Saturday Top 5: Super Bowl Era Teams

Honorable Mention:

1988 San Francisco 49ers

1976 Oakland Raiders

And now the Top 5…

#5 1992 Dallas Cowboys – Jimmy Johnson assembled one of the greatest teams, talent wise, in NFL history. Aikman, E. Smith, “Moose” Johnson, Haley, Lett, Jay Novacek, Irvin and Harper formed a team that mowed just about everyone over. They totally destroyed the Bills in the Super Bowl in historic fashion, even with Leon Lett’s blunder running toward the endzone.

#4 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steel Curtain’s second Super Bowl Championship came in 75, with such greats as Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, and Lynn Swann. They lost two games all year, one of which was an inconsequential game at the end of the season and all but two games were won by two or more touchdowns. This was truly a great team. This team also did what rarely happens in pro sports, that is to repeat as champions. Another piece of interesting trivia was that the 75 Steelers started the great tradition of “The Terrible Towel”. It’s just a yellow dish towel, but it is twirled in menacing fashion.

#3 1984 San Fracisco 49ers – This incredibly talented team became the first in NFL history to send the entire defensive backfield to the pro bowl. They also were led by Joe Montana, who is considered by many as the greatest QB in NFL history. Oh yea, they destroyed Dan Marino’s Dolphins in the Super Bowl.

#2. 1985 Chicago Bears – Notorious not only for what many consider the most dominating defense in league history, but also for the “Super Bowl Shuffle”. It was the cheesiest rap, but it started a revolution in sports and entertainment where athletes did so much more than just play ball. Also, William “The Fridge” Perry provided plenty of good times for fans of trick plays when he would become the NFL’s largest running back on the goal line. This team lost one game all year, a late season loss to the Miami Dolphins (protecting the only undefeated season in NFL history). Gault, Singletary, Payton, Hampton, Perry, Dent, Wilson and Gentry were just of the few greats that really made this team the beast that it was.

#1. 1972 Miami Dolphins – The only perfect team in NFL history was the 1972 Dolphins.  While there were only 14 regular season games, the 72 Fins remain the only team to win all regular season and post season games. Shula, the greatest NFL coach, grabbed his first Super Bowl win with Griese, Csonka, Kick, Fernandez, Yepremian, Warfield, Morris, Buonticonti, Morrall and Fernandez who were some of the most notable names on this the greatest NFL team of all time.

Friday Bottom 3: Cable News Personalities

This bottom 3 list is not based on ratings, but simply on personal preference.  Since my preference is nearly impeccable, you can take my word as gold!

#3. Bill O’Reilly – This guy has a couple of decent things to say occasionally.  Unfortunately, he presents very few facts when he goes off on his rants against oil companies.  I watched one evening as he had Neil Cavuto as a special guest.  O’Reilly began talking about how he was “looking out for the folks” and slamming oil companies for gas prices that didn’t drop proportionally to the price of the falling barrel of oil.  Cavuto literally destroyed that argument talking about how oil at $20/barrell had gas prices at $1.50/gallon, but oil at $120/barrel had gas prices at about $3-4/gallon.  That means if you argue falling oil prices from $120/barrel were not moving fast enough, the price of the gallon of gas should have been between $9 to $12 at its peak.  He tried with no success to get the point through that there is much more cost that goes into a gallon of gas than a barrell of oil, but O’Reilly was too obtuse, stupid or maybe just too prideful to admit he was wrong, so he just continued yelling at the brilliant Cavuto.

#2. Chris Matthews – This guy has been masquerading as a legitimate news personality for way too long.  The combination of totally biased commentary with one of the most annoying and pushy personalities makes this guy nearly unbearable.  It’s no wonder that his ratings are totally in the tank on MSNBC.  I have another pet peeve about Matthews.  I can’t stand how he gets that dumb mouth mayo/spittle in the corners of his mouth while he is yelling and interupting everybody.  Besides, this knucklehead admitted on national TV that he gets a “tingle” up his leg when Obama speaks.  Give me a break.

