NASCAR Changes the Rules

NASCAR in it's infinite wisdom has made a few
changes going into the 2010 season,..BUT some do
not take effect until the fourth race of the season.
Now that alone is worth a moment of thought. Why
would you change anything and have it implemented
during the course of the event. Big Bill France, the original
founder of NASCAR ruled the sport for forty years with
very little changes to the rules. Big Bill's grandson, Brian,
is now calling the shots since 2005 and his leadership has
seen the sport lose attendance and TV ratings for the
first time in history.
Brian France has announced a couple of changes this
season. The big one is the much debated 'wing' on the
rear of the cars. The 'wing' replaced the 'spoiler' in
2005 in an effort to slow down the cars and make it a
more equal race. The dreaded 'restrictor plate' between
the carburetor and the intake manifold has been enlarged
to give the drivers a little more response in the gas pedal.
Fast forward to 2010 and the 'spoiler'
will return to the rear of the cars to help stabilize the
vehicle,...but the first four races of 2010 will have the
'wing' on the car until race engineers can make the change.
Another rule change this year is the art of bump drafting.
This entails pushing the car in front of you down the track in
an effort to increase the speed of both cars. The problem comes
when a car gets out of the groove and air circulates under the
car sending it airborne and out of control. The big two and a
half mile tracks of Daytona and Talladega are the main concerns
since the cars run in excess of 190 miles per hour on these venues.
NASCAR has ruled in the past that 'bump drafting' would not
be allowed... then they changed it to 'bump drafting' only on
the straightaway and not in the curves...and now this year they
have done away with the restrictions. Drivers will return to the
old school way of racing.
While the teams bicker and debate these changes... they should
be worrying about dethroning reining NASCAR Champion Jimmy
Johnson. Team 48 has won the Championship for four (4) straight
years and seem to be on the verge of making it look easy.

Super Bowl was Saintly

Today's Super Bowl was one of the better
ones in recent years. Indianapolis had won a
Super Bowl in the past, so I found myself pulling
for the New Orleans Saints in this one. The Colts
looked the part of veterans as they jumped to
a ten-nothing lead over the Saints. The game
was actually a shootout between two great
quarterbacks. Peyton Manning of the Colts and
Drew Brees of the Saints both played well enough
to win the game. Brees tied a Super Bowl record
by completing 32 passes in a row without an
incompletion. The lone turnover in the contest
was a 74 yard touchdown interception by Tracy
Porter of the Saints and
that pretty much sealed the deal. New Orleans
wins it 31-17 for their first NFL Championship in
their 43rd year of existence. Marti Gras starts in
the French Quarter in just nine days,...so now they
get to start a little early this year... Who Dat Da
Say Da Gonna Beat Dem Saints?????

Bud Shootout

Kevin Harvick joined a select group tonight by
winning the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Florida.
Harvick is now one of only 4 drivers to win the Shootout
in back to back years.
Harvick started the race on the outside of the front
row in a back-up car. He was sick with the flu Wednesday
and Thursday forcing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint
Bowyer to practice and qualify his car. Bowyer crashed the
primary car on Thursday and forced the 29 Team to go
to the back-up car. Friday's practice session was rained
out so when the green flag dropped tonight it was the first
time on the track for the winning car.
With 4 laps to go a crash brought out the caution flag and
Harvick went to the pits for two tires and some gas. This
allowed Jamie McMurry and Greg Biffle to take over the lead
when they did not pit. On the re-start Harvick immediately
passed McMurry and Biffle went into the wall with a blown
tire. The race was immediately stopped and Harvick was
named the winner.
Despite being a repeat from one year ago, it does not carry
any points with it but only a $200,000 prize. The points battle
begins next week with the annual running of the Daytona 500,
a race that saw Harvick finish second in 2009. Last season was
the only one where Harvick did not win a single race in his 8
year career.
Good job tonight Kev.... Go get'em next week in the 500 !!

Radio Hall of Fame

The National Radio Hall of Fame has inducted
one of the greats into it's honored halls...and I am
here to endorse that action. Christopher Glenn was
a co-worker of mine when I worked at WCBS Radio
in 1978. Everything that a radio news reporter wanted
to be was wrapped up in Chris...He could write, produce,
and anchor with the best of them. Best of all, Chris was never above anyone else and always willing to help with assistance or encouragement. I was just 'the new
guy' at the station, but Chris was instrumental in what
would become my style. His deep and warm voice will
never be duplicated, but always imitated. In the halls of
CBS you could count on seeing many famous names and
faces, but none stood out more than Christopher Glenn.
I had idolized him for years and now I was working with
him. He worked for CBS News for 35 years and died in
2006, but now thanks to the Hall of Fame, he will not be
forgotten. Thank you Lord for letting me cross his path.

