With several young and quite successful quarterbacks currently dominating the NFL, it seems like every other franchise is in a big hurry to find and sign the next Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, or Joe Burrow.

Today, my favorite NFC team (the New Orleans Saints) has decided to break the bank and sign former Raiders QB Derek Carr.  The traditional sports media is blathering that this one move will quickly turn the Saints into a contender in the NFC.

As former football coach Lee Corso likes to say, “Not so fast!”

Let’s take an objective look at what Derek Carr has done to earn this reported salary of $35-40 million per year from the favorite team of the WhoDat Nation.

Derek Carr will be entering his tenth season in the NFL.  In nine years as the starting quarterback for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, Carr’s teams have won 63 games and lost 79.  The Raiders have posted a winning record in the regular season in just two of his nine years in the league.

Was this Derek Carr’s fault?  Certainly not entirely, but the quarterback’s play is a key part of any team’s success or failure on the field.

Coming out of Fresno State University, Derek Carr had a dandy senior year at quarterback in the fall of 2013.  The team won ten straight games to begin the season and achieved a #15 national ranking.  With the Bulldogs finishing with an impressive 11-2 record, quarterback Derek Carr passed for over 5,000 yards for 50 touchdowns with just eight interceptions during his senior season.  He finished 8th in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

Prior to the 2014 NFL draft, Derek Carr participated in the NFL’s annual pre-draft Combine.  Here’s what one analyst said about Carr’s NFL future:

“Athletic, tough, instinctive, strong-armed, highly competitive quarterback who will impress in workouts, interviews and on the board. Elevated the Fresno State program and profiles like a gunslinger, though he’d be better served in the long run honing his game-management skills. Will be a starter sooner rather than later and the degree to which he’s able to make those around him better will determine his ceiling.”

Despite having a terrific senior season and high platitudes from some of the scouts, David Carr became a second round selection (#36 pick overall) by the Oakland Raiders.

Just for fun, let’s take a look at all of the quarterbacks selected in the 2014 NFL draft (currently active NFL quarterbacks in BOLD):

Blake Bortles – Round 1 – #3 overall pick from UCF by Jacksonville Jaguars

Johnny Manziel – Round 1 – #21 pick from Texas A&M by Cleveland Browns

Teddy Bridgewater – Round 1 – #32 pick from Louisville by Minnesota Vikings

After Derek Carr was selected with the #36 pick by Oakland in Round 2, here are the other quarterbacks selected during the 2014 NFL Draft:

Jimmy Garoppolo – Round 2 – #62 pick from Eastern Illinois by New England Patriots

Logan Thomas – Round 4 – #120 pick from Virginia Tech by Arizona Cardinals

Tom Savage – Round 4 – #135 pick from Univ. of Pittsburgh by Houston Texans

Aaron Murray – Round 5 – #163 pick from Georgia by Kansas City Chiefs

A.J. McCarron – Round 5- #164 pick from Alabama by Cincinnati Bengals

Zach Mettenberger – Round 6 – #178 pick from LSU by Tennessee Titans

David Fales – Round 6 – #183 pick from San Jose State by Chicago Bears

Kenneth Wenning – Round 6 – #194 pick from Ball State by Baltimore Ravens

Tajh Boyd – Round 6 – #213 pick from Clemson by New York Jets

Garrett Gilbert – Round 6 – #214 pick from SMU by Los Angeles Rams

Just nine years later,

Today, the current “Big 5” college football conferences in America are the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

This group of five major football conferences consists of 64 current members:

ACC            14

Big Ten       14 (Math remediation needed)

Big 12         10 (Another counting problem)

Pac-12        12

SEC           14

Total:         64

Last football season, the Pac-12 Conference consisted of the following teams along with their associated television markets and population:

Arizona:

University of Arizona – Tucson #62 (900,000 potential television viewers)

Arizona State University – Phoenix #14 (3. 8 million)

California:

Stanford – San Jose (#37 TV market with 1.6 million) and San Francisco (#4 at 6.5 million)

