I WAS RIGHT...

...Kinda.

Okay, my prediction for the New Orleans Bowl was half right. I wrote: Actually, the New Orleans Bowl on Sunday might be a pretty good game. It features Troy vs. Southern Miss...two good teams with state pride in play. I'm taking Troy by 3 (30-27).

As it turned out, I had the score perfectly currekt! I just had the winner wrong. But I'll tell y'all, that was one entertaining college football game to watch. I love to watch talented guys play the game, and both teams have more than a few guys that might be playing on Sunday in a few years. It was a good game...I'll look at it next year.

The only bad thing was when that boy broke his leg. I'll tell y'all, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Early in the game, this young wide receiver for Southern Miss went down the field looking to catch a touchdown pass near the end zone. The pass wasn't spot-on, and he turned back to catch it. The Troy Trojan that was covering him didn't hit him...their legs didn't get tied up...nothing! But that receiver (I can't remember his name right now) fell to the ground. His leg was up in the air, and I swear, that young man looked like he had two knees on the same leg. It was like his leg just snapped off about 6 inches below his knee.

The fellow from Troy that was covering him looked down and started screaming at the fellows on the sideline for help. The receiver that was hurt pulled his helmet off, and threw it half-way to Biloxi...I knew he was hurt. Bad. Real bad.

