A CARDINAL'S A CUTE AS A CUB

Isn't it? Well, isn't it?

Being from SoIL (Southern Illinois), I always had trouble with people living there being Cub fans. Unless that had moved from ChiTown or had some geographic connection.

I mean St. Louis televised some ballgames. Keep in mind, this was before WGN's superstation status and you never got to see the hapless ones on tv. We liked Chicago's radio station WLS and Dick Biondi, but we could only get the reception at night and even then it would come and go. But that was for listening to a great DJ and some great tunes: no baseball. No station nearby carried Cub baseball.

Yet there were Cub fans. Anda little later, Indiana University basketball fans. Maybe that made more sense. Under Bobby Knight, they won. Illinois didn't win much even under Coach Henson. But I kept wondering where's the loyalty with SoIL fans?

Now I hear there are Steeler fans in MTV. What? You have St. Louis tv local stations. You have a Super Bowl team twice this decade, once a champion and you root for the Cubs, Indiana, and now the Steelers? You have your old local team, the Cardinals, one victory away from the Super Bowl, and you're wearing Steeler gear and waving a terrible towel? I don't get it.

It has to be cuteness. The Cardinals (football or baseball) aren't as cute. It's not the losing. If any franchise equals the Cubs futility, it's the football Cardinals (who originated in Chicago, by the way). Yet people are not drawn to their losing ways.

They reject, laugh, and scorn one team's poor history and accept, forgive, and embrace the other. Go figure. Where in the heck do the Steelers fit into this? Maybe it's the colors.

WE GO WAY BACK

to the St. Louis Football Cardinals. I actually remember them when they played in Chicago, but thought that was weird; I mean, the Cardinals should be in St Louis. Voila, and they were.

I sat through many miserable Sundays at the stadium and in front of the tv. Thankgiving 1977 against the Dolphins was the nadir for me. And Coach Coryell who never recovered, moved on to San Diego where he continued his innovations and West Coast offense.

Then the Cardinals left. I never wept. I was actually glad, because I thought then maybe a franchise team will come to St. Lou. A bad commish by the name of Tagliabue wouldn't allow, so St. Louis got the Rams. It still sounds a little awkward--St. Louis Rams, kinda like the Chicago Cardinals.

But after some great years with Kurt Warner and Co, including of course a Super Bowl championship, well the Arizona Cardinals, my new home team is in the NFC championship, only one win away from the Super Bowl.

And quarterback Kurt Warner is leading the way. He's so famous again that he recently appeared on the front page of our paper The Arizona Republic. Also on the front page was a picture of Obama, but larger than Kurt or Barry was one word: FAITH.

Warner explained that any story without mentioning his faith in God was not a true representation of who he is. It was a great article. Fame even brought him to the Oprah Show where he was allowed to speak briefly.

To be certain that he got the point of his faith across, he purposely discussed his love for the Lord in the middle of the taped segment. Sure enough when he went to watch the show, they had omitted what he said about his faith.

That's the way it is in secular America today. NBC recently ran a poll asking people if they were in favor of removing "In God we Trust" from our coins. When 86% of the people said no, the poll was stopped, and there was no mention of it being conducted as far as I know. Certainly the final results weren't reported widely.

Another QB from Florida altered the lampblack strips under his eyes to deflect the sun or bright lights. In white, clearly visible was the Bible verse John 3:16. The next day, it was the most googled item of the day.

The old saying "all that it takes is for a few good people to do nothing," needs altered, too. "All it takes is for a few good people to do something." Thanks to Kurt Warner and the Florida Gator quarterback, Tim Tebow, maybe it's already started.

THE SCREAMING EAGLE CIRCA 1928

I used to love to ride the rails. On roller coasters that is. But like a lot of former passions, I've left those behind. Unless I relish more time with Dr. Charles, my chiropractor.

Six Flags Over Mid-America had the Screaming Eagle, which in its day was one great ride. Reputation aside, there was another at the theme park that I liked better. It was called the Mine Train, I believe. And it had the wooden rails.

There's something about a coaster with wooden rails. It may not reach the speed or even have the sharp turns that the moderns have, but to me, they're scarier. The noise of the wheels, the creaking of the car running roughshod over rails, well, it was just more of a thrill for me.