Christopher Glenn

Christopher Glenn has excelled as a producer, writer, anchor, and field reporter in his 35 years with CBS Radio. In early 2006, Glenn retired as anchor of CBS World News Roundup after serving in a similar capacity for The World Tonight for 11 years.

Glenn began broadcasting in 1960 on Armed Forces Radio and joined CBS News as a correspondent in 1971. In 1999, he began hosting CBS World News Roundup, the longest running radio news program in broadcasting. What's In The News, the daily broadcast that began in 1995, was produced, written, and narrated by Glenn.

Among the many major news stories he covered were numerous political conventions and space shuttle missions, including the Challenger tragedy in 1986. In 2005, he was awarded a Radio Television News Directors Association award for best newscast.

Christopher Glenn died October 17, 2006.

Christopher Glenn was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2009.

Five Jackets Sign College Scholarships

February 2nd was national signing day for
high school athletes to commit their talents to
colleges across the country. The Denison Yellow
Jackets had a super season in 2009, reaching the
semi-final round of the playoffs in class 4A.
Tuesday five members of the Yellow Jackets
football team signed to step up to the next level
of competition. Quarterback Jordan Taylor will
be playing for Rice University next season, but not
necessarily at that position. Running back D.J. Jones
will take his quick feet to Texas A&M. Teammates
Jimmay Munndine and Jaqwalin Arps will become
members of the Kansas Jayhawks. Wide receiver
and defensive back Cody Reeves will head for
West Texas A&M.
Good luck to these players as they head for college
and we hope they will return home to be role models
for younger players following in their footsteps.

The Day The Music Died

February 2nd has different meanings to
all people... It's Groundhog Day and everyone
looks to Pennsylvania to see if 'old Phil is going
to see his shadow or not. (He did this year)
February 2 has another distinction for those
of us that love music,..more specifically Rock &
Roll Music. It was February 2, 1959 when a
small plane crash in Clear Lake, Iowa took the
lives of three of the greats of R&R. This is the
music that was still in it's infancy and still needed
to get it's legs on the ground. Buddy Holly, Ritchie
Valens, and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) had
performed the night before and were taking a
flight to the next location on the tour. The weather
was not perfect, but other planes were flying in it.
The small plane crashed and took the lives of the
performers and the pilot. Ritchie Valens was to be
the first big star of the Mexican-American generation
with his first two hits "La Bamba" and "Donna" going
to the top ten of Billboard Magazine. J.P. Richardson
was a disc jockey from Beaumont, Texas that got into
the music business by accident. He was master of
ceremonies and just started singing with various bands.
He had a big hit in "Chantilly Lace", but song writing was
his specialty,..writing "White Lightnin'" for George Jones,
"Running Bear" for Johnny Preston, and "Purple People
Eater." The most famous casualty that night was Buddy
Holly..the Lubbock, Texas native was instrumental in the
forming of Rock & Roll. His arrangements and guitar playing
are still being imitated today. Groups such as the Beatles, the
Hollies, the Dave Clark Five, Paul Anka, and many more were all
influenced by Buddy Holly. Ten years after the plane crash
Don McLean immortalized the group when he wrote the
song "American Pie"...the chorus of the song brought all the
memories back again...."The Day the Music Died"..

Proud to be German-American

I have mentioned many times on this blog
that my family originated in the Bavarian section
of Germany and my Grandfather came to America
in 1908 to escape the tyranny of the Kaiser.
I had a father and eight uncles that fought in
World War II..and they were on both sides of the
conflict. While all Nazi's were German,..all Germans
were NOT Nazi's. The following true story is a
good example of that fact......

Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.. It was ready to fall out of the sky. (This is a painting done by an artist from the description of both pilots many years later.) Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you'll be surprised ...

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton, England . His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton.

After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Stigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded. The top gunner was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere.

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

BF-109 pilot Franz Stigler B-17 pilot Charlie Brown





Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees.. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards England . He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to Europe . When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.

(L-R) German Ace Franz Stigler, artist Ernie Boyett, and B-17 pilot Charlie Brown.




When asked why he didn't shoot them down, Stigler later said, "I didn't have the heart to finish those brave men. I flew beside them for a long time. They were trying desperately to get home and I was going to let them do that. I could not have shot at them. It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a parachute."


Both men died in 2008


This is a true story! http://www.snopes.com/military/charliebrown.asp

THIS WAS BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN THERE WAS HONOR IN BEING A WARRIOR ..... THEY PROUDLY WORE UNIFORMS, AND THEY DIDN'T HIDE IN AMBUSH INSIDE A MOSQUE, OR BEHIND WOMEN AND CHILDREN, NOR DID THEY USE MENTALLY RETARDED WOMEN AS SUICIDE BOMBERS TO TARGET AND KILL INNOCENT CIVILIANS .... HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED ...