(Sports)

Bengals Divesting of Auburn

August 30, 2008 @ 19:50:05

I noticed a story at ESPN about Cincinnati cutting Rudi Johnson from the team. Rudi played one year at Auburn and was drafted by the Bengals in 2001.

The same article goes on to say:

Offensive tackle Willie Anderson was also released by the Bengals. Anderson, 33, was the most tenured Bengal, having played 12 seasons in Cincinnati.

Willie Anderson also played at Auburn. Ouch. I’m surprised the ESPN story doesn’t mention that connection. And for it to happen today, the opening day of the season for AU? This is conspiratorial ground here.

Your Daily Random Snowboarder Stranger

August 23, 2008 @ 11:59:36

I went to YouTube to see if a friend of mine had added any new home movies. Nothing new was there, but a couple of clicks later and I was watching this video of Josh Dirksen. There are just too many things about it that I find so delightful.

Snowboarders

Snowboarding is one of my absolute favorite things to do (living in the deep south, though, makes it an extreme rarity). The music is groovy with a french flavor. The sound of the boards slicing through the powder is soothing. The occasional name display is a nice touch as well. And clocking in at just over a minute makes it the perfect quick pick-me-up.

Happy August Everyone!

Thom Gossom and Auburn Football Segregation

August 17, 2008 @ 13:44:51

There is a must read article in the War Eagle Reader about Thom Gossom.

He was a star on the one stage our mutual home state of Alabama continues to care about above all others, but at a time when the spotlight of that humid autumn sun really brought out the color in your skin. Thom Gossom was the second black football player at the first Division I school in Alabama to break the gridiron’s color barrier.

That school was not the University of Alabama.

It’s the story of segregation in the south viewed, at one level, through the filter of college football, but at another through the personal stories of Mr. Gossom. It’s a long article so, if you don’t have much time right now, at the very least go read the opening story.

He is writing an autobiography titled Walk-On: My Reluctant Journey to Integration at Auburn University. He talks a bit about it in this interview on YouTube, where he mentions that it’s coming out in August, but the War Eagle Reader says September 9. I’m not having any luck tracking it down though.

Oh, also, Thom Gossom has since become a pretty successful actor.

Fight Songs

March 27, 2008 @ 18:33:21

Marketplace had an interesting story today about ownership of a school’s “fight song”. The particular song examined is Auburn University’s fight song, “War Eagle“. It was especially fun for me because Auburn is where I received my undergrad. The story opens with the song being played out of some unidentified trinket, which I’m willing to bet was this bottle opener (warning, linked site plays audio without asking). I’d bet on it because I’ve got one sitting in my kitchen.
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To Be Cheered For

March 7, 2008 @ 00:07:55

I originally saw this quote in the Feb. 25 issue of Sports Illustrated. They have a little spot called “They Said It” in which they post a quote by some athlete. I couldn’t find it at the Sports Illustrated website, but I did find it here. When LPGA golfer Paula Creamer was twelve, she had to decide between cheerleading and golf. The advice give to her by her father:

“My dad asked me if I wanted to cheer for other people or have people cheer for me,” Creamer says.

I think that’s pretty inspiring. When I asked my seven-year-old daughter if she knew what that meant, she summed it up perfectly by saying basically “Do you want to be the one who scores the points“. That’s such a great way to approach life.