THE BEST NEW TV SHOW--FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT)

Now that it's been moved from Tuesday night. I liked the book, I liked the movie, but I was ready for disappointment when I tuned in. Not so.

Oh, it's not great tv like the old Hill St. Blues, St. Elsewhere, Mash, Seinfeld, American Dreams, but it's good. And in this blogger's opinion it far outshines any of the other new tv shows. I know, I touted Jericho in an earlier blog, but I haven't watched it after the third week or so. No Deal or Deal, as my youngest grandson calls it, has fallen the way of so many flash in the pan game shows.

Sure, some of the characters are predictable. And sure, the Dillon Panthers win nearly every football game, but the actors help overcome some of the writing. Number 33, the alcoholic who lives predominately by himself is maybe my favorite. Along with the coach. The quarterback dating the coach's daughter is genuine and real to me. Always there to bring im back to earth, the coach's wife is good, too.

The one character who is not a stereotype ( ok, I'm ready for a difference of opinion here) is Lila Garrity. Head cheerleader, social climber, dater of former star qb injured in a football game accident, Lila cheated on her paralytical boyfriend with the alcoholic. But she seems to have grown and still dates the former quarterback. Lessons she learns the hard way, and seeing her parents marriage dissolving, she doesn't seem as concerned about social status anymore.

After having 19 seasons behind the microphone announcing high school football on Friday nights, is it really any surprise that I like the show? I just wish the Rams would have won that much.

NO HEADACHES FOR ME, AND FOR THAT I'M VERY THANKFUL

I don't know why, but I don't get them. Maybe between 35-50 in my life. And when I do, one aspirin always takes care of it.

Am I bragging? No, I'm very thankful. I know people who have migraines and I can imagine the pain they're in. Former MTV Superintendent Shields suffered 24/7 from histoplasmosis which gave him excruiciating headaches in his later years.

Coffee, chocolate, ketchup, and spicy foods do give me a lot of heart burn. Tums for the tummy, as they used to advertise, are a staple at our house and in my car.

So if I don't have headaches but I have heart burn, I wonder what that says about me? There's nothing up there to cause hurt. There's way too much down there not to cause pain. I'm not sure, but I'm glad my thorn in my flesh is not in my head.

CARRIE VS. BRITNEY

Both can warble. Both are\were blondes. Both are young and rich.

I started watching American Idol the year Carrie Underwood starred on the show. Sometimes the judges were less than flattering to her. She seemed to take criticism well. She was a fresh face, a down home girl, a girl you rooted for.

I first heard of Britney from a student of mine who was infatuated with her. I watched her videos. She seemed like Carrie. And then she changed. No more down home, but eaten up by Hollywood or so it seemed. And then the kiss. What was she thinking? It's been downhill since.

I hope Carrie is well grounded. I hope Britney gets her feet back on the ground. And to those who want to vilify either, shame on you.

'THE SIZE OF THE FIGHT IN THE CAT'

I've been bitten and scratched by cats before. I've had one dig his claws so deeply into my leg while I was driving that I grabbed him and threw him to the floor. But he caught my son's leg on his way down. So I know he knows how cat scratches feel.

Some friends of ours had twins who got cat scratch fever. My daughter's huge cat, a 15 pounder bites and scratches her regularly when he's playing.

But I've never felt the full force of an angry cat like the one pictured. But I cringe thinking what that cat could do to me if he caught me with claws extended.

I like cats. I think they're very smart. I think they know more than they let on, too. There's something just a little mysterious about them. If I wanted to protect a building, rather than a gargoyle, I think I'd commission an artist to make a model of this little guy.

WAGNER CARD GOES FOR 2.3 MIL

But what about a Joe Cunningham? I saw him play. He was a Cardinal. Later he worked for the Cardinals. This '56 card was just about the time I discovered baseball cards. I finally put them up just before I retired.

Oh, there were significant gaps in my collecting. I was never a Trader Dick Goddard, a long time church friend of mine who moved to Nashville and only within the last ten years got out of collecting. At one time, he owned one of every card that Topps ever printed.

I still followed baseball during those cardless Summers, but only rediscovered them when our son was small. I still tell the story of our daughter learning to read from baseball cards. At least from one--Ted Power. For some reason, it all came together for her when she could read his name.

Big Daddy Shaw at Bill Sports Cards used to be a place to find me when I wasn't on a golf course.

Bill and I had gone to high school together and I called him to talk baseball cards before he opened his shop. But he had a great thing going for awhile at the height of baseball card speculation. It was a sad day when I helped him move out as the shop couldn't turn a large enough profit anymore.

I met Coach Scottie Bowman there, and he'd come in when he visited relatives in Salem. Courtney met Coach Jerry Sloan there. And then there were the regulars--Koos, Joe R., and, of course, the owner, Big Daddy, always smiling, always shucking.

Lots of good times, lots of tales. I just wish Bill had had a couple of those Honus Wagner cards. One for him, and one for me.

SPORTS:THE LAST BASTIEN

I'm not watching the Emmys tonight. I don't watch the Grammys either. I'm tired of the forum. I'm sickened by the stage. All they've become is an outlet for liberal venting and championing their causes.

Sports is all that's left. All that's wrong with sports is obvious. But at least, for the most part, they focus on their craft. They don't showcase their political leanings. And I like that.

If I want Carvel or O'Reilly, then I'll watch, and I do once in awhile. But why would I care if Barbra is left wing, if the Dixie Chicks don't like W, or if algore wins an emmy because he's a democrat? Ask him why he and BClinton didn't fund monies for global warming as much as Geo W., but he'll divert to congress. Don't let him off that easy: it was a Democrat majority for awhile.

My point is this; choose your arena. But don't expect me to support the arts when you politicize them.

Go Team, Go. And do what you do best--perform.

"ART IS DIFFERENT THAN ART"
At least that's what Tiger Jack Traver taught me in junior college. What a great teacher. Sometimes you never knew where he was coming from, but he always got you to think a little bit anyway(s).

But I'm not too sure he would have thought all those signs somehow stuck together just outside the Tourism Bureau in MTV would meet any qualifications. Creative, yes; junk, perhaps; art--nope.

When I was an undergrad at SIU, I asked several friends if they'd take fencing with me. None accepted the challenge and I didn't have the nerve to take it on my own. Same with an art class. I'd love to enroll, but I need a sidekick. Some things I just don't do on my own. So while my interest in fencing has waned, I'd still like to take an art class, just to see if there's any latent talent hidden there. I doubt it, but all I need is a bud to help me tackle art.