On the back porch.  It is 9:27 AM starting this writing.  Last night I watched a great high school football game.  The North Harrison Cougars, ranked #9 in the 3A AP poll defeated the Silver Creek Dragons, ranked #9 in the 4A AP poll, 6 to 0.

I don’t know if was Keith Jackson I first heard it from, probably, but last night I referenced the line “two mules fighting over a turnip”.  I used to use that when I did games on radio for comedic purposes.  Last night it was the truth!  Have mercy.  As my Dad would say, “There was some good popping going on out there.”

Early in the school year, I had a senior lineman in my office (I am a school counselor) and I told him the fewest amount of points per game ever given up by a North Harrison team was in 1980.  That team defense gave up a paltry 10.5 points a game.  Of course I made the point to offer motivation and reference.  You hope it works out.  As of last night the NH Cougars are giving up an average of 7 points a game.  I think that record, set in the third year of varsity football at NHHS, is destined to be the second place history it deserves.  For those of us there, we were 5-5 that season and a sum total of 15 points or so away from 8-2.  That is the kind of crap that still stings the memory, at least one like mine.  Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  Doesn’t just apply to will she hold my hand or not?

So the NHHS Cougars are 7-0 for the second time in school history…and the second time in three years.  Good times indeed.  But there is more work to be done.  More and greater challenges await.  Here are a few scenes from last night.

It was a beautiful day/night for football in Ramsey, Indiana.

A BEFORE AND AFTER LOOK AT THE HILL.

Before the game.

Some places on the hill saw bag chairs 4 deep.  It was a sight to behold.

Late in the 4th quarter…the largest crowd in school history I would have to believe.  I have seen a few of them.

My Dad is still at the rehab facility working out new hip.  He could not be there last night.  I wish he had been.  In their inability to comprehend the spirit of the intent of radio broadcasting, WKLO the station that now splits radio between the Harrison County schools, North and Corydon, they did the Corydon-Charlestown game last night and not the one featuring two undefeated ranked schools.  Splitting two teams for the sake of advertising dollars is what we are up against.  It is what drove me and my partner Gus out of the radio booth.  Things have not been same since.  That this historic game in Ramsey was not of WKLO is a pathetic shame.  I heard about it from folks I did not think I would hear from.  I appreciate their support for NH and wish they could have shared this with a radio broadcast.  Oh well.  We press onward.

On to this week’s College Football Predictions:

After four weeks the picks stand at 36 winners and 12 losers.  I won’t complain.  I would have taken USC last night but I am so glad the other Cougars, Washington State, won last night.

Minnesota beats Maryland…This could be a good one.  Will finally feel like fall for Goldy at home.

North Carolina beats Georgia Tech…I am not a gambler and I don’t look at “lines”.  I would think the Rambling Wreck is the favorite.

NC State beats Syracuse…No ill-effects from beating the Seminoles last week for the Pack.

Florida beats Vandy…The Gotors eat them up at home.  Vandy may find them but they won’t catch them.

Georgia beats Tennessee…In Knoxville in front of 100,000 plus.  Sorry Coach Jones.

Penn State beats Indiana…I love my Hoosiers.  Just hope they keep Scurvy Cat under 40.

Louisville beats Murray State…As many in the stands talk about basketball.

Kentucky beats Eastern Michigan…Look out.  Tough loss to Gators could spell some sleepwalking.

Iowa beats Michigan State…Heartbreaking loss to Penn State last week for the boys from Iowa City.  That was sad.

Notre Dame beats Miami (OH)….NBC puts this on NBC Sports (little sister channel).  Not impressed.

LSU beats Troy…Wearing an interesting uniform ensemble today.  Geaux Tigers!  IIII-EEE!

UCLA beats Colorado….Can I do it again?  Should I do it again?  Probably not.  This one kicks off at 10:30 PM EDT.  I hung in with UCS-WSU last night/this morning until 2AM.  Might have to wait for the movie on this one.

I did not touch the Marshall-UC game.  Don’t have the guts and don’t want to pick against the Herd.  But I think they might win.

I told Brother Tim Petty last night the TIDE will roll against the Rebels.  I won’t pick against the Rebs officially.  Don’t turn your back on family.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Tell someone you love them!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I can hear the great Ronald Reagan.  I hear him.  Can you hear him?

“Well…here we go again…”

Where are you now Ronald Reagan?

Our current president, you know the one, is at it again.  But then, when hasn’t he been at it…dividing the country that is.  Had the old boy spent time trying to pull folks together, you know, trying to galvanize some help for Puerto Rico, instead of calling out the NFL at one of his self-serving pep rallies, there would have never been so many NFL players hit their knees during the playing of the National Anthem this past weekend.  We have the president to thank for this National Rhubarb of knees hitting the ground.

The National Anthem before the game is a time honored tradition.  I always get peeved when folks are milling around, trying to get to their seats, or heading for the concession stand during the playing or singing of this song.  I myself have sung this song before high school basketball games…once at the big arena in Indianapolis.  Talk about honored. Remember too that my dear wife, Carrie, and I had a son hanging out the door of Blackhawk helicopter with a very large machine gun between his legs as he once flew over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan.  I can’t overstate how much this song means to me.

Do I hate the fact that these NFL players are taking a knee while the National Anthem is being played?  Yes I do.  But guess what.  I hate the fact that a guy that occupies the office of the presidency of this country is bringing this kind of disparagement of the flag to the field.  Translation:  If the president doesn’t open his careless mouth and allow stupidity and divisive rhetoric to pour out we don’t have such a problem.

Guess what.  As of now it is still a free country.  I hate it when someone is walking to their seat during the playing of the National Anthem.  Just like I hate it when a country freely elects a president set on dividing the country even more than it already was.

Don’t let the fact that once upon a time the NFL owners kept Donald Trump the business man out of the league after he imploded the USFL as he was trying to get his foot inside the NFL door.  It didn’t happen. They wouldn’t have him.  This sour grapevine is still there for the old boy, I have no doubt.

I have said before and I will say it again, I miss the Republican Party I once depended on and related to.  One day we will get her back.  And when we do, we’ll talk about helping folks out  and working on doing the right things.  And the memory of this president will be a marker to steer clear of.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

Thank you to all out there that have asked about, prayed for, sent cards, texted me, sent messages or called my Dad while he has gone through his hip replacement surgery.  In the dictionary under “hard head” you may find a picture of him.  If the dictionary is true, you will.  But I am delighted that he is making progress and I know one day he will be out on the golf course again blaming his new hip for a missed putt or a short chip.  But at least he will be there having a good time.  I thank you all.

Last night the North Harrison Cougars overcame a sluggish start and finally got in gear to cruise past the Eastern Musketeers by a score of 40-14.  The Cougars are now 6-0 and will play a homecoming match-up against the Silver Creek Dragons who are also 6-0.  This will be a first.  Two 6-0 teams meeting in Ramsey. I must be dreaming.

On Friday night the hill will be packed.  The corn will be shelled and I, for one, look forward to a great game.  I am very greedy.  When it comes to the Cougars I want to see more wins and more wins and I would also like to see a field goal soar through the uprights that travels longer than 38 yards.  I know that ultimately the game situation will have to dictate whether this happens or not for the good of the cause. I also know I had a good view of the one that went over the goalpost from that distance.  I want one to go farther!  I want someone else in a Cougar jersey to know what that feels like.  Don’t get me wrong.  The kick that beat the Braves last week will always be “the kick” to me.  How does it get better?  Do it again in the sectional?  Perhaps.  Let’s just not get ahead of ourselves.  One game at a time and all that good coach speak.

Three walnuts just fell from the tree behind me in the backyard.  It is a sign that I need to move on to my college football picks.  This morning is the only chance to breathe easy out of doors today so I am out here with my coffee and my picks before the heat and insensitive air take control out here.