The best I was ever on, though, was Space Mountain at Disney World in the early 70's before they cut down the ride. A good friend worked for Martin Marietta who built some things at DW including the monorail. He told me the first year, they took two people off who had died riding it. Thus, the alteration to modify.

But any roller coaster in complete darkness where you can't lean into the turns or prepare for drops has to be exciting. Combine that with wooden rails and you'd have one scary ride.

HAS ANYONE EVER BOUGHT A SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT?

And, by the way, how are swimsuits sports? Why not letter sweaters? Or at least letter jackets?

If a man drinks to forget, why doesn't he forget to drink?

What was the Lombardi Trophy called before the old coach? When Cy Young pitched in 1908, what was the name of the Cy Young award?

If you have crickets in your house in the West, you probably have scorpions. But how does a crawling scorpion catch a jumping cricket?

Just when do they sleep on the tv show 24?

What if your haystack has no needle? (With apologies to editors Dunning, Luetters and Smith)

Why do they call them minutes of meetings instead of hours?

Why is it a law for children under 8 to wear seatbelts in the family car but not on the school bus?

Why do they call it a haircut instead of hairscut?

Finally, why do I have so many unanswerable questions, but think I know enough to write a daily blog?

SIMILARITIES

I weighed this morning. Mumbled. Went in and fixed breakfast. Got on the computer. Saw a picture of JLo. She was semi-dressed for the Golden Globes. And she displayed a love handle. That made me feel a little better.

Another similarity I observed was this petroglyph pictured. Not a hieroglyph, though I don't know the diff. But from the ones I've seen pictured from Egypt to Arizona they all look similar. Sort of like a lizard lifting weights without the bar. What gives? What the heck are they drawing?

My third similarity is a bus full of people in Dominica (pronounced Dom-n-EEE-ka) and Bill Clinton. On our way to a waterfall and emerald pool in a national park there, we observed a big billboard on the side of the road with President-elect Obama's picture on it. No one on the bus said a word. Now, keep in mind, no matter what the media states, he received only 52% of the popular vote. Also keep in mind tourists. The fact that no one said anything at all, shouts volumes to me about respect for our country while on foreign soil. Now how's that like Clinton? Remember when he as a Rhodes Scholar participated in an anti-American protest? Well, he did. And on another occasion, he spoke negatively about our country when he was overseas. (I started to write abroad, but thought of the connotations of that word when attached to him and deferred.)

As the day progresses, I'm sure I'll find more similarities. Now how do I connect Jennifer Lopez, a reptile, and Bill Cinton? Hmmm.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

Paul McCartney was stumped. He of Lennon/McCartney fame. Two of the greatest song writers (to me lyricists sounds too formal for them) of all time.

He had the order. He had the almost all monosyllabic pattern. He needed more lyrics. Then he could set it to music. But it never happened. And it haunted him.

Of course he's solo now, but he has either given up on adding to the first line or rejected it entirely. Maybe he grew up. Maybe he just grew tired of it.

But here it is:

"Scrambled eggs, ooh my baby how I love your legs."

His words, not mine. I don't think much else stumped him. But he could never go any farther than this first line, according to a book I read about The Beatles.

THE TIMES OF YOUR LIFE

Self-examination times.

One time you remember your birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, a date, a sad time, an exciting time, a time with your mother, with your father, your favorite teacher, your favorite hymn, your all-time favorite tv show, song, a fun time with your children (each, separately), a family get-together, at church, at a friend's house.

Don't take long. Make it almost a word association type thing where the first thing that comes to your mind about each is written down. You don't have to share them with anyone, but put them in a drawer.

Check them in a week. This time, give them some more thought. You might have some changes. You might have thought about one or more during the week. Sometimes our first recollections are not the most important.

Also add others: the first time I laid eyes on my spouse, my roommate in college, a friend who moved away when we were young, the last time I saw_____. You get the idea; the list is endless. Yet defining.

It'll at least give you something else to do these cold Winter days and nights. And since it's the start of a new year, it's good to reflect about you and the times of your life as the old song goes.