Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Rhoads beats Chizik, Jay Cutler's Sister, Shandys Rule

  • Don't miss a great documentary on HBO, Thrilla in Manila. It makes clear how indefensibly cruel Muhammad Ali was to Joe Frazier. Frazier remains bitter to this day. The movie also shows what many consider the greatest boxing match of all time, where both men nearly killed each other, and Ali famously said he felt like he was dying. Neither man was ever the same again, in or out of the ring. Frazier stopped by the SoundOFF studio a couple months ago and couldn't have been more gracious, but he's a broken man.
  • If American Idol were a fight, they'd stop it right now. Adam Lambert by knockout.
  • Southland surprised me. Much better than I expected. It's really good. Hopefully it catches on.
  • I spent a few days in Denver for guys getaway weekend. Man, is that good for the soul. We saw the Stars vs Avs in a shootout, the Rockies spank the Phillies on opening day, and Bruce Springsteen rock a sold out house. We also found an Irish pub that didn't mind taking our money. Todd Bailey and I ordered Shandys (that's Guinness and Lemonade), which our friend Ryan Lund made fun of as he drank Coronas in an Irish pub.
  • Apparently I don't walk enough. We walked everywhere in Denver and my legs are still sore. That's kind of sad.
  • On top of that, my forearm still hurts from playing 72 holes of Golden Tee. That game is addictive. I did not improve.
  • Met Jay Cutler's sister in Denver. I think she might have actually introduced herself that way. "I'm Jay Cutler's sister". It's fair to say she's bitter toward the Broncos.
  • Give Paul Rhoads his first clear win over Gene Chizik: acting. Rhoads is WAY better in those Applebee's ads.
  • Can't wait to see the new upgrades at Kauffman Stadium. That's a great place to see a game.
  • First class news conference out of Ed Podolak. As Sean Keeler said, now the real work begins. I believe Hawkeye fans will help.
  • 12,000+ at a hockey game in Des Moines? Didn't think it was possible. Props to the Chops. Now they need to do it without ice that looks like it belongs outside an International Falls bar.
  • The Masters came alive on that front nine when Phil started playing out of his mind, then Tiger dropped an eagle. Everything that followed was anticlimactic, and that includes a poorly played playoff. Entertainment picked back up when Chris Hassel played Jim Nantz on SoundOFF.
  • I'll never forget how thrilling it was as a boy to watch Mark "The Bird" Fidrych on Monday Night Baseball in 1976. He was a phenomenon. Hard to believe The Bird's gone.
  • The Mayor could be the next GM. ESPN the Magazine thinks Fred Hoiberg will take over the top spot with the Timberwolves.
  • Jon Miller and Steve Deace make a good team. That's a smart move out of KXNO. Miller is good by himself and so is Deace, but they're both better together. I always made a point to listen when Deace was on Miller's show, and now that's daily---though 6 a.m. is a little early for me.
  • The Padres need to lose those tan pants. They've come a long way since the Taco Bell uniforms of yesteryear, but tan? Baseball pants should be white or gray.
  • Andy and I will host Cy's House of Trivia Saturday night. We get the answers ahead of time, so we should sound smart. Like Alex Trebek.

10 comments:

Kirk Diggler said...

Denver is probably the most underrated metropolitan city in the country. I lived there for 4 years and absolutely loved it. Contrary to popular belief, the weather is great. Lots of snow in winter, but not as frigid temps. Summer is warm with little humidity. All four major sports, tremendous eateries, many many many brewpubs, fantastic downtown scene, and a short drive to the Rockies make Denver awesome! Housing is expensive, but if you are selective, it's worth it.

Tim + Janice said...

hahahahah....had to laugh...I once screwed up my knee playing Golden Tee at Kelly's in Kansas City between Big 8 games.....I was almost on crutches and saw Pete Taylor the next day.....I couldn't tell him what I'd done....
Walking in Denver...you are right there.....did that at a NCAA women's tourney one year....those Coloradans are brutal.....

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to seeing you and Andy Saturday night in Ames!!

Anonymous said...

Cy's House of Trivia is a great time, makes me wish that I was going to be there this year! I'm sure that you and Andy will do a great job as MCs.

Kirk Diggler said...

I disagree about Miller and Deace. Deace was fine as a guest, but the two of them will be fighting for the microphone like Tirrell and Cotlar for high school sports press credentials.

T said...

John Madden is retiring...FINALLY!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Murphy, what's your stupid station going to do now that John Madden has retired? Chris Collingsworth couldn't carry John Madden's jock. Seriously, it was too heavy for him.

Anonymous said...

Now I can do something I have never been able to do with football, watch the Sunday Night games that Madden had previously been broadcasting!

Anonymous said...

We went to the opening series at the K in Kansas City. I didn't like all the renovations. The fountains are buried in all the glitz now. The concourses are great - but do miss the fountains!

HOORAY for John Madden leaving - I could hardly stand to listen to the guy. I would watch Sunday Night Football with no sound so I didn't have to hear him!!!

Maxwell House said...

Murph, I saw the Thrilla in Manilla and my heart just broke. I didn't know how cruel Muhammad Ali was to Joe Frazier. When Frazier's kid said he got beat up all the time because of what Ali (and much of the country) said about his dad, I almost cried. When I saw how broken Joe Frazier was at the end, I did.

Thanks for blogging about it. I keep meaning to ask my dad what his thoughts were back then. I wish I could have met Joe Frazier when he was here.

CG