My dear wife, Carrie, and I have seen a great deal of this country of ours this year.  We have been blessed with schedules and resources that have allowed us the opportunity to get around a few times in 2018.  I turned 50 this year.  That would probably have a thing or two do do with some of our sight-seeing, particularly last weekend.

In June we went to Lake Placid and saw the Arena where the Miracle on Ice played out in 1980.  That was a thrill.

Carrie and I walked over The Brooklyn Bridge.

I never thought we would do that.

We met up with my sister in New York and went over the The Berkshires for a visit.  That was fantastic.

We saw Allison Krauss at Tanglewood.

In August Carrie and I saw Justin Hayward sing in Ohio and got to spend time with our friend Julie Ragins who sings with Justin.

Last month we our fall break meant time with Jarrett and Cody in South Florida, a place Carrie and I had never been together.  Jarrett is heading back to the Iraq Embassy tomorrow for another hitch there.  Cody is selling his house and looking to move to the tropical climate of South Florida.  Who could blame him.

And of course, last weekend I kicked a couple of balls through in The Rose Bowl.

And Carrie and I visited the other coast for the first time.

I have been blessed with a forward thinking spirit, I think.  There is always another adventure and a point of reference that can be found.  I am blessed to be able to share these things with young people I get to work with.  When a youngster is talking about going to a college in another area, their eyes get fixed when I say something about the area they are talking about and I can give them pointers on what to see when in that area and where to find a good plate of vittles.  It makes things real for them.  There is a quality of validation that comes through to a certain degree, pending on how much they want to hear and know.

My fearless travelling spirit was passed on to me from my paternal grandmother, Flo Johnson.  She visited something like sixteen countries and was unfazed by any circumstance.  She looked for solutions.  She found them.

Granny died four years ago today and I miss her very much.  But each time Carrie and I go for another excursion, I have a private little conversation.  I tell Granny she would have loved to have seen this or that.  For all of these things, I am thankful.

The spoon collection was passed on to us and we have added to it.

On Thanksgiving Day I still look back intently on the old Hines Family Reunions we had in Forest, Mississippi when I was a child. Playing football with cousins in Uncle Bob and Aunt Nell’s front yard was a treat.  Those were good times.

That is me on the far right.  How I wish we had cameras then like we do now. As hazy as this picture is, it is still as clear as ever in my mind and I am so glad I was there.

Today Carrie and I will host the Thanksgiving meal for our family.  We will have a great time.  There is always plenty to eat and many things to laugh about. We will watch the Detroit Lions play the Chicago Bears for sure. Thanks be to God.

College Football Predictions Week #13

Picked 10 winners against 3 losers last week.  I was pleased with that.

Pure sadness sets in as the last weekend of the regular season of college football plays out.  How does it all go say fast, ask each other.

Got a few bonus games this week, in honor of the 2018 season wrapping up before championship games and bowl games to come.  Here goes…

Ole Miss beats Mississippi State…Won’t pick against the Rebels.  Not the right thing to do.  Hotty Toddy!!!  Hope the Rebs have practiced their tackling.

Ohio beats Akron…Go Bobcats.  Coach Solich is a winner all around.

Iowa beats Nebraska…The Hawkeyes have been up and down.  Unless they play Indiana, I always root for them.

Mizzou beats Arkansas…Poor Hogs.  They are just kinda pitiful.  Makes me not want to eat as much pork barbecue cos the pigs have had it tough enough already.

Washington State beats Washington… Clearly the most entertaining team with the most entertaining coach.  I wish the Cougars could find a way to the Top 4.  That would be entertaining.  Coach Leach attended BYU.  He got called on the carpet when he was a student and was told his hair was too long.  He asked the shame on you committee if they had seen the statue of Brigham Young on campus lately and seen how long his hair was?  My kind of guy.  Bases offensive play calls on how many defenders are on the which side of the center’s butt crack.  It can be that simple.  10-1 in Pullman in the PAC 12 tells us so. This is the only team that has a shot at beating Alabama.

Georgia beats Georgia Tech…Classic rival game.  Lewis Grizzard will enjoy this one.

Michigan beats Ohio State…I have to believe.  Then I have to believe Northwestern will beat Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game and clear the Big Ten out of the Title Game and save some embarrassment while helping Washington State’s cause.

Indiana beats Purdue…Man, the Hoosiers need this one.  For no other reason than some respect.  FOX called IU the University of Indiana last week on a graphic.  That is really actual fake news.