Oh, a shout out to my friends in Brownstown.  I know that beating Seymour last night just got their season rebooted after losing to the Cougars last week.  Jackson County is an interesting place.  They call the game there The Jackson Bowl.  No offense to the one who came up with that nomenclature…but it is not very good name for a football game.  The Watermelon Bowl makes much more sense in the realm of historic context games that are associated with fruit.  That and the fact that greater watermelons you will not find outside Jackson County… plus T-shirts they print for the game every year could take on a much better theme. The Jackson Bowl?  Phooey.  Give me Watermelon or give me….a candy bar!

On the the picks….

Last week I was 8-4.  For the season, 27 winners and 9 losers so far.  It could get worse.  It has before.  I am not going to touch Iowa and Penn State tonight.  There is not a game I look forward to more this weekend.  I can’t pick against the Hawkeyes.  I don’t have it in me.  I am leading with my heart on at least one other pick and that will be that.

Louisville beats Kent State….Lou Holtz couldn’t help the Golden Flashes.  U of L still washing the multiple stains out of their pants from last week’s Clemson debacle.

Florida State beats NC State…The Seminoles are ready to play again.  Well rested and ready to score.

Alabama beats Vandy...Of course they do.  Vandy is improved.  Translation:  30 point loss instead of 40 point loss.  The Tide Rolls on.

Duke beats North Carolina…No this is not my sentimental pick.  I really do believe Duke will win.  Have you seen them this year?  They play good defense.

Indiana beats Georgia Southern…They will beat them…but it may not be by much.  Emotion high for both teams coming in to this one.

USC beats Cal...The USC-Texas game last week was a September classic.  Might be mid-November before we see a game that good again this season.

Clemson beats Boston College…Not exactly Puddin’ State, but BC is no match for the speed Clemson possesses on both sides of the ball.

Georgia beats Miss. State…I pass my heart to old Silverbritches.  UGA needs to come through for the betterment of college football.

Florida beats Kentucky…Chris Doering won’t be suiting up for the Gators but his memory will.  24 years ago he caught a TD pass with 2 seconds left to secure the Top Ten Gators from being embarrassed even more in Lexington.  24-20 the Gators won.  The Gators have won 30 straight over UK.  Make it 31.  My apologies to Mikey Mike Raymond.

UCLA beats Stanford…Josh Rosen bounces back in their own time zone.

Auburn beats Mizzou…Tigers v. Tigers

Purdue beats Michigan…That is my upset and I am sticking to it.  Michigan has not been that impressive.  Purdue has.  Purdue looks like a workhorse and Michigan looks like a show pony that has to be awakened to perform.  The workhorse is going to come up with a crucial special teams play or a turnover or two to make the difference.  I have been wrong before.

Have great weekend everyone!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

Not long ago I was in a high school classroom having speaks with students about the ins and outs, merits and realities of something called the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test commonly referred to as the PSAT.

At one point early in my presentation, a young lad in the back of the room threw his hand up.  He did not have a question about the PSAT.  He asked if I used to be a kicker for the high school team where I am now presently employed.

The young man had a smile on his face.  He knew the answer.  He was being kind.  My answer?  I told him that ancient history was taught on the second floor of the school building in the social studies department.  He knew what I meant.  He also knew I was there to talk scholastic testing and not football acumen.  There is a time and place for both.

Last Friday at Brownstown Central High School, the North Harrison Cougars defeated the Brownstown Central Braves 17-14 in a classic of a high school football game.  North had a 14-0 halftime lead.  My friends on Braves Radio were perplexed and wondered when the last time the high octane offense of the BCHS team had spent a first half with a zero on the scoreboard.

There was an interesting symmetry to the scoring made by the Cougars.  The opening kickoff was taken by in by Jake Harley and he did not get touched as he ran up the middle of a perfectly blocked kickoff return effort where all eleven guys did their job.  First play of the first half…touchdown Cougars.  Last play of the the first half…a touchdown pass from Avery Blocker to Skyler Wetzel for the Cougars.  Well, BC had one second left to do very little with.

BCHS came out with a little more determination and fire in the second half.  They still had no idea they could be beaten at home, even when they were down 14 to zip at halftime.  That is one of the qualities of their football program.  They possess an arrogance and a confidence that knows no equal.  That is why I saw so many dumbfounded looks and a few tears among BC players and parents and other supporters after it was over.  They couldn’t get beat by North Harrison at home.  That doesn’t happen. The last time that had happened when the Cougars came calling to Blevins Stadium President Bush was in the White House.  The Dad, not the son.  It was 1992.

