Ray Guy

I sit here listening to the Bears play Arizona State (17-7 in the opening second half). The game at Memorial Stadium and kick-off 12:30PM Pacific offering a late night but doable, most definately. Thinking about football, nobody comps the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s before free-agency and team moves ended my compulsion. Back then the Raiders were the real-deal - coached by a big fat guy who gesticulated madly from the sideline and a bunch of motley players who drank and smoked, often during a game (wide receiver and SB MVP Fred Biletnikoff traded the oxygen tank and fags between plays). I had a number of heroes then - Ken Stable, Mark Van Egan, Cliff Branch, Dave Casper and Ray Guy, pictured. In '73 Guy was the first punter chosen in the first-round, which has never happened again since. He played in 207 consecutive games averaging 42.4 yards a punt: none returned for a touchdown - ever. Guy was selected to seven Pro Bowl teams, and in 1994, he was named the punter on the National Football League's 75th Anniversary Team. His leg-power was legendary - at the '76 Pro Bowl, he hit the Louisiana Superdome video screen which was then raised from 90 feet to 200 feet. Guy also had an awesome arm and a rumour at Washington primary was that he could throw 75 yards with his feet planted. Yes, we adored him as only a kid can do. The Silver and Black - that was a team, man.

“This is not a man [Barak Obama] who sees America as you see it and how I see America. We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. If we can be that beacon of light and hope for others who seek freedom and democracy and can live in a country that would allow intolerance in the equal rights that again our military men and women fight for and die for for all of us. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country?”

The nim-wit Sarah Palin speaks up in Colorado

Cal beats Arizona St BTW 24-14. I'm going to bed.