Duke beats Wake Forest…Duke needs to rebound after the whipping they took at the hands of Clemson.  The Dukies have had a good year.

Arizona State beats Arizona…This is one I may whiff on.  Just a hunch after looking at the desert from a airplane window last weekend.

Alabama beats Auburn…Yes, I want to see Bama brought down for the good of the cause.  But I don’t want it to be from Auburn.  I think Bama wins by 35.

Northwestern beats Illinois…The Wildcats, headed to Indy next week for the Big Ten Champ game, how ironic for such a game to be played in Indiana.  NW will rest some folks for sure getting ready for Michigan (I hope).  The sooner we don’t have to look at Ohio State the better.  Oh, and did I tell you how glad I am that Wisconsin lost some games this year?

Penn State beats Maryland…The ice cream is good if the football is not.

Kentucky beats Louisville…and wins nine games in a season for the first time since 1984 I believe.  That was the year UK beat Wisconsin in the Hall of Fame Bowl.  Al Toon was playing for the Badgers.  He was a great wide-out that played some time for the Jets.

LSU beats Texas A&M… This could be an entertaining game.

Notre Dame beats USC…USC needs to bounce back at home.  Will losing the Victory Bell to UCLA be too much for them.  I can tell you it was a back-breaker for some of the USC fans.  Their sparse attendance in The Rose Bowl last week made it the least attended Crosstown Rival game since 1950.  Only 57,000 and change showed up.  It was a great game.  I will be rooting for USC for sure.  It is the only way we can get a showdown with Washington State and Alabama.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  God Bless you and yours!

Speaking the Thankful rights…

Danny Johnson

I am glad my speaks with Mr. Bart Bigham’s 11th grade English classes will not happen until the spring.  If I stood in front of them next week, I would probably be rather emotional trying to convey my thanks to them for putting me and my dear wife, Carrie, inside a place I hold in the highest regard.  That place is The Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

How it all exactly happens that I give Mr. Bigham’s junior classes the credit is something I won’t be able to explain in full until the time comes when I can share it with them.  And share I will indeed.

Two years ago I took my Dad to the Rose Bowl to see the USC-UCLA game. That was a special time.  The USC-UCLA game is the greatest rivalry on the west coast and ranks there with Michigan-Ohio State and Auburn-Alabama.  These games are historic.  Tomorrow, though I am writing this near midnight and this will probably post officially on Saturday and  it is nearly 9 PM on the West Coast as I type these words, Carrie and I will attend the UCLA-USC game.  I am glad to report that Carrie and I have already visited the Rose Bowl.  We did that on Thursday afternoon.

I have Darryl Dunn and Will Schnell to thank.  They were willing to help me out.  Darryl is the CEO/General Manager of The Rose Bowl Stadium.  Will is the Turf Superintendent.  These two men will be remembered as two guys that helped me help some North Harrison High School students.

I still get out and swing my leg from time to time.  Though there is considerably less pop in the old leg, I can still kick a football over a goalpost when I feel like doing so.  55 yard kicks have been replaced with 35 yard kicks.  And I don’t care about that.  I am just delighted I can still do it.  On Thursday I kicked on the greatest place to do so on the planet.

Lined only with five yard lines on Thursday, I was not the nervous wreck I thought I would be when I stepped on the lush grass carpet that is the field of the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Led to the field by Will Schnell, I felt like being there was the right thing to be doing.

Will and I talked Rose Bowl history.  An old Missouri boy, Will understood my Midwest fascination with The Rose Bowl.  The BIG 10 Champ traditionally plays in The Rose Bowl against the winner of the PAC 12.  The Rose Bowl is the Granddaddy of them all in college football bowl parlance.

Carrie and I standing together on the turf of The Rose Bowl Stadium was a humbling experience that I was glad to be able to share with her.

I thought it only appropriate that I wear a North Harrison shirt in The Rose Bowl.

Will Schnell was a gracious host.  Look at that field.  It is the most impressive thing I have ever seen in sports.  The man is an artist and The Rose Bowl is his canvas.

In earnest, I brought my kicking shoe and my cleats with me in the hopes of getting a hold of one.  I toted them onto the field in my old Brownstown Central gym bag that is over 40 years old and is still in good shape.

Though I had my kicking shoe, I was not about to get that shoe out and plant it into the turf of the finest football field on the planet. Will was appreciative of my respect for the field. So, I kept my Brooks on, tightened them up and put the ball on the tee a little past the ten yard line.