#1. Keith Olbermann – This guy should have stuck to ESPN.  His biased opinions are not bad enough.  Like O’Reilly, this guy tries to pass his opinion off as fact, only he is so far slanted to the left he needs a kickstand.  Olbermann is what the Soviet Communists of decades past would have described as a useful idiot.  His smug arrogance combined with irrational anger makes him unwatchable for anyone desiring honest political coverage.  From my perspective, the purpose of his show is to make any God-fearing freedom-loving American look bad.

Various Thoughts

-I enjoy this blog entry because the topics are whatever pops in my head while I write.

-There is a lot of junk in my head sometimes; it’s nice to get it out.

-I am working overtime for only the second day since September. The only other time I worked OT, it was on a call in. This time I actually signed up and got notice Tuesday that I would get the OT. This comes in very timely since I lost almost 4 hours of work last week due to training and qualification.

-Also, I’ll be working this weekend so I will not be able to join you at the theater for our weekly Life Pointe Sunday party.

-I requested two more vacation days and it was ultimately approved. I now have all of Spring Break off.

-I will be looking for a 7 day cruise to fit my scheduled time. Right now I am leaning towards MSC Cruises (The Orchestra) to Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Dominican Republic.

-There are some serious deals right now, even on Spring Break. I assume that it is due to the economy. Check out Vacations To Go to see what I am talking about.

-Speaking of the economy… My stand by for my first political rant since the new prez took office.

-ACORN was accused of voter fraud in the presidential election this year and years past. In this new so-called economic stimulus package ($890 billion), $5.2 billion has been set aside for neighborhood foreclosure relief. $4.19 billion of that is supposed to go to ACORN.

-How does this pass the smell test? ACORN helps perpetrate fraud, then gets a $4.19 billion cash kickback. Like they say, “Dance with the one who brung ya.”. It makes me sick.

-Max really hates being brushed. Marcela normally does it, but I figured I would help her with that duty. I don’t want the little mop to despise her because she wants to keep his hair looking handsome.

-The little runt growled at me and then snapped when I was trying to take out a knot.

-I work Super Bowl Sunday, but I should get home before the end of the first quarter. Anybody hosting a party? Naw, you guys should be down in Plantation Key, right?

-My heart wants the Arizona Hurricanes (Cardinals) to win, but my head tells me that the Steelers are going to win this with their dominating D.

-I want Edgerrin James, Calais Campbell, and especially Antrel Rolle to win their first Super Bowl rings.

-The Edge left Indy the year before they won their Super Bowl title. I’d love to see him not only win a ring, but to be a major part of the victory.

-Last night I watched a show called “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” on Animal Planet. I am sure they embellished a little, but the show was riveting. They told a story with reenactment of a couple who were hiking a trail in the Amazon Basin when they got lost. Using a compass, they actually went in the opposite direction because the map was flipped with North at the bottom and South at the top. They were stranded 6 days before finding their way to a river where they were rescued by a boatman. I highly recommend the show, but be warned that it contains some disturbing and mature content due to the nature of the material.

-I’ll see you at LPC a week from Sunday if not sooner!

Wednesday Quotable

As a young lad, I remember our PE coach filling the role of substitute teacher. We always looked forward to Coach Cross subbing, because we knew there wouldn’t be any school work, studying, tests, or anything academically challenging. Today’s quotable demonstrates why football coaches have a reputation for not being the best school teachers.

“Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl.”

-Bill Peterson
former Head Coach of the Houston Oilers

Max Factor

Max got his first official cut and grooming this week. The poor guy could barely see when I took him in because the hair on his muzzle curled up over his eyes. Now his big dark eyes really stand out and he looks like a little toy stuffed animal. I wonder if the sedated him for the mop chop, because he hates even being combed or brushed.

Big black eyes and a rubber nose.

Discount Fortune Cookie Messages

Chris Day has a sporadically regular entry he calls the fortune cookie message of the week. Yesterday, I had lunch with my mom and we got these discount fortune cookie messages and I figured I would just steal Chis’s idea. I may need an interpretation since I am not sure exactly the meaning of one of them.

There is something seeing and there is something being seen.

Hmm, not sure what to take from that one.

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.

