Scattershot thoughts from June 29th

• Parkersburg has provided us with endless examples of how this town represents the best of us, but none better than the support of the Becker family.
• I've thought this before, but now it really hits home. Tiny Aplington-Parkersburg has four players in the NFL. That's unbelievable. Thomas must have been some coach. Word is, he was an even better man.
• I still can't believe the 24/7 coverage of Michael Jackson's death on CNN, Fox, MSNBC and other networks---days later. I guess it's the perfect storm of worldwide famous entertainer with a stunning body of work and long history of creepy weirdness dying before his time under mysterious circumstances.
• Back before all the plastic surgery, molestation accusations, and prescription drug addiction, I saw MJ in concert. It was the best live performance I've ever seen.
• Farrah Fawcett got a raw deal even after the end. She went from headline to footnote. I had her iconic poster on my wall way back when. It seemed racy at the time. Tame now.
• I found myself following USA soccer this week, and like many bandwagon jumpers, I actually thought we might be having the long promised breakthrough moment with the win over Brazil. No way to lose a 2-0 lead in soccer! Never mind.
• Albert Pujols is not human.
• Manny Ramirez is.
• Could anything upset Cubs fans more than Mark DeRosa going to the Cardinals?!
• The Cubs don't have what it takes to win a championship. They may not even have what it takes to win a mediocre division. Too many headcases, too few leaders.
• A reminder, it's WimbleDon, not WimbleTon.
• Chris Evert is right: too much grunting in the women's game. On "Murph & Andy", we played a clip of Williams vs Sharapova. One listener said he thought he was listening to Cinemax.
• I really thought Shawn Johnson would return for her Senior year at Valley. I think there's next to no chance we see her competing in London.
• I hope all Lolo's bad luck and misfortune is used up long before London. That woman deserves gold.
• The girls "sport" with the most disabling injuries---by far---is cheerleading.
• Josh Hamilton is a guy I'd pay to see, especially batting practice. It will be a bargain if Hamilton swings at Principal Park to start the fireworks early.
• I'm proud of Chris Hassel for completing his Hy-Vee Duathlon.
• I love vacation with extended family and friends. It's fun, but not exactly relaxing. The only reason I enjoy seeing a vacation end is so I can catch up on my rest.
• Disney World in June has a lot of happy faces---and they're all 8 and under. The parents look miserable.
• Another NASCAR Sprint Cup race decided by fuel conservation strategy. It's like having a lead in the 6th inning and hoping for rain.
• Shawn Terrell will watch the Coke Zero 400 just to show support for the sponsor.
• Henrick Motorsports moved into our Daytona rental as we moved out. They jokingly complained about us leaving them "crappy beer". It was Bud Light Lime.
• Kids say Transformers 2 is better than the first. Adults say it's too long and too loud. I haven't seen it. I did see "Pelham 123" with my dad. Pleasant surprised. We liked it.
• I hope Ricky Rubio somehow plays for the T-Wolves. We need a reason to remember Minnesota has an NBA team.

Scattershot Thoughts from June 18th

Even the Vikings owner knows Brett Favre's calling the shots... The AHL business model in Des Moines was destined to fail from the jump... I love the U.S. Open at Bethpage... As I was sitting in my favorite recliner, my wife called to inform me she had just sold something on Craig's List: MY FAVORITE RECLINER!.. A guy who corked his bat also corked his body? Say it aint So(sa)... Signing Pedro Martinez would fix all the Cubs hitting problems... Shawn Johnson laughed at the Onion... Jose Canseco went from looking like a cartoon to actual being one, but the whisteblower still did more for the game than most, no matter his motives... Jamie Pollard is doing a good job in the areas his boss cares about most. That's the reason for the vote of confidence... Has anybody checked on the Barnstormers this week? When you see someone choking like that, you should always make sure they're okay... I'm not a fan of watching someone win a race because some other driver mismanaged his fuel. I want to see speed, not conservation... Good for Kyle Orton... High School umpire Don Briggs was smart to let the story of him ejecting an entire crowd die down, but most people just wanted to pat him on the back... The movie "Major League" is 20 years old? How is that possible? "Up your butt Jobu"... I watched three movies on DVD this week. "Run Fatboy Run" was better than expected, "Righteous Kill" worse than expected, and "U571" just as expected. Gripping... Coldplay at Wells Fargo Arena was one of my three favorite shows of all time. Great seats, good friends, and a band working hard to make it a memorable night... NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspends Donte Stallworth indefinitely. Good. Taking a man's life, while driving drunk, should cost more than 30 days... Kirk Ferentz sent the wrong message to his team, the media, and Iowa fans when he reacted defensively and sarcastically to questions about his son's arrests and suspension. He's just sick of it... Paul Rhoads, a first time head coach, will make more than five million dollars over the next five years, and he's the lowest paid coach in the Big 12? When did the train jump the tracks... I'm going on vacation. It won't be to the Boundary Waters... For anyone interested, I'll update the family circus on Twitter (keithmurphy13). I promised Andy I would no longer take a laptop or get emails on Blackberry. I'm trying... Finally, good luck to Chris Hassel in the Hy-Vee Triathlon. And by that, I mean good luck to anyone running or biking anywhere near Chris. His wife, Kristin, will do the swimming. She's normal...

Scattershot Thoughts, June 12th

Tim Floyd is likely the sacrificial lamb for all the scandalous accusations lobbed at USC's athletic department. As one writer put it, Floyd was the 13th most important coach at USC---behind Pete Carroll and his 11 football assistants... Floyd always knew the coach with the best players usually wins, and he was willing to do just about anything to get those top recruits, but I'm still stunned he's yet to speak up and say he didn't pay cash for O.J. Mayo... Floyd always had a wandering eye. If it weren't the Bulls, it would have been someone else. For every job he's taken, he's quietly pursued two others... None of that changes Floyd's significant contributions to Iowa State basketball for a short time. It was a great run... Worst thing Tim did was allow his players and assistants to get the news from the media that he'd resigned... The Pens and Red Wings deserve a big audience for game 7. At least more viewers than "I'm a Celebrity. Get Me Out of Here"... I'm watching the NBA Finals, and it's felt less interesting than several earlier series' this post-season, though that makes no sense with two OT games... Kobe's easy to appreciate, hard to love... The last thing NASCAR needed for its constant battle with redneck stereotyping is a driver reportedly testing positive for Meth... Raul Ibanez came to his own strong defense. I don't think we've seen anyone firmly deny steroid use like that since Rafael Palmeiro or A-Rod. Bad examples. Actually, I believe him... How fast did the Royals go from 18-11 to 24-33?... The Brett Favre soap opera is like a bad movie. I should turn the channel, but I can't... Speaking of bad movies that suck you in, Road House tops my list followed by Tango & Cash and Saving Silverman... Letterman already beating Conan. That didn't take long... Megan Fox has hammer thumbs. Why do we find a supposed flaw on one of the hottest women in the world? Must make us feel better about our messed up selves... The Venezuelan government has banned Coke Zero. Shawn Terrell better stay out of that country... Movie you watched with your parents you wished you hadn't? For me, it's Something About Mary and Crank... Kyle Busch looked like a complete doofus smashing that guitar after winning in Nashville... The Hangover is hilarious, though we don't need any more R-rated comedies with frontal male nudity played for laughs... It's not good for the Cubs when Bob Brenly is urging any Little Leaguers watching to turn off the TV... Phil Mickelson never looked more human than he did when talking about the love and admiration he has for his wife, who has breast cancer... Britney Spears is coming to Des Moines? Thank goodness it's Iowa-Iowa State football week or my wife would have me at Wells Fargo Arena... Did anyone watch the Major League Baseball draft?... Not much beats a summer deck party with good friends... The last thing Rick Stanzi needs is comparisons to a young Tom Brady... I'm sorry to see Little League season winding down, but it will be nice to have time for something else on weekends...

