Oh my, it has been a day or two since we have been here.  I have missed it.  The days are busy and busier.  That’s not a bad thing, as long as we feel we are making progress.

First, let me tell you I am delighted that we are going to record our first podcast tomorrow.  North Harrison High School Hodgepodcast is going to be a good time.  One of my senior students, Phoenix Biller, will be the first guest.  Phoenix loves music and I do too.  He plays guitar and so do I.  This will be a great thing for our school.  A preview of the concept can be found on the North Harrison Community School homepage under NHCS Social Media.

Last night I met up with Dave Dedrick the voice of the Paoli Rams.  95.3 WUME has enjoyed Dave’s calls for over 40 years.  He told me he has no plans to hang up the mic any time soon.  Why would he?  In 2020, I was fortunate to team-up with Dave to call a high school football game.  It was my pleasure.

As the UCLA Bruins move into The Big Ten next season, the opposing sideline of The Rose Bowl will be an interesting place.  The UCLA student section has been extended to include the first seven rows of the entire visiting side of the field.  I think this is a stroke of genius.  Why not?  The place holds 92,000.  There’s plenty of room there.

One thing I never tire of as an educator is to see friendships among students blossom and carry on and you can only hope these friendships will last through the decades.  I get that.  The picture above taken at a concert in Nashville in 2015.  Train was the headliner along with The Fray and Matthew Nathanson.  From our left to right in the center are:  Pat Monahan of Train, Matthew Nathanson, and Isaac Slade of The Fray.  These guys were singing the old Beatles tune With a Little Help From My Friends.  They took tune in the direction of the Joe Cocker version that was the theme song of tv show The Wonder Years.  I’ve been to many concerts.  This was by far the most powerful performance of one song that I ever heard.  In fact, second place is somewhere in the distance.

Baseball season is coming up.  I still miss Riverfront Stadium.  I knew the place inside and out.  What was better than George Foster’s cracking bat knocking a home run into the red seats?

The dream is over.  Meaningful print journalism is no longer in my paper box on a daily basis.  The last few issues of Louiville’s Courier-Journal arrived in the mail a day late, what there is left of the paper.  This is a scary thing.  Woodward and Bernstein, where are you now?  Oh, I know, metro dailies in Boston and New York and Chicago and a few other cities are still really there.  Not many are.  Again, this is a scary thing.  It is a portent of they never knew what hit them.

At least we have North Harrison High School Hodgepodcast to look forward to.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson

I woke up with free throws and blocked shots dancing in my head this morning.

Last night the North Harrison Cougars defeated the Crawford County Wolfpack.  The first 32 minutes went back and forth and forth and back again in a “Black Out” themed NH Gym.  The Cougars were down 19-11 early.  When the dust settled at halftime, the Cougars were up 30-27.  At the end of the 3rd quarter, NH held a 45-37 lead.  The Pack came back.  54-54 at the end of regulation.

If you have spent any time around North Harrison, you know the Crawford County game holds a little more “umph” than most.  For me it’s partially geography.  I can look out a window in the winter, when the leaves have taken leave, and see a river that divides Harrison and Crawford.  Once upon a time that also meant a time zone.

So I was in a time machine of sorts last night.  My mind went back during breaks in the action to a place we called the “Cougar Dome”.  A quaint little gym still on campus, it was hot and loud and crowded and volatile at times, the Cougar Dome was a long time ago.

Last night was better.  Though I still feel the need every now and then to jump up and down and carry on, I hope to act like there is at least a modicum of dignity within my fiber.  Oh there were times when I wanted to yell at the refs and tell them they couldn’t call the hogs to the trough.

Last night was better because I have five senior boys on the team that I see day to day in English class.  They are good guys and they are easy to root for.

Cooper Dunn swatted shots last night like he was after flies at a barbecue.  This free shot was true in a game it had to be.

Colten Smith runs the court and makes cuts and passes that throw defenses four different directions.

I am still seeing a three-pointer that Landon Farnsley threw in from the corner where it looked like he was standing in the third row.  He just watched the shot fall and took back up the court like that was the way it was supposed to be.

Watching Caleb Voyles is like a basketball rendition of “Where’s Waldo?”  Caleb glides from side to side, in and out, his head on a swivel and I swear I don’t know how he keeps his feet under him.  It is a sight to behold.  He makes passes the rest of us wish we could.

Tre Walters was in a walking boot for most of the season.  I wish he could have been on the floor last night.

I meant it when I said these guys are easy to root for.  They have had a challenging season and I have been around enough to know when I see a class act on the field or on the floor.  Coach Ross Schulz and his staff have kept these guys together and they are still playing hard together as a team.

Final Score:   NH 64 CC 59 OT

This old NH Cougar enjoyed every minute of it.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

Well, I suppose we have a little ground to cover.  Haven’t been here for a while.  Taking care of business will do that to a fella.

So, how are ya?  I hope all of you are doing well.

Next Sunday is Super Bowl 58.  I hope I can feel something about it by next Saturday night.  I wanted the Ravens vs. Lions.  We got Chiefs vs. 49ers.  I would never bet against Patrick Mahomes.  That may be why I don’t bet.

Looking Backward

Recently I came across a few images on social media that I hope don’t get me in copyright trouble here.  I’ll take my chances.  I just thought they were really cool and iconic.

The set of the classic CBS sitcom All in the Family.  This sitcom got serious on occasion.  It had to.  Otherwise all the Archieisms would have buried it.  We needed to see that Arch had a good heart after all.  We need that, don’t we?    I enjoyed this TV show.  There aren’t many that I do.  These days I look for two network TV shows:  the new Night Court and the new Quantum Leap.  What does that say about me?

The last time The Beatles played together was on “the rooftop” in London.  I sure wish I could have been on the street that day.  I was only ten months old.  Twenty-three years later, I heard Paul McCartney in person for the first time.  This world we live in today doesn’t have room for a group like The Beatles.

The Moody Blues in Oakland in 1973.  One of the last concerts they performed with original member Mike Pinder.  This led to a hiatus for the group.  In 1978 they were back.  This past week marked 51 years since the song I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band made the Hot 100.  The first time I saw the band live that gap was 13 years.  Unreal.

Did you ever believe you would see football stories lead the entire Courier-Journal sports page during basketball season.  If you wonder if college football is king, here is proof.  I never dreamed I would see this.  I don’t like it.  Sure I love football.  But I am afraid the golden goose has been shot.  Just wait.

This makes everything better.  Granddaughter Penelope sitting on Grandma’s lap.  How awesome is that?  Penny will be 1 in a few weeks.  I thought time was flying before she got here.  What did I know?

Last Friday the NH Cougar Basketball Team lost a double overtime contest to West Washington.  The Homecoming affair drew a nice crowd.  I was so proud of the team for coming from 11 behind in the 3rd quarter to tie it.  64-61 was the final.  I had a hard time sleeping that night.  I so wanted to see those boys walk off the court with smiles on their faces.

We are going to be in the podcast business.  Yep.  North Harrison High School Hodge-podcast will be premiering soon.  Yours truly will be the host in the early going.  I will let you know when and where to listen when the time comes.  This is going to be a good time.

I ran across this on the internet.  Two observations, well, maybe three.  To see that kind of price is an honor.  I will never see a penny of that.  If someone completes that purchase they need therapy.

Take care.

Speaking the rights…

Danny Johnson