University of California – Berkley (#4 San Francisco and #27 Sacramento with 2 million)

UCLA – Los Angeles #2 (12 million)

USC – Los Angeles #2

Colorado:

University of Colorado – Denver-Boulder #18 (2.8 million)

Oregon:

University of Oregon – Portland #21 (2.4 million) and Eugene #145 (340,000)

Oregon State University – Portland #21

Utah:

University of Utah – Salt Lake City #28 (2 million)

Washington:

University of Washington – Seattle/Tacoma #12 (4 million)

Washington State University – Spokane #96 (600,000) and Tri-Cities, WA #175 (250,000)

In recent months, we learned that the Pac-12 Conference will lose Los Angeles (UCLA and USC) to the Big Ten Conference upon the start of the 2024 football season begins.

Two teams down.  Ten teams remain in the Pac-12 Conference – at least for now.

Losing USC and UCLA was a huge blow to the Pac-12 Conference as it continues to struggle to put together a new television deal for the remaining ten teams.

The #2 ranked Los Angeles market represents nearly 12 million potential television viewers.

The remaining teams of the Pac-12 (Minus two) Conference will still include about 25 million people.  Television markets such as #4 San Francisco, #12 Seattle/Tacoma, #14 Phoenix, and #18 Denver/Boulder will remain for the time being.

However, losing a third of 2022’s television audience is a definitely a crushing blow to the future of the Pac-12 Conference.

WHICH SCHOOLS COULD BE ADDED TO THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE?

There are a number of possibilities to fill one or both of the spots vacated by USC and UCLA.

San Diego State University (which is the #16 TV market and brings 3 million potential viewers) has their hand-up saying, “Pick me! Pick me!”  The Aztecs play sports in the Mountain West Conference and would love to get a chance to move up a notch.

Two other Mountain West schools might be interested in a battlefield promotion.

Boise State University plays in the #92-ranked TV market with 600,000 viewers.  The Air Force Academy would deliver Colorado Springs with its #87 television market and 620,000 viewers.

If you want a hot rumor, try this one.

Southern Methodist University (Dallas/Fort Worth – the #5 TV market with 6.4 million potential viewers) would like nothing better than return to a major athletics conference after participating in the American Athletic Conference since 2013.

SMU was booted from the Southwest Conference back in 1987 after being handed the NCAA’s version of the death penalty.

The Mustangs were cited as repeat violators for permitting cash and cars to be openly move into the hands of top athletes at the school.  SMU later cooperated with the NCAA and exposed a slush fund for football players financed by a group of the school’...

It’s almost time for March Madness!  This year, there are at least five Texas men’s college basketball teams hoping to gain the ultimate home court advantage with the Final Four being played in Houston, Texas.

The #1 team in the land this week is none other than the Houston Cougars.  The 27-2 Coogs have been a top-5 team for most of this college basketball season.

In addition to #1 Houston, the AP has ranked Baylor (Waco) at #7.  The University of Texas (Austin) is another top-10 team at #9.  The Horned Frogs of TCU (Fort Worth) are excellent in basketball in addition to football this year.  TCU is ranked #22 this week.  From the SEC, Texas A&M (College Station) comes in at #24 this week.

Despite being the largest of the 48 contiguous US states in land mass, Texas doesn’t win a lot of national championships in several men’s sports.

Baseball has been the state of Texas’ most successful major sport.  The University of Texas has six titles (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, and 2005) with Rice grabbing a national title in 2003.

In football, the state of Texas has captured only five national titles.  TCU (1938), Texas A&M (1939), and three for the University of Texas (1963, 1970, and 2005).

When it comes to college basketball, the men’s side is woefully behind the women in national titles for their trophy case.

The NCAA didn’t even begin its women’s basketball tournament until 1982.  Despite lagging the men’s sport by over forty years, women’s basketball teams in the Lone Star state have accumulated six national titles in the sport.  Texas (1986), Texas Tech (1993), Texas A&M (2011) have one trophy apiece.  The women’s team at Baylor already has three championships to their credit (2005, 2011, and 2019).

Men’s college basketball in the state of Texas has just two national titles.

Texas Western College (now the University of Texas – El Paso) captured the NCAA men’s basketball championship in 1966.

The unheralded program rolled to a 28-1 season record.  They took down the legendary Kentucky Wildcats coached by Adolph Rupp in a historic national championship game to secure the state’s first national title in men’s basketball.

It would take another 55 years for Baylor to become just the second Texas-based men’s college basketball program to win a national championship in 2021.   Baylor, like Texas Western, was an underdog in the title game.  Gonzaga came into the game as the #1 overall seed and was attempting to finish the year as the first unbeaten men’s college basketball champion since the 32-0 Indiana Hoosiers in 1976.

One Texas-based men’s college basketball program has come tantalizingly close to winning a national title or two.

The University of Houston became a dominant college basketball program for several decades beginning in the late 1960’s.  Coached by the late Guy V. Lewis, the Houston Cougars would challenge Coach John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins on several occasions.

At the time, UCLA completely dominated men’s college basketball.  From 1964 through 1975, the Bruins won the NCAA men’s championship ten times.

In January 1968, the University of Houston (led by talented All-American 6’9” Elvin “The Big E” Hayes) captured an unforgettable 71-69 regular season upset of the mighty top-ranked UCLA Bruins.  The Bruins were led by 7’ 2” center Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after entering the NBA).

This historic match-up of the two top college men’s basketball programs was played in the Houston Astrodome.  More than 52,000 people were in attendance in this cavernous facility (where the basketball court was placed nearly fifty yards away from the nearest paying customer).  Millions of fans watched the game at home via television.

In a word, “Yes”.

The PGA Tour has been quite successful over the past sixty years.  Every year, a new crop of young college golfers try to win a few tournaments and replace some of the aging fan favorites.

About the time that Arnold Palmer retired from the regular tour, the Senior Tour (now called the PGA Champions Tour) began in 1980.  Golfers aged 50 and over had their own tournaments to compete in.  Fans celebrated another chance to see some of their long-time favorites.

The Champions Tour has been quite successful for pro golf.

A week ago, 65-year old Bernhard Langer (a two-time winner of The Masters) just won his 45th tournament on the old guys’ golf tour.  He posted a 17-under par total in winning the event.   In doing so, he tied Hale Irwin for the most wins in Champions Tour history.

It was a great moment for the golfers who now qualify for a senior discount on their coffee at Mickey D’s.

But what happens to the mid-career golf professionals (ages 40-49) who are struggling to keep their PGA Tour playing card every season?

Enter LIV Golf.

Beginning last season, many veteran PGA Tour golfers cashed-in on a generous offer to play golf for the upstart LIV Golf league.  Guaranteed signing bonuses were extended to a number of well-known PGA Tour players.  The league’s tournament purses were more than double most of those on the PGA Tour, too.

By taking guaranteed money from a Saudi-backed investment fund, some long-time golf favorites on the LIV Golf tour are being considered as “bad guys”.  This isn’t helped by a self-righteous media which seems to be happiest when it is creating a controversy.

Many long-time golf fans would agree that Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed, and Pat Perez already wore the black hats while playing on the PGA Tour.  Others might have lumped Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka into that group, too.  They are all a part of the LIV Golf tour.

Phil Mickelson made the biggest splash when he joined LIV Golf a year ago.  Mickelson was considered to be the second-most popular golfer on the PGA Tour behind Tiger Woods.

Today, Mickelson has been painted as a more sinister figure after taking a whopping $200 million guaranteed signing bonus from LIV Golf in 2022. 

Prior to jumping from the PGA Tour, the 52-year old Phil Mickelson had been splitting time playing in a few PGA Champions events (winning about half of those which he entered) and on the PGA Tour.

If LIV Golf said, “We’ll pay you a guaranteed $200 million to play on our new tour for the next few years”, what would you do?

If Phil Mickelson invests that $200 million in a 5% CD or bond, he will earn $10 million per year in interest for the rest of his life and never even touch the principle.  Sweet!

The average PGA Tour player earned $1.6 million in 2022.  That’s not too shabby!  However, each pro golfer must pay for his own travel, housing, food, and other expenses while on tour.

For the over-50 pro golfers, the average winner on the PGA Champions Tour will take home $300,000 per event.

Just for fun, what if Phil Mickelson had played exclusively on the PGA Champions Tour in 2022 (instead of taking the leap into LIV Golf in 2022)?  Below is an imaginary example to illustrate a point:

Let’s say that Lefty played in all 27 senior events in 2022.  Since he’s still an excellent player, we’ll hand him the winner’s check in one third of those events.  That’s nine victories at $300,000 per win for a cool $2.7 million.  Not bad!

Let’s also give Phil Mickelson a top ten finish (worth about $100,000 each) in each of the other 18 senior tournaments which he (theoretically) played.  That’s another $1.8 million earned.

***UPDATE 3/2/23 – Antoine Davis finished his college basketball career just three points shy of Pistol Pete Maravich’s scoring record after Detroit Mercy lost to Youngstown State in the second round of the Horizon League Tournament.  The record remains safe…for now!

After standing for 53 years, the NCAA men’s basketball all-time career scoring record may be broken in the next week or two.

The gentleman who has owned the long-time record played just three seasons of college basketball.  That’s because the NCAA wouldn’t allow freshmen to play on varsity squads in 1967.  He averaged more than 44 points per game during his three years of varsity basketball.

Meanwhile, Antoine Davis of the University of Detroit Mercy Titans of the Horizon League has a chance to break the all-time scoring record soon.

He is 125 points short of the record with at least three games left to play.  If Detroit (which is currently 13-16 this season) should win its first Horizon League tournament game, Antoine Davis will get a fourth game to attempt to break the record.

He has benefited from playing in five college basketball seasons due to the NCAA’s allowing a fifth-year “do-over” ruling following the COVID-shortened 2019-2020 season.

The 6’1” Davis is averaging a nifty 28 points per game in his fifth year.  His career scoring average will finish at about 26 points per game.  That’s quite impressive, indeed.

However, long-time basketball fans think it’s a wee bit unfair to compare his stats to the former record holder.

The current scoring champ remains former LSU guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich.

Maravich (known for his floppy socks and incredible flair while handling the basketball) scored 3,667 points in just three seasons while playing for the Tigers from the fall of 1967 through March, 1970.  His scoring average was an incredible 44.2 points per game.

During Pete’s time at LSU, the NCAA did not allow freshmen to play on the varsity basketball squad.  They wanted incoming freshmen to have a full year to get accustomed to the rigors of college life.

Things have really changed since 1967!

Not only can current college basketball players play as freshmen, they are now able to collect significant money from their own NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights.  After just one year in college, some of today’s college basketball players head directly into the NBA.

During Pistol Pete’s playing days at LSU, college basketball did not have a three-point shot or a shot clock, either.  Given Maravich’s prolific shooting range, there is no doubt that he would have averaged more than 50 points per game if a three-point line had been used at the time.

Though he passed away suddenly at the age of 40 in January, 1988 due to an undetected heart condition, Pete Maravich will always be forever remembered as a true basketball legend.

I was fortunate enough to get to see Pistol Pete Maravich play once during the late 1960’s in Shreveport’s Hirsch Coliseum.  LSU was playing a pre-season exhibition basketball game.  A sell-out crowd of more than 8,000 fans was on-hand.  At that time, any arena where Maravich played was sold out.

My friends and I arrived at least an hour prior to tip-off in order to watch Maravich warm-up.  His incredible dribbling, passing, and shooting skills wowed the early bird crowd before the game had even started.