My first kick was true.  I never thought about the possibility of missing.  As I kicked I thought about Mick Rutherford and Kelly Samons and I wished they could have been there.  When I kicked in high school, Mick was the snapper and Kelly was the holder.  I could not have done this without them.  I also thought about my Dad and how we came out here two years ago and how he would have loved to have seen this too.

My second kick was true.  I had enough.  Two for two in The Rose Bowl was all I needed.  It was a wonderful feeling.

The PAC 12 logo.

The outline of the the script UCLA at midfield.

Sure hope the Bruins take care of business on Saturday.  I think they will.

More fun.

Carrie and I visited the Santa Monica Pier today and walked up to Venice Beach and back.  I know we walked over twelve miles today.

This is a great place.

Under the pier.

I gotta have a picture of the Hollywood sign, right?

Below is my photographic contribution.

This is the fountain in the courtyard of Pasadena City Hall.

Carrie took this one at Union Station in LA.  There is a great deal of beautiful architecture out here.  That and most places are VERY clean and tidy.  Not much trash on the side of the road or on the sidewalk or in the street.  And, most folks here are very kind and polite.

WEEK 12 College Football Picks….an abbreviated version.

Mississisppi State beats Arkansas

UK beats Middle Tenn

Northwestern beats Minnesota

Ohio State beats Maryland

NC State beats Louisville

Penn State beats Rutgers

Iowa beats Illinois

Purdue bears Wisconsin

Michigan beats Indiana

Ole Miss beats Vandy

Washington State beats Arizona

Arizona State beats Oregon

UCLA beats USC

Now this was speaking the rights!

Danny Johnson

The last high school football game I played in was on November 1, 1985.  Only recently have I looked at 1985 to feel like that was a long time ago.  It was, I suppose.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to hang out at a Regional High School Football Game between the Evansville Memorial Tigers and the Brownstown Central Braves.  My was it ever cold.  I had five layers of clothes on and I the wind chill in the 20s was not what I was hoping for when I realized that I would be attending this game.  Did I say it was cold?

I knew the Braves would have an uphill battle.  I did not expect to see Memorial to be as strong as they really were and are.  That was one of the most explosive high school offensive units I have ever witnessed.

What drew me to the game, of course, was my history with Brownstown Central.  Before the game I saw a few old friends, but during most of the game I was watching in  corner of the end zone one the Memorial side of the field.  I was there to watch and I was there to take the game in.  I did not feel a great desire to socialize.  That is why I kept to myself.

Barry Hall and me in pregame.  Barry played for my Dad at Brownstown from 1974-1977.  I have written proudly about knowing and appreciating Barry Hall as a friend and as a man.  I am proud to know him.  In addition to being a coach for the Braves, Barry has two grandsons on the team.

Braves warming up before the game.

Historic Enlow Field was the site of the game.  1926 was the year the first game was played here.  It is a great football venue.  The Evansville folk I had speaks with were friendly and this is a place I would like to visit again.  I’d rather it be 65 degrees.

Brownstown Central on offense.

Of course I am always drawn to the kickers.

As the Evansville Memorial kicker warmed up on the side line, I thought I would try to capture a unique image or two or three.

Teeing it up.

Walked it off.

Putting it through.

Two plays later, I took this picture:

One of 8 extra points for the Tigers.  They defeated the Braves 56-14.  BC ended their season with 11 wins and 2 losses and not a thing to be ashamed of.

In an effort to motivate players, I heard the axiom that “the games you remember are played in November”recently.  I get it.  You do what you do to get guys going.

I am glad I played a high school game in November.  It was better left forgotten, much like the pasting BC took last Friday.  But I was glad to be there.  I have more fun thinking about games we won that season.  In 1985 Sectional play was introduced to Indiana high school football.  My team won our school, North Harrison’s, first ever sectional game in October.  I kicked a field goal in that one.  That is one I like to remember.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I don’t have have much battery in the old computer and I have not looked around for a plug-in.  The important thing is…I am warm right now!

I found a plug.

I was in Bloomington earlier today filling up the gas tank after a meeting and I thought I was going to pass out.  It was cold and it was windy.

This week I took a few nice photos as I was walking in the mornings.  It helps with the time change to capture some nice images.

And this one out of my office window…

The BEST photo I have seen in a while is this one…

Carrie sent it to me today  I so regret that I missed our school corporation’s Veteran’s Day Program.  It is always first class and I can’t sat THANK YOU enough to the dedication our veterans have given all of us.  God Bless you all!  I know Carrie was delighted to see Jarrett and Cody, as she was not expecting them.  I wish I could have been there to share that.

At this moment I am in a McDonald’s across the road from Evansville Bosse High School where Evansville Memorial will host Brownstown Central for a Class 3A regional title in a couple hours.

Go Braves!

The picks…

Indiana beats Maryland…and I am in hope so stage.  The Hoosier season has been a disappointment this year thus far.  I don’t see it much better and I think as close to a bowl this Hoosier team will get will be in the locker room toilet.

Penn State beats Wisconsin…Can’t pick Bucky for anything.

Duke beats North Carolina…Duke is having a nice season.

Virginia beats Liberty…I need a cupcake too.

Kentucky beats Tennessee…They need this one in Knoxville.  Keep that Rocky Top noise to a minimum.

Michigan beats Rutgers…Cupcake #2.  I need two to survive the cold tonight.

Alabama beats Mississippi State…This may be the closest any team gets to Bama there is interesting history in this rivalry for sure.

Iowa beats Northwestern…Only cos the Hawkeyes are at home for this one.

Oklahoma beats OK State….I’m a man!  I’m fifty!

Purdue beats Minnesota…The loss Pete took against Eastern Michigan looks worse all the time.  At least THEY turned it around.

Georgia Tech beats Miami…RUN RUN RUN

Notre Dame beats Florida State…The project for Willie Taggart will take a while.

USC beats California…The USC-UCLA game next week needs all the wins it can get.  I hope they kickoff early in Pasadena next week.

Though I will be trying to act dignified tonight as I scribble about the game tonight, know I will be pulling for the BCHS team for sure.  And they sure have their work cut out for them tonight.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

The Fall.  It is my favorite time of the year.  The last couple of weeks have been very memorable.  Carrie and I saw a concert.  I played golf with my buddies.  Two weeks ago we saw Indiana play Penn State in Bloomington.

This was the kickoff two Saturdays ago as Indiana hosted Penn State.

I always enjoy a good field goal.

As usual, IU dropped the ball when it came to honoring the players of 1986, 1987, and 1988.  They were all Bowl Teams.  These guys were given a short mention and not enough time for us to appreciate their efforts.  IU should have given each team a proper mention at different breaks.  Instead, it was a scene right out of the movie, that came out in 1988, ironically, called Everybody’s All American.  Back to be honored by the old LSU crowd, the hero thinks the crowd is cheering for him during a halftime celebration, only to realize the crowd noise was for the team entering the stadium for the second half.  It was sad like that.  During the same timeout, the old bowl teams were a quick mention so they could play another on-field promotion.  It was just sad.

Carrie and I saw Boz Scaggs at The Palace Theatre this week.  Boz gets the award for the most well preserved voice of any singer I have ever heard.  He is 74 years old and it might as well have been 1977.  That is the year I was introduced to Boz Scaggs.  His 1976 release Silk Degrees was a Brownstown Central football locker room mainstay.  I call still hear the late Tommy Cockerham saying how he enjoyed listening to Boz.  Tommy was a running back and a kicker.

The fall of the year is always beautiful around here.

Out of my office window today.

The Jackson County paper ran a yesteryear photo recently.  This is the 1967 Brownstown Central Brave football team.  On our right, my Dad is on the back row next to Jim Blevins , the man the stadium is named after.

Last Saturday I played the 19th Annual Corner King Classic with these guys.  Left to right:  Kelly Samons, me, Mick Rutherford, and Gus Stephenson.

This week’s College Football Picks…last week was a season worst 7 winners and 6 losers.  It has to get better this week.

Clemson beats Louisville…The Cards are done.

Memphis beats East Carolina…The Tigers are fun to watch.

Michigan State beats Maryland…Sparty needs to rebound.

Ohio State beats Nebraska….Should not be close.

Ole Miss beats South Carolina…My couch will be a busy spot tomorrow starting with this one.

NC State beats Florida State…Still like Ryan Finley’s QB play for Wolfpack.

Kentucky beats Georgia….It may be UK’s time.

Purdue beats Iowa…It is at Purdue and should be a classic.

Minnesota beats Illinois…the Illini just are not that good.

Tennessee beats Charlotte…and Gus hears Rocky Top many times at the game.

Duke beats Miami...Don’t have it in me to go against Coach Cut.

Northwestern beats Notre Dame…My upset of the year.

Alabama beats LSU…Can’t call it against the Tide…though I hope LSU wins for fun.

Enjoy this wonderful November!

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson