1. At the beginning of the baseball season, I picked the
Tigers and Giants to play in the World Series. NOT!
Even
though I did not pick them, I am still unsurprised. Both teams have good
pitching and hitting.
I
refuse to pick a winner in this series. Every team I selected in the post
season has lost. Boy am I confused.
2. “Oh what a tangled [social] web weave”-or words to that
effect-can be used to apply to Facebook and Twitter these days. I read in TIME
where Americans are engaging in a massive “de-friending” movement. It seems
that people are getting so upset at what their social network friends are
saying/liking/tweeting concerning the election, they are cutting off the social
friendships. I think I now know where to take the next conversation I have with
a telemarketer.
3. I think perhaps the most
interesting thing said about last night's debate was uttered by George Will. As
a follow up, Will wrote in his syndicated column, “The death of George McGovern on the eve of the presidential
candidates' foreign policy debate underscored a momentous political reversal
spanning four decades.
“McGovern's
nomination for president in 1972, a consequence of the Democratic
Party's recoil against the Vietnam War and the riotous convention four years earlier, made the
country uneasy about his party regarding national security. Four decades later,
however, voters may be more ambivalent about America's world role than at any
time since the 1930s.”
I
was too young to vote in 1972, but I definitely did not want George McGovern to
win. I was not alone. Practically the entire United States wanted Nixon to defeat
McGovern. Yet, in light of Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, and now, Iraq and
Afghanistan, Americans are tired of sending her boys overseas. And that is what
both candidates are campaigning on.
4. Should I
admit to having seen ABC’s drama (soap opera!) NASHVILLE?
5. Our public library just came out with a copy of the hot
(for Dallas Cowboys fans) new book THE DALLAS COWBOYS: THE OUTRAGEOUS HISTORY
OF THE BIGGEST, LOUDEST, MOST HATED, BEST LOVED FOOTBALL TEAM IN AMERICA. It is
written by national freelance writer, Joe Nick Patoski, who lives in the Texas
Hill Country.
The
book breaks little new ground in the area of football. In fact, I was surprised
by the relatively low amount of interviews Patoski did. Some books of this
genre will draw from interviews with over a hundred people.
Where
OUTRAGEOUS adds to the category of Cowboy literature is in the social and
cultural field, especially when it comes to the city of Dallas. I have read a
lot of books on the Cowboys since childhood, and Patoski offers some context
that I have not seen anywhere. This material makes for a good read.
On
the other hand, regarding the football team itself, Patoski makes so many
factual errors that it borders on the egregious. In one brief section, I began recording
some of the mistakes:
- · The week of the 1968 regular season matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, Don Meredith was hospitalized with pneumonia—the consequence of broken ribs. Nevertheless, Meredith led the Cowboys to victory: 28-7. (Wrong: Meredith was hospitalized during the 1967 season.)
- · Frank Ryan led the Cleveland Browns to an upset playoff victory over the Dallas Cowboys in 1968 (it was Bill Nelson.)
- · After the 1968, the Cowboys received tight end Mike Ditka from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade. (It was the Philadelphia Eagles.)
- · Dallas won Super Bowl VI 23-3. (It was 24-3.)
- · On New Years Day, 1972, the University of Texas clobbered Penn State in the Cotton Bowl. (Penn State defeated Texas 30-6.)
These
are just a few of the mistakes I found. Now, for me, this amount would
represent an average day. But you would think a major publishing company like
LITTLE BROWN could hire a fact checker who could eliminate these errors.
Enough
with the negative, though—check the book out. It’s a fun read.
*Thanks to Peter King for the inspiration for this
title.
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