The Braves tied it up 14-14.  With 9:43 left in the 4th quarter, NHHS went on a drive that would make John Elway proud.  22 plays later, including three third down conversions and two fourth down conversions, Ben Waynescott connected on a 24 yard field goal to win the game on the last play of the contest.  North won 17-14 in what I will confidently call the greatest victory ever for the football program.

Watching that ball fly over the goalpost that I had kicked balls over in years past was very special to me.  But here is…the rest of the story.

Over that same goalpost placed in the South endzone of the field a different kick has haunted me like no other.  I think about it each time I walk on that field.  I rarely talk about it.  I don’t think I have ever written about it here.

In 1980 North Harrison visited Blevins Memorial Stadium on a cool night in mid-October.  Having grown up a Brownstown Central Brave as a kid, I was making my first appearance at Blevins Stadium in blue.  That game was a classic too.  A defensive struggle beyond imagination went on that night.  When the 4th quarter had ended, the score was 6-6.  To make a painful long story short, Randy Forgey kicked a field goal over that same goalpost in overtime that sent the fans in red and black into a frenzy.  BCHS 9  NHHS 6. Dressed in blue, I was crushed.  I still remember being hunched over with my hands on my bent knees  at the twenty yard line looking like a Lou Holtz wanna be as that ball was snapped to the holder that 1980 night.  When the kick went up, I knew it was good.  I hit the ground.

Last Friday I kept my feet as Ben’s kick was true.  But I do have a confession to make.  I looked at the recording of the game and saw where I was standing all alone in turn two of the track as the kick was being made.  I couldn’t believe it.  I thought I was on the twenty yard line when Ben kicked it.  I wasn’t.  For a split moment I think I found the time travel that Richard Collier was seeking in “Somewhere in Time”.  I don’t know if I was on the twenty or turn two…37 years and two kicks can do some strange things.  I do know it was Ben’s kick and not Randy’s that I will now remember as being “the kick” on that field for me.  And…it was Good!

My Dad was not able to make it to the game on Friday night.  He is having hip replacement surgery at the moment I type these very words.  Wifi never meant more.  Thanks goes to my Braves Radio hero and dear old friend, Harv Brown, for giving Dad a couple shout-outs and well wishes during the game Friday night.  Mom liked hearing her name too.

The Brownstown game is over.  Time to move on.

Speaking the field goal rights…

Danny Johnson

Week three of the College Football season is upon us and I am ready to either stop picking college games or test fate another week and see what happens.  Last week the speaktherights.com picks featured 11 winners and one loser.  19-5 after two weeks.  I’ll take it.

A few out there will think I am pushing the envelope a little to close to the edge this week.  Why not?  Better to pick an upset or a close one than declare something like Auburn over Coastal Carolina.

Know that I am disappointed that the Hoosiers are not playing FIU this week.  My desire to sit in Memorial Stadium with my dear wife, Carrie, is nothing of significance compared to the disaster that we see a thimble full of when we look at the Hurricane Irma tragedy.  Our prayers are most certainly for the folks in trouble and those helping the troubled.  Amen.

Here goes:

UCLA beats Memphis…The Bruins make a rare stop at Beale Street.  Josh Rosen carves up the Tiger D.

Ole Miss beats Cal…This is as close as the Rebs will go bowling before and after the Egg Bowl.  This is a big one for Oxford.

UK beats South Carolina…Call me crazy.  I could be 0-3 after this one.  I just think that toe stubbing against EKU will help bring the Cats together.  I have been wrong before.

Duke beats Baylor…Do I hear 0-4?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  The Dukies have been impressive so far.  Their defense is better.  They will always have a QB with Coach Cut in town.

Minnesota beats Middle Tennesse….Goldy needs this one.

Purdue beats Mizzou…This should be a Big Ten match-up.  No one asked me when realignment season was in full flower.  Someone should have.