Scattershot Thoughts for June 6th

Since Chris Hassel was willing to openly talk about how much "The Notebook" makes him cry, I'll say how amped I am to see Coldplay in Des Moines Friday night... Growing up, the two movies that always made me cry were "Brian's Song" and "The Champ". As an adult, it's "Field of Dreams" and "Saving Private Ryan"... George Karl says Jesus couldn't defend Kobe. That's silly. Jesus could turn Kobe to stone... The NBA Finals ended after one game. It's over... Any Bronco fans who defends Brandon Marshall has his or her head buried in the sand... I think Randy Johnson will be the last 300-game winner I see in my lifetime, and I'm hoping I live for a while... Whenever I get a news bulletin from the Des Moines Register, I worry Principal has had to lay off more people... How about Tiger's chip-in at the Skins with Jack? Awesome... Former I-Cub Randy Wells has pitched well enough to win several times. Welcome to the Cubs, Randy... Kate Hudson & A-Rod? At least Kate doesn't artificially enhance... All you need to know about some college football fans losing all perspective is that Tennessee's quarterback reportedly received death threats... I thought the Royals would matter this season. They do when Greinke's pitching... The #1 auction item request from the Old Yankee Stadium? Urinals... The Phoenix Mercury wearing an ad for Lifelock is the tipping point for a trend we'll see a lot more of. Heck, when you get right down to it, we already see it in college football with Nike... Nice 2 for 1 coaching deal at Iowa State with Chris Bono joining his friend Kevin Jackson in the wrestling room... Sammy Sosa says he'll wait patiently for the Hall of Fame. That's good Sammy, because that wait will end as soon as the Hall opens a wing for strongly suspected steroid cheats... Tony Larussa sues Twitter. I read about that on Twitter (keithmurphy13).... I'm watching "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" to see if Spencer Pratt is as big a D-bag as Hassel says he is. He is. Or he's a genius... Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, died. I saw her at Peoples in Ames 15 years ago. She was great... There's definitely a double standard for drug cheats in the NFL. It hardly came up when Rodney Harrison retired from the Patriots and joined the NBC Sunday Night Football team... Eric Peterson reports Cael Sanderson tries not to go out when he's in Ames because of some knucklehead hate from wrong-headed Cyclone fans. Cael delivered 4 national championships, a gold medal, and some class. Be disappointed, but wish him well... Apparently Charles Barkley can say whatever he wants.... LeBron was fined and did apologize. I guess that ends the discussion about whether he was wrong... It's too early to put your Chops gear on e-bay, but it doesn't look good. Worst case scenario is a lower league putting a team in WFA. Yuck... Soccer will never pull crowds in America as long as 0-0 games are common (and they are)... Will Ferrell scored all kinds of cool points for me on "Man vs Wild" in the Arctic Circle. He didn't just do a cameo. He got into it. "Land of the Lost" still looks awful though... I missed Andy on KXnO this week but really had a good time with Chris, Shawn Terrell, and Bryce Miller. Thanks guys...

Remember Chuck Harmison?

Harmison led Ames to an undefeated basketball season 33 years before Harrison Barnes did. Harmison later went on to play for Iowa State and then bounced around pro basketball like Paul Shirley, only before Shirley.

Anyway, for those who remember Harmison, or know him as the CEO now, a journalism teacher in Kansas made a documentary. If you have any interest, contact: Michael Swan at Rubi Slipper Productions, 1403 Park Ave. El Dorado, KS 67042
Cell: 316-323-9049

The documentary will likely not hold the interest of anyone who's not familiar with Chuck, but for those who are, it's a 30 minute trip to a time that seems even longer ago when watching video.

-Keith

(scattershot thoughts below)

Scattershot Thoughts from June 1

LeBron James showed bad sportsmanship. Period... The Principal Charity Classic is fun, well run, and hopefully not done... The last remaining survivor of the Titanic just died, and she never saw the Cubs win a World Series in her lifetime... In a long series featuring the NBA's no doubt, best two teams, the Lakers win... Did I really hear Charles Barkley call Kenny Smith "Numb Nuts" live on TNT?... The Stanley Cup is decided... The NHL playoffs are awesome, but they don't deliver enough viewers to keep from being bumped off NBC by "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here"... Roger Federer will win the French Open and stake a claim to greatest ever... NASCAR has done everything but give Dale Jr a head-start. He's just not that great a driver... "Twilight" won best picture at the MTV Movie Awards. Did kids actually watch the movie?... Shawn Johnson was there. Shawn Johnson is everywhere... Do you think Bruno teabagging Eminem was real or staged?... Can't wait to see what Conan does with the "Tonight Show", but I still miss Carson... Whatever happened to Arsenio?... Iowa-Iowa State kickoff time of 11 a.m. is too early... My schoolboy crush was Brooke Shields. Ah, "Blue Lagoon"... Matt and Miller are good together... Deace and Miller are good together... Nachos and Miller are good together... I'm taking the kids as an excuse, but I can't wait to see "Up"... "The Hangover" looks like the funniest movie since "Role Models"... Worst MLB uniform ever? Gotta be the '76 White Sox in shorts and pointed collars... I'm tired of rain...