R.I.P. John Madden

Former Oakland Raiders head coach and announcer John Madden passed away yesterday. After winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders, Madden became half of the top NFL broadcasting duo with Pat Summerall. 

After an injury ended his NFL playing career before it began,

Madden turned to coaching.

Raiders owner Al Davis hired Madden as head coach of the Raiders when John was only 32 years old.

Cool photo of Madden drinking a Tab.

In the mid-70's before legions jumped on the "Just Win Baby" bandwagon, I became a Raiders fan, mostly due to one of my favorite players, Fred Bilenikoff. The 70's Raiders were filled with memorable characters and good players: the left-handed Stabler, the speedy Branch, tight end Dave Casper, Ted Hendricks, center Jim Otto, guard Gene Upshaw, tackle Art Shell, Otis Sistrunk, Jack Tatum, and Madden.

Madden retired from coaching at the age of 42, in part due to his fear of flying. When his broadcasting career took off he parlayed his cross-country bus riding into sponsorships with Greyhound and later Outback Steakhouse - also with Lite Beer from Miller and later the vastly successful Madden video game.

Sorry, but for some reason Clemson wide receiver Beaux Collins reminds me of Clifford Franklin from The Replacements.

Lunch today with a friend at Christie's, a Greek restaurant recently relocated to Merchants Walk. Rob ordered a huge four meat calzone (top). I had the delicious chicken parm grinder.

Wednesday supper: leftover chili and tossed salad.

Who knew? The New Girl from Elf is hanging out with one of The Property Brothers twins? You heard it here last.

Nice colorful Vans golf shoes. Still I think I'd stick with the black models. Perhaps the high-tops, but those wouldn't look good with shorts.

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues

Christmas Eve: got a little rest early, then go go go. To Wendy's, the bank, Publix, Kroger, back to Publix, then home. Then to the Stinky Kroger. Got home to find the Christmas cards delivered. Addressed a bunch, but C was stressing about all there was to do. She told Will we would come in the morning as opposed to tonight, so she felt better. Had to go pick up more at the grocery.

Mailed the cards just before 6 pm but they probably didn't go out until Monday. By then Kroger was closed. Picked up what C needed, but swung by Whole Foods, another Publix, and Target looking for a specific kind of unsweetened frozen coconut. Got home and didn't like the spicy soup M had made. Cleaned the kitchen. Was ready for bed. Had to get up early for Christmas.

Christmas morning M baked scones while I loaded the car. Left just before ten. Got to W&MC's & took covid tests before festivities began. Transitioning from opening presents to meal prep. I was leaning over the couch to pick something up and bruised a rib. Getting brittle in my old age.

I had been on the go all week. Saturday night we got home and C turned on her Canadian horse ranch show, Heartland. I played on my laptop but finally turned it off and went to sleep.

No church Sunday morning. I slept hard until 11:20 am. Could've taken a nap in the afternoon. Made ham quesadillas for lunch. Laundry and general cleanup. Watched the end of three games: Atl/Det, LARams/Minn, & Phil/NYG. Tough day for Fromm. Not much of a team, those Giants.

Drove to Acworth to swap out the watch C gave me for Christmas. Website said they had my model in stock but they didn't. At least I got cheap gas on the way back, and listened to my Hillary Clinton novel. Homemade pizza for supper. M ate with us. He's got C re-watching the detective show White Collar, which is good.

Monday: when you go to McDonald's you need to try the caramel Frappe. Very good. That app is going to kill me. Deleting it on New Years. Got up early and went to play golf. Teed off at 7:45 am. Was hitting several balls on each hole, as it was the first time I had played in a month. Guy behind me was starting to catch up, so I sped up, playing only one ball. Finished nine holes in an hour. Only two other guys on the course that I could tell. 

 

1. Sliced two drives into the woods. Decent approach, chip, and putt. 

2. Cruddy tee shot , but I chipped it onto the green, and made a nice long putt for "par".

3. Tee shot sailed straight, but I had aimed left. Good chip up a hill, and a good long lag putt. Bogey.

4. Hit one good high tee shot, but the second ball I hit off the tee was a worm burner that rolled to a better position. Chipped two balls onto the green, but two-putted for "bogey".

5. Popped up one tee shot, then a second went further but right. Three chips but none were good. Then a decent chip, and two putt. 

6. Hit two drives into the same bush. Five iron out to the fairway, then I pulled out a fairway wood I hadn't been using because the shaft was so short. I hit the shot of the day, a bullet straight down the middle, with a nice roll. Chipped onto the green. Two putt.

7. Two drives went to the exact same place. Second straight hole that happened. Then several poor fairway shots. Finally a good 8 iron to the fringe, and a two putt from there.

8. A pretty good 3 wood off the tee, then I sliced the approach. Good chip past the hole, then a good long two putt. Bogey.

9. Another good 3 wood off the tee, and a good chip to the fringe. Good long lag putt set up the bogey putt.

Shopped for tires on the way home. Cleaned up and did some laundry. Also bought a duffel bag, larger than the one I've been using for years. Did a little shopping at the Avenue East Cobb, swapping out items for the right size. Raked the yard. One of those 10000+ step days. Back hurts. Lemon chicken for supper.

Today: on the go all day. Golf not as fun. Should've let a guy go ahead of me. Instead I was rushing through the nine holes. Good though to play with some pressure on me. A typical round. Teed off about 7:40 and finished an hour later.

Arrived home right when C was going for a walk with Winnie, so I joined them. Two more miles after walking the nine holes, so I reached my ten thousand steps early. 

Then I took Ceil's car for new tires. Got Goodyears at Claire's favorite place. Then I had to drive C around town: to see Anna at Ansley Mall, then over to the Westside, then Perimeter Mall, then Whole Foods. After visiting with Anna me and Winnie stayed in the car the rest of the time. Chili for supper.

Not a good day for my bowl picks. Auburn and Louisville lost. Now Mississippi State is being outplayed.

Today's round…

1. Three wood off tee went straight but not far. Flubbed one shot, then a decent 5 wood and chip.

2. Nice 5 wood off tee sailed straight. Then several cruddy chips.

3. Like yesterday, I poked my 6 iron where I aimed it: left, but down even with the hole. Chipped it over the green.

4. A good 5 wood off tee. Bad chips.

5. Another good 5 wood off tee, went straight. Nice chip onto green. Two putt for bogey.

6. Two cruddy tries with my driver. Five wood sailed right but far. A cruddy shot, then a good 5 iron left of the green. Went looking for my ball and almost poked my eye with a tree branch. Decent chip rolled too far, and the putts weren't great.

7. Hit a good 3 wood off the tee. Didn't see where it went so I hit another good one. Fairway wood up the hill, then a couple of cruddy shots, then a long 8 iron onto the green. Two putt.

8. Very good 3 wood off tee, got a good roll down hill in the middle of the fairway. Six iron sailed right like yesterday. Bad chip. Okay putts.

9. Cruddy tee shot, then a good 6 iron and chip. Two putt. Played all nine holes with the same two balls.

I just read an article about Buckees, all the stuff that's there. Most I wasn't interested in, like fudge.

10 Things You Shouldn't Miss at Buc-ee's | Atlanta Magazine 

Bowl games getting canceled but the CDC changed some vaccinated waiting period from 10 days to five. Might help teams get on the field. UGA cancelled meeting with the press. The writers weren't happy, but it was the smart thing to do. The Hawks called asking if I could play.

I was reminded of the time Steve Norman and I were at the Varsity before a Tech/Duke game. He realized he had forgotten the tickets, and had to get Becky to bring them. This was back when tickets were printed on paper and not things you look up on your phone.

When she was little Anna had a stuffed bunny she couldn't live without. Couple times we left SC without her bunny, and it wasn't fun. For years I looked for a replacement bunny but never found an exact replica.

The year Santa brought Will a basketball goal the reindeer delivered it to East Cobb, while everything else showed up in SC.

A good putt putt game: www.addictinggames.com/sports/mini-putt.com  

Shoes News

 
Had been kinda ready for a new pair of sneakers but didn’t want to pull the trigger. Got my eye on a Starter jacket that I don’t need, new glasses and tires that are needed, and a few other items. So of course Tuesday I stopped by a couple of stores on the way home. At the first store I passed on a pair of shoes and two pair of black pants, since I recently got three new pairs of black pants. At the second store I found a pair of Nikes that I couldn’t turn down. Gotta stop them from squeaking when I walk.

Also stopped by McDonalds for a caramel frappe. Pretty good, considering I don’t like coffee.

Baby Shivonne has been rocking one of two pairs of Air Jordans that she owns. She and Will (& MC) are surpassing me in the sneaker department.

Savvy of Biden to compliment Trump for getting the booster shot. Now all the Trump supporters are mad at The Donald. 

Just started a novel by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny – State of Terror. About a new female secretary of state for a newly inaugurated President. I had been on the wait list for it, so I am pausing my book on Abe Lincoln, which is historical fiction, about a plot to kill Lincoln as he arrives in Washington to become president.

I have read so many JFK books and Lincoln books, I don’t need any more of those. Have you read any of the Dan Brown books, like the Da Vinci Code? He has a couple set in and around Washington DC. All with the same main character professor Robert Langdon, played by Tom Hanks. Similar to a modern day Indiana Jones / Harrison Ford. Another movie series I liked was National Treasure. Adventure surrounded by national history.

Six teams with the most hopeless futures, according to some “expert”: Giants, Panthers, Jaguars, Jets, Falcons, and Bears. He could be right.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-6-teams-with-the-most-hopeless-futures-in-the-nfl/ar-AAS3F5T?ocid=entnewsntp 

Speaking of the Giants and Bears, both teams are started backup quarterbacks this weekend. Interesting harmonic convergence on Twitter stating such. Fromm starting, Fields sitting. The woeful Giants didn't give Fromm much support.

Watched another episode of Young Sheldon: “A Math Emergency”. Guest star was Megan Park, who starred in one of Ceil’s favorite Hallmark movies: Once Upon a Prince. The movie was set in coastal Georgia and opened with shots of the Tybee and St Simons lighthouses, but was filmed in Canada.

Denison: the world heralded the good news that missionaries held captive in Haiti since October 16 were free. Five had been released but the other twelve made "a daring overnight escape." On the night of December 15, they made their way through a closed door and walked for miles over difficult, moonlit terrain with an infant and other children in tow. Navigating by the stars, they made their way to a house near the highway where they discovered two Christians practicing music for church on Sunday. The twelve were flown to Florida on a US Coast Guard flight.

Christmas at Shivonne's

 
Shivonne was up early on Christmas morning, waiting for family to arrive.

All negative!

Anna gave the second best present: a tiny Patagonia jacket.

Okie and Winnie received dog toys from Costco.

Winnie was more interested in Okie's other toys.

She was mostly content to stay outside most of the day.

Will received a chipping net for Christmas, so we gave it a try.

Before eating we went on a two mile walk,

first heading south on the Westside Beltline toward West End. 

Mary-Clayton's mother Regina joined us, since Tom was on call at the hospital. The Gilberts had celebrated Christmas last Sunday, and with Regina's side of the family on Christmas Eve. 

M received new pants for Christmas,

and promptly put them on for the walk.

Interesting art on the bridges.

Looking northeast across I-20 loom downtown buildings in the distance.

M added the outer pastry layer.

M used the new wireless meat thermometer he got for Christmas to monitor the beef wellington. baked to perfection, the meat tender and juicy.

As usual, the meal was delicious. Beef Wellington, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions, kale salad, green beans and potatoes, baguette, cheeses and crackers, and an angel cook cake custard dessert.