Marshall beats Kent State…Back home after a worthy showing in Raleigh, the Herd will be on.

USC beats Texas…Beware the Fighting Darnolds.  Dream QB season in SoCal with Sam and Josh.

LSU beats Mississippi State…All together now…say something bad about State!

Notre Dame beats Boston College…And I said I wasn’t going to pick up any cupcake games.

Florida beats Tennessee…I could lose this one too.  With the Great Pumpkin season coming on you just never know.

Louisville beats Clemson….You know that play to your competition adage…you can do that and win with Lamar Jackson every time.  You can…but you might not.

Look, I am no great fan of U of L.  I am delighted the place was there while I was furthering my education there.  It has helped a great deal.  But, I just think the Cards could do something special this season.

Speaking of something special…

Tomorrow night the North Harrison Cougars head North to take on the Brownstown Central Braves in a new incarnation of Blevins Memorial Stadium that will be rededicated at 6:40 before kickoff tomorrow night.  It is also Senior Night I am told.  Not sure what that means.  If so, and it may not be so, I am really not all that sure, but if so, that is some fine flattery for the North Harrison Cougars to behold.  You know how teams want to schedule a foe they are certain they can beat for homecoming so everyone can just sit back and have a good time?  This is the photo negative of that ideology.  This is the pile it on attitude to make the players play a little harder against a most formidable foe in the North Harrison Cougars.

Nary a Brave player wants to lose on the night they rededicate the Stadium.  I know what I am talking about. James T. Blevins was a friend of my Dad’s.  My Dad was the head football coach at Brownstown Central when the first game was played at the stadium named for Mr. Blevins.  I wrote about a great deal of this on the visit I made last May when they were about to tear the old place down.

Nary a Cougar wants to give the Braves the satisfaction of winning for any reason, stadium or no stadium.

The series between these two is one-sided.  Easy for me to say without much pain, given the two years I was in high school when we visited Blevins Stadium, 1982 and 1984, we rode home on a happy bus.

The Braves and the Cougars have played 37 times.  The game in 2006, one I was set to announce on radio and still believe North was going to win, was cancelled due a storm that made the field a quagmire before it had a chance to start.  In 2008 Hurricane Ike blew the west goalpost sideways on North Harrison’s field.  Nature won that battle too.  No game at Brownstown that year.

In the 37 times these two have played BCHS has won 30 and NHHS has won 7.  Five of those seven Cougar wins have been at Brownstown, strangely enough.  Personally, I find it quite fitting.  I was there the first time they played in 1978.  I was wearing Brownstown Central red.

This year both teams are undefeated at 4-0 going into the long awaited match-up.

Tomorrow night I will be with the Blue team all the way.  As in all the way home happily back down Indiana 135.  Go Cougars!  Go shell the corn.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

Last week, thanks to Josh Rosen’s arm and toughness, I finished 8-4 instead of 7-5.  There is a difference and it was a good way to start the season.

I don’t know why I am here writing this right now.  I suppose it is just what I do.  At this moment I am so removed from what I am sitting here doing that it feels like an out of body experience.  I don’t like it.

For this week’s picks I will be brief and without game commentary:

Purdue beats Ohio

Indiana beats Virginia

UK beats EKU

Louisville beats North Carolina

Ole Miss beats UT Martin

Iowa beats Iowa State

Penn State beats Pitt

Georgia beats Notre Dame

Auburn beats Clemson

USC beats Stanford

Oklahoma beats Ohio State

Minnesota beats Oregon State

Enough football.

I got a call Tuesday morning from my dear friend Kelly in Seymour.  He found a way to tell me that the youngest of his four children, Nathaniel, had died.  Tino, we called him, was 21.  Kelly had seen and talked to him before going to bed at 10 PM Monday night.

I say it again, Nathaniel was the youngest of four children.  An older brother and two older twin sisters are hurting right now, as are his parents and so many more of us.

In an email today to my own siblings I lamented this has taught me that I still have a great deal to learn.  Over the years I have seen so many friends come and go.  I have been subjected to more death than most, I suppose.  It is never easy.  This time, though, it is much different.  He was one of our kids.

I just finished sitting here with my arms folded looking intently at this page wondering what to type next.

I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually.

First things first.  Last night the North Harrison Cougars defeated the Corydon Central Panthers in the 40th Big Cat Classic.  In addition to the rain and wind, which this series has seen before, there was an awkward sense in the wind and rain last night.  The Harrison County rivals were playing in Floyd County.  The final score was NH 28 CC 0.  For the second season in a row the Cougars held the Panthers scoreless.  It was NH’s 7th shutout in the the series that now stands, during the regular season, 23 wins for NH 17 for CC.  The Cougars are also 3 wins and 0 defeats against the Panthers in Sectional play over the years.  But who’s counting?  I am!  It was a great game last night, given the conditions.

The 2017 North Harrison Cougars have given up just 14 points in three games.  The school record for fewest points given up in a season is 104…10.4 per game…in 1980. The 1982 team gave up 10.9 points per game.  I hope that number goes down this year.  But…a W is a W and you take them how you can get them.  I’m greedy for these Cougars.  I can’t help it.  The Cougars are 20-4 in their last 24 games.  Great job by Coach Williamson and his staff and players not afraid to put forth the effort to get there.

On the College Football…

It feels like late October on the back porch this first Saturday morning in September.  Damp and cool, temps in the 50s here.  College Football is heating up.  The season begins in earnest and today is the day to speak the rights about it!

Let’s get it over with…drum roll…

Alabama beats Florida State…Until the crown is knocked off the noggin, can’t call against the Tide…not yet.  Brother Tim will be a happy man tonight.

Marshall beats Miami (OH)…Won’t be at The Joan tonight…I’ll be somewhere else “Nine Tonight”…some of you will get that…The Herd needs a W at home.  If they don’t win tonight a long season could be had again.  This is a program on the edge.

UCLA beats Texas A&M…Bruin qb Rosen made headlines with his mouth in summer…now his arm does.

Middle Tenn. beats Vandy…Hats off to teams like Boston College and Vandy and UK for going to the home of little brothers for a game.  Vandy on the road will not win this one.

Ole Miss beats South Alabama…How bad is it in Oxford?  We’ll see.  It doesn’t look good.  For four hours tonight all is forgotten and Joey Jones’ bunch see why.  Coach Luke, go get’em.

USC beats Western Michigan…The Trojans may be the team this year.  Nice trip for the MAC boys.

Kentucky beats Southern Miss…Won’t blow a 25 point lead this year against USM this year.  Hattiesburg is a tough place to visit.  UK wins.

Louisville beats Purdue…I don’t believe in statement games.  Every game matters.  But I do think Lamar Jackson can ring the bell at the fair tonight and start a new buzz for him and the Cards.

Texas beats Maryland…Coach Herman has his shot.  Austin is full of experts.  Good luck with that.

North Carolina beats Cal….Long trip for Cal.  Enjoy the pines around Keenan Stadium, it will be a nicer site than the scoreboard which will favor UNC and their basketball wearing uniforms.

NC State beats South Carolina...Playing in Charlotte.  Hope no one steals anything at The Belk Store.

Iowa beats Wyoming...I know I picked Wyoming to win the Mountain West.  They might start today with a good game.  I just think the Hawkeyes have too much home fire.  I want to go to Kinnick Stadium one day.  See just how big that water tower really is.

Feels odd to make these predictions when I won’t be watching college football in a stadium or looking at it on TV tonight while Bama beats the Seminoles.  Few things could get me away from that.  The right music is one of them.  My dear wife, Carrie, and I are going to see Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band tonight in Noblesville.  I won’t call it the venue by it’s given name I am too stubborn.  The place will always be Deer Creek to me.  That is where I saw my first Moody Blues with an orchestra show.

The chance to dance with Carrie and sing along to “Old Time Rock and Roll” is not to be wasted if opportunity and good fortune allows one to do such.

Have a good and safe Labor Day Weekend everyone…and if you get the chance…

Speak the Rights.

Danny Johnson