Monday Armchair Cowboy

Football is on hold for one week, and following the Super Bowl will be held until games resume in the Fall.  Sometimes it’s hard to let go. 😦

So, this week we have the Armchair Cowboy.  Marcela and I enjoyed the Homestead Rodeo on Saturday afternoon.  The clown was funny, but the saddle bronc riding, bull riding, and the intermission show with the two girls riding ponies beside a trained bull and rider were the highlights of a great time.

Marcela pets a trained Bull, Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid, and two pony riding little girls.

Billy the Kid, a huge saddled and trained bull at the Homestead Rodeo 2009.

Bullriding at the Homestead Rodeo January 2009

Sunday Life Pointe Talk Soup

• We had a great time this morning at the theater in pier 2, as Life Pointe came together to worship corporately.
• The music was led by Reina and Mike.  They both did an excellent job.
• Alex was on drums, I played Jesse‘s keyboard, Josiah played rhythm on the acoustic guitar, Bill played lead on his Fender, and Matt laid down the bass line.  Julie and Joseph sang back up vocals.
• For our music set, we sang “I Am Free”, “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”, and for communion we sang “Heart of Worship”.
• Trav spoke about Dwight L Moody in the ongoing “Dead White Men” series.  It was really cool to hear what an awesome work God did through a humble man with no formal education and no major expectations.
• At the close of service, Alex and Matt totally rocked the house as the jammed to some fusion/rock/jazz/funk riff that they created.

For different views and perspectives on Sunday at Life Pointe, be sure to visit Chris, Trav, Ritz and Kelly for their Sunday wrap.  I will be heading down to Plantation Key tonight and will follow that up with some fishing at Channel 5.  See you tonight!

Saturday Top 5: Pets

These are my favorite animals as pets.

#5. Rabbits – I had a rabbit when I was a kid.  These guys are cute, smart, and pretty clean.  They also do not make much noise.  They poop in little pellets which does help in clean up.  Unfortunately, they drop hair and they aren’t really good for anything but dinner.  LOL JK They make good pets if they get used to being handled.  And what is cuter than a little bunny?

#4. Betta (fish) – The great thing about bettas is that they live in a little filterless tank.  They are happy in a small enclosure, easy to care for, easy to move around, beautiful, and they only live 3 years (give or take a little).  That means they won’t burden you down with their care for too long.  Get a pair and put them in two tank beside each other and watch them flare up ready for battle.  Did I mention that all the most beautiful ones are males?

#3. Cats/Kittens – Admittedly, I would never want a cat in my house.  They make the house smell, they are aloof, they require attention to prevent hairballs and destructive behavior, they drop hair everywhere, and they are natural hunters which makes it hard to have some of the other pets mentioned in this list along with the cat.  However, they can be cuddly at times and when they are in the mood make great hands on pets.

#2. Parrots – I am a fan of birds because they are so smart.  They look at you and you can tell they are thinking and problem solving.  They can be mischievous and noisy at times, but they are good pets.  They also can be kept in a cage while you are gone at work and you don’t have to feel guilty.

#1. Dogs – Of course, did you think any different?  I love dogs, puppies, big dogs, little ones, mean looking dogs, cute dogs, long haired dogs, shaggy dogs, short haired dogs, it doesn’t matter.  Dogs are man’s best friend!  They look to you for protection, food, shelter and love.  When you come home, your dog doesn’t care if you had a great day or a lousy day at work.  He just wags and licks as always.  No pet in the world can compare with a loyal dog.

Friday Bottom 3: Musical Genre

I am a big fan of music of course. Some stuff we call music is not really music, in my estimation. These are the three worst, in my opinion.

#3. Techno/House – This is ok for a brief time, but it all runs together since it’s so repetitive. Much of this music sounds so similar, it’s hard to find the purpose of so many different songs. If you’ve heard one, you’ve heard it all.

#2. Rap/Hip Hop – The biggest problem I have with this form of “music” is its lack of creativity. Yes, it takes talent and skill to rap and to create some of the beats, but a high percentage of the music is from other songs that have been sampled and looped. The whole prison/street/gang culture which is pervasive in this genre is equally annoying.

#1. Death Metal – This is absolutely the worst garbage that people attempt to call music. Screaming and growling while drums and a guitar pegged to the wall wail unintelligibly is worse than nails on a chalk board. But if that is what floats your boat…