My most vivid memory during the warm-ups was seeing Pistol Pete dribbling a basketball while slowly walking away from the basket toward the free throw line.  Without turning his back to look, Maravich lofted-up (and over his head) a 15-foot shot which swished right through the basket.

My friends and I roared our approval as Pete had drained the shot ...

After two unsuccessful launch attempts in 2001 and 2020, the XFL Version 3.0 arrived last weekend.  Much like wrestling’s Undertaker, we simply cannot keep this bad idea buried for long.

The first two incarnations of the XFL were fueled by the WWE’s Vince McMahon.  Neither lasted more than one season.   Hopefully, Vince was able to utilize his losses to obtain a significant tax write-off from those two failed attempts at professional football.

In 2023, a third rising of the XFL launched this past weekend.  Yet another well-known name in professional wrestling is trying to make the spring football league a success.

For a bargain price of just $15 million, former professional wrestler-turned-movie star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his X-wife (get it?) Dani Garcia, and a venture capital firm (translated – they invest someone else’s money) have tag-teamed to purchase and resurrect the XFL again.

The Rock was a good enough football player to have earned a college scholarship to play for the University of Miami Hurricanes.  Though he was primarily a back-up defensive lineman, he still tried to make a go of professional football after graduating from The U with a degree in Criminology and Physiology.

Dwayne Johnson’s pro football career didn’t last long.  After a brief two-month stint with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders, he was cut and his football career ended.

With relatives already working for Vince McMahon’s WWF promotion (a tag team known as “The Samoans”), Dwayne Johnson’s athletic ability and fan-friendly personality helped make him into one of the most successful stars in professional wrestling beginning in the 1990’s.  The Rock (who now has a net worth at more than $250 million) now earns a guarantee of more than $20 million from each movie.

His first wife, Dani Garcia, was The Rock’s business manager for about a decade after earning her business degree from the University of Miami.  After the couple divorced in 2008, Dwayne Johnson spent more time on his acting career while his ex-wife became a movie producer.   She now has an estimated net worth in excess of $40 million.

For two people who should understand that personality is vitally important to success in the public’s eye, the problem with the XFL (along with every other spring professional football iteration) is that the league is fairly devoid of unique personalities on the football field.

The XFL has hired several well-known names to coach the league’s eight teams.  Bob Stoops (formerly with Oklahoma) is coach of the Arlington Renegades.

Longtime NFL coach Wade Phillips is the crew chief of the Houston Roughnecks.  Former NFL stars such as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward (San Antonio), defensive back Rod Woodson (Las Vegas) and Terrell Buckley (Orlando) are coaching XFL teams this season.

The Rock has been quite visible in promotional efforts to launch the new XFL.  Unfortunately, the 50-year old wrestling legend hasn’t (yet) participated on the football field, so the league must depend on the quality of play to attract regular television viewers and fans to the stadiums.

The XFL’s on-field product looks nearly the same as last year’s USFL.  It also looks similar to several other failed spring professional football ventures.

2020 – XFL Version 2.0 – filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after five weeks due to COVID shut-downs.

2019 – Alliance of American Football (AAF) – ended after just eight weeks.  The league filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy listing $48 million in liabilities.

2001 – XFL Version 1.0 – Both WWE and NBC lost $35 million apiece in its only season.

1983-1985 – USFL – Played in spring/summer for three seasons.  Though the league lost a reported $163 million in three seasons, the USFL eventually won a lawsuit against the NFL alleging that it is a monopoly operation.

About one month ago, I wrote about my 2023 goal of reducing the costs of our cable television/internet expenditures.   Today’s story is to provide you with a report on how this is coming along.

In review, our long-time provider (it starts with an X) had the gall to raise our prices again to start the new year.

I don’t mind paying money for services which provide true value.  Utility companies which provide electricity, natural gas, and water come to mind.  I can reduce the cost of each of those by simply trying to use less of each.

For example, I reduced our daytime thermostat (while I am here but my lovely long-suffering wife is at work) to 67 degrees.  When she gets home, the temperature returns back to a toasty 68!  I habitually turn out the lights as I walk out of a room.  Our television sets stay off unless someone is actually going to sit down and watch something.

Over the past week, we started to receive our January bills.  The good news is that both our natural gas and electric bills were lower than expected.  The local weather was warmer-than-average here in the swamp in January.  We rejoiced at the moderate cost of both utility bills.

Then our cable television/internet bill arrived.

Would you believe that, for January 2023, we will pay more money ($180) to them than to the two companies which supplied our home with electricity ($85) and natural gas ($90)?

The comparison of what we paid to stay warm in January vs. the monthly cost of our entertainment (cable television and internet service) is another reminder to get serious about cutting costs.

In last month’s story, I summarized my goals as follows:

First – Buy a good digital television antenna.

I did!  After reviewing a variety of options, I purchased a $30 Philips HD Amplified Antenna from a local Target store (right off the shelf).

The box claims that it has a range of up to 50 miles.  Since I live 45 miles (as the crow flies) from the primary television antenna “farm” in my market, this antenna comes with its own amplifier (uses electricity) to provide a boost to pick-up the signals.  You plug one end into your television’s cable slot and the other into a nearby electrical outlet.

Most antenna websites recommend that you position your new antenna (a) near a window and (b) at the highest place feasible within the room.  As you read on, it’s best to wait prior to mounting this antenna.

Note – You have some work to do first!  Plan on spending 15-30 minutes working on this next portion.  

Find your original remote control which came with your TV.  On my Vizio TV, there is a button for “Input”.  Look for an option which reads “TV” or something similar.  Once there, you’ll need to locate (on your remote) another button to allow your antenna to scan for channels.  In my case, there is a panel which shows “All Settings”.  Scrolling down those options, I found another one for “TV Channels”.   EUREKA!

If your nifty new TV antenna is plugged-in (both into the TV and the electric outlet), select “Find Channels” and let ‘er rip!

You’ll be amazed as you watch your television set progress through the digital television spectrum to find local signals.  It usually takes about one minute to complete.

Assuming that your television has identified several channels, use the remote control for “Channels” (up or down) and see which channels are now showing up.  For football watchers, it’s imperative that you have a decent signal for your local Fox (NFC), CBS (AFC), and NBC (Sunday night football) stations.  If you want to watch more college football this fall, make sure that your local ABC affiliate was found, too.

If you didn’t have much success this first time, try moving the antenna to another location.  You’ll need to repeat the process (I told you it woul...

On Sunday evening, I watched the Super Bowl game with a couple of old friends back in north Louisiana.  As we continue to age, we are starting to sound like a few grumpy old men as we try to watch a lengthy telecast which was frequently interrupted by some very expensive commercials.

Before discussing the game and the referees, let’s talk about those commercials.

Every 30 second commercial cost advertisers $7 million this year.  Ouch.  Some of those commercials were OK and probably served their purpose.  Others were instantly forgettable.  Still others should have saved their money.

The three of us laughed knowing that the corporate decision makers’ spending money on these commercials could care less about our generation anymore.  The ads were aimed at 18-49 year old viewers.  They (supposedly) have more disposable income than we do.   I’d prefer to say that the younger age group is simply more likely to part with their money quicker than us oldsters.

Liked:

Dunkin’ Donuts – Our group eventually figured out it was Ben Affleck working the pick-up window.  This spot definitely will get more drive-in visits into Dunkin retail outlets and cover that $7 million price tag soon.

The Farmer’s Dog – A fabulous commercial featuring a girl and her dog as they both grow older.  Will they sell enough dog food to cover the $14 million one-minute ad?  For this relatively unknown dog food company, I think they will.

T-Mobile Home Internet – John Travolta’s “Grease” reprise.  Was it silly?  Indeed it was.  However, John Travolta and a couple of neighbors, singing/dancing a revised version of “Summer Nights” from Grease out in the street, kept your attention to the end for the product pitch.  Success!

Meh (Take it or leave it):

Crown Royal – “Thank you, Canada!”  Did you know that Canada invented football?  Not me!   You might think that they would have used an actual Canadian to do this spot.  The actor was musician Dave Grohl.  He’s from Ohio.

Pepsi – Great acting?  Once we figured out it was Ben Stiller in one commercial and Steve Martin in the other, Pepsi laid out $7 million per ad and didn’t sell me on buying their product.

Planters – “Roast of Mr. Peanut” – Too many people telling weak jokes.  Nice concept, though.

Popcorners – The reunion of the two primary stars from “Breaking Bad” also featured a brief encounter from a villain in the show.  It was fun to see the actors.  When the commercial ended, did anyone remember the product’s name?

Sell your stock this week:    

M&M’s (Mars) – A bizarre spot which was something about clams?  This ad was an epic fail and a waste of stockholder money!

Fan Duel (Online Gambling) – They gambled that people would love to watch former tight end Rob Gronkowski try to make a field goal on “live” TV.  He missed.  So did the ad.

Michelob – If you’re going to recreate scenes from the classic movie “Caddyshack”, you better be very clever and very funny.  Wrong and wrong.  This may have sounded like a good concept, but it suffered from terrible writing and even worse casting.  P.U.!

Though the Super Bowl was watched by the largest television audience of the year, I wondered how many inebriated home viewers actually remember the commercials the next day, week, or month later.

******

And now, back to the game!  My friends and I were hoping for a competitive football game.  It certainly was!

When Patrick Mahomes’ already gimpy ankle was re-injured before halftime and the Chiefs already trailed by ten points, KC needed a second half miracle.  Kansas City Chiefs fans can thank the NFL’s lengthy 30-minute halftime ...

On Saturday afternoon in Shreveport, Louisiana, another football player from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl teams of the 1970’s will be laid to rest.

Quietly and with very little national fanfare.

Unlike the death of legendary running back Franco Harris which shook the football world on December 20, former Pittsburgh Steelers fullback Sidney Thornton passed away in Shreveport on January 28.  A memorial service will be held Saturday morning, February 11 and burial at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport.

Sidney Thornton was 68 years of age.

It is very sad that two talented football players who played together in the same backfield have died just a little more than one month apart.

Franco Harris was 72 years old.  It has been very difficult to find any information about the cause of Franco Harris’ death.  The Steelers legend was seen in the company of others within a day of his passing.  Franco Harris was reportedly in good spirits at the time.

In the process of writing this story about Sidney Thornton, I learned that yet another former Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl winning linebacker, Marv Kellum, died last Saturday on February 5 at age 70.   Unlike the deaths of the two Steelers running backs, Marv Kellum succumbed to digestive cancer and multiple myeloma.

I am a long-time Pittsburgh Steelers fan.  When Shreveport and Louisiana Tech’s Terry Bradshaw joined the team in 1970, I became a fan of the AFC’s black and gold team and have remained so for the past 53 years.

As the original TB12 (not to be confused with some fellow named Brady) was learning the ropes in Pittsburgh in the early 1970’s, another Louisiana football player was making a name for himself in high school and college in the Pelican state.

Born in New Orleans in 1954, Sidney Thornton’s family moved to Baton Rouge.  He was a very successful high school running back for the Capitol High Lions.

When Thornton came north to play college football in Natchitoches for the Northwestern State University Demons, he was a big running back.  A very big running back, indeed.

Sidney Thornton was 5’11” and a rock solid 240 pounds.  Nicknamed the Thundering Bull, Thornton was able to use his speed and his strength to power through potential tacklers at Northwestern State.  A four year starter, he rushed for 2,662 yards and scored 25 career rushing touchdowns between 1973 and 1976.  Sidney Thornton averaged over 100 yards per game as a senior for the Demons.

I was in attendance in Shreveport’s State Fair Stadium in 1975 as Northwestern State played rival Louisiana Tech on a cool October evening.

Northwestern State fullback Sidney Thornton surprised all 26,000 fans in the stadium as he dashed to his right and then lofted a perfect pass to a wide open teammate downfield for a Northwestern touchdown.  Nobody on the field or in the stadium expected the Thundering Bull to have been a passing threat for the Demons.

For the record, Tech won the game 41-14.   Perhaps Sidney Thornton should have passed the ball a few more times to keep the game closer!

One of the NSU student journalists covering Thornton’s college football years said, “I don’t know if I ever saw anyone run harder than Sidney Thornton.  There wasn’t anything cute about his style. It was ‘I’m running it right here, and if you’re in the way, you’re going to get hit regardless of what jersey you’re wearing.’

After his senior season ended,

On Tuesday night, a long-time NBA scoring record was broken.

No, I’m not just talking about LeBron James finally becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring champion during yet another Los Angeles Lakers home loss.

Across the USA in Brooklyn, New York, a little-known first round pick from LSU was establishing a new NBA rookie scoring record on Tuesday with his third straight 40-point game at the age of 21.

Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets scored 43 points in a 116-112 home loss to the Phoenix Suns.  He became the youngest player in NBA history with three straight 40-point games.

In the previous two games, the Nets rookie scored 44 and 47 points.  Unfortunately, the Nets have gone 1-2 during Thomas’ prolific three game scoring streak.

Cam Thomas scored 43 points in 39 minutes last night.  Unfortunately, his Nets teammate Ben Simmons (also played just one year at LSU and became the NBA’s overall #1 draft pick in 2016) chipped in just two points, four rebounds and four turnovers in 27 minutes for the Nets in the loss to Phoenix.

Shooting guard Cam Thomas also played just one season on the Bayou in Baton Rouge for the LSU Tigers last year.  He led the team in scoring with 24 points per game.  LSU finished the 2021-2022 season with a 19-10 record.

Prior to the SEC and NCAA tournaments, LSU Coach Will Wade was fired.  A lengthy investigation confirmed that he had participated in arranging for payments to be made to certain basketball players.  LSU lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA March Madness tournament last spring.

The 6’3” Cam Thomas earned the distinction of being the nation’s highest scoring freshman basketball player last year.  He was also named as a starter on All-SEC men’s basketball team.

Instead of sticking around another year to help rebuild the LSU basketball program, Cam Thomas decided to leave the program after coach Will Wade’s dismissal.  In fairness, every one of LSU’s scholarship basketball players left the men’s team after the end of last season.

Some players transferred while a few others (like Thomas) entered pro basketball.

Drafted late in the first round (27th overall) by the Brooklyn Nets, rookie shooting guard Cam Thomas seemed pleasantly surprised to have scored more than 40 points in three consecutive NBA games beginning last Saturday.

Thomas was relegated to the bench to serve as a back-up for most of this season.  His job was to provide a breather for eight-time NBA All-Star guard Kyrie Irving.  Cam Thomas was scoring a modest seven points per game this season prior to the last three games.

The Brooklyn Nets organization has been spending a lot of money over the past several years trying to build their first NBA championship team since entering the NBA back in 1976.

The team has tried to copy the “trio of stars” concept which initially started in Boston about 15 years ago with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.  A few years later, the Miami Heat paired LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.   Though both teams were briefly successful, these All Star trios didn’t stay together for more than a few years.

In 2019, the Brooklyn Nets got into the act.  The team added:

* Kevin Durant – Forward – 2019. Current age 34.  Career scoring average:  25 ppg

* Kyrie Irving – Guard – 2019. Current age 30.  Career scoring average:  23 ppg

* James Harden – Guard – Jan. 2021. Current age 33.  Career scoring avg:  25 ppg

After acquiring James Harden from the Houston Rockets in January, 2021, the Brooklyn Nets still lost in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the eventual league champion, Milwaukee.

Just one year after James Harden came to the Nets, “The Beard” was shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers right days before the 2022 trade deadline.  In return,