.  MNF was, once upon a time, the most coveted piece of real estate in prime time television.  I don’t doubt that it still does well with its ratings.  I just know it used to win the ratings game.

The biggest problem is Sunday Night Football on NBC.  For whatever reason, that time and place has turned into the must-see NFL game of the week.  I think it may be an attention span issue.  That is a problem these days…attention span.  You can’t count on the masses hanging with you past Sunday.   Oh well.  I sound old.  I’m not.  I am a realist.

Many posts ago I railed about how I sang the national anthem at Banker’s Life Field-house in Indianapolis before a high school game there.  My rendition went over well and I was asked to come back to the place and sing the song again.  I was honored.  Then, a few days later, I was told I would be expected (as part of the deal) to sell tickets at a discount price in exchange for my pipes singing the song.  I was not happy.  I told them where they could stick their idea.

I wanted to do that again tonight…and every night I watch Monday Night Football.  With Veterans Day coming on Wednesday, I was even a little more miffed to hear the ESPN announcer say, after the singing of the National Anthem by a young lady in the military, that ESPN’s presentation of the National Anthem was brought to all of us by an insurance company.  Translation: If someone was not paying ESPN to show the singing of the Star Spangled Banner on television, the network would be showing a beer commercial instead.  That is pretty lousy.  Maybe that is one reason I have lost some of my interest in Monday Night Football.  In fact, the only time this season I have watched an entire game was the last time the New York Giants were on…and it was a nasty game for G-men.

I sure felt badly for Peyton Manning yesterday.  He brought his Denver Broncos to the stadium he built and proceeded to play in a game that resulted in the first defeat of the season for his team and the most unlikely of victories for the team that used to be his team.  Even when he was wearing the Horseshoe,  he suffered some improbable and disappointing defeats.  Some things never change.

This morning I went out to get the paper and there was a great deal of frost on my car.  I usually go out to grab the paper at about 5:20 in the morning.  I thought I was gonna freeze this morning…but man was the sky ever so clear and the stars lit the place up like they are supposed to.  Later in the day clouds took over.  The rain came.  Later today I learned that today was the coldest day, as far as high temperature goes, since last March.

Stay warm and…speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

Tough weekend… this one is.  Great weekend…. this one is.

Tough:  Tomorrow the North Harrison Cougars won’t be playing tomorrow night.  That makes me sad.

Great:  On Saturday I meet up with my old cronies and we will play the Corner King Classic Golf Match.

On to this week’s College Football picks.

Duke beats North Carolina…Duke got snookered last week against Miami.   Refs lost it for them, really.

Georgia beats Kentucky…the natural order of things.

Northwestern beats Penn State…Not feeling good about this one.  If it was at Penn State, I would pick them by 20.

Pitt beats Notre Dame…The Irish are due a loss.  They are good…but they are not that good.  A turnover or two will hinder the Domers.

Texas Tech beats West Virginia…a many a couch has survived this year in West Virginia.  The ‘Eers are struggling.  Hope they don’t go after Doc Holliday.

Marshall beats Middle Tennessee…Might be trouble.  Herd does not play well on the road.

Louisville beats Syracuse…Old school ACC folks wondering why U of L is in the ACC?

Ole Miss beats Arkansas…Revenge is an overused word.  It fits here.  The Hogs deflated the Rebs last year 30 to nothing.  Hotty Toddy!

Iowa beats Indiana…I think.  The Hoosiers might find their day in the sun with this one.  If they can stop Iowa’s run…I don’t think they can…it might be sunny in Bloomington.

Michigan State beats Nebraska…The Cornfolks need a win in a bad way.  They won’t get it here.

UCLA beats Oregon State…Go Bruins.  You need a win.

Alabama beats LSU:  If the Tide beats LSU and the Rebels lose one more in conference, the Tide will go on to win a National Championship.  Yes, I really do believe that.

Ohio State beats Minnesota…I sure hope I am wrong.

The season record so far is 88 winners and 34 losers.

Have a good weekend and don’t forget to…

Speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

Today I did a bit of purging.  I got rid of some stuff.  Some of it was not easy to part with, I can tell you.  But…it needed to be done.  There is a time to move on in some cases.

I have a new job.  I kept some things from my old situation and I just came to the realization that I did not need to hold on to some of the “stuff” I still had from my old job any longer.  It could…and needed….to be gone.

In the process, I found a piece of writing that I did and I want to share it with you now.

As was the custom with much of my English teaching, I worked right along with my students.  If I assigned a writing task, I took it up right with them.  On occasion, some writing assignments were layered with multiple purpose.  Two years ago I assigned an essay that was to be themed around “Thanksgiving”.   What follows is my essay that I wrote right along with the students I made the assignment for.  The goal was to get them to write about what they were thankful for and to share it with someone close to them.  I thought I read this to some folks close to me.  That was my intent.  After asking my dear wife, Carrie, about it, I realize I had not shared it like I intended to.  I am doing exactly that right now.  I hope you enjoy it.  I certainly enjoyed writing it and reading it to my students in 2013.

Thanksgiving

With each passing year I find I have more and more to be thankful for.  I’m thankful for the past.  I am thankful for the present.  I am thankful for the future.

I have been hanging around this orb for over forty-five years.  When I look in the rear-view mirror of my life, I see a great deal to be thankful for.  I am thankful for my family.  I am thankful for the many wonderful friendships I have found, made, or in time just plain cultivated.  Many of my family members and friends are no longer around to hear me say thank you.  I hope and pray there is a way they know.

I am thankful for the present.  As difficult as the day to day may be sometimes, I am still thankful for where we are in the here and now.  I have learned so much and have seen more places in recent times than I ever imagined possible.  Thanks to the information age we live in.  I can see moving pictures and get glimpses of cultures all over the world that were once just pages from the reference section of the library or points on a map.  I am also thankful for those around me these days.  I have had the good fortune to be surrounded by great people both young and old on a daily basis.  It is doubtful that I deserve to be so blessed in this regard.

I am thankful for the future.  This doesn’t just include things I have circled on a calendar in the very near future.  I am also thankful for the days, challenges, victories, and laughs that are ahead.  Though I know the future will also render some sorrowful goodbyes eventually, there will also be a time for beginnings that we will celebrate.  Whether it is a new friendship or a new job (when I read this to my students I substituted the word job with “challenges”…I did not want them to think I was leaving) or a new reason that is yet unfathomable.  I look forward to more of the goodness, trials, and the beauty this life has to offer.  For all of these things, I thank God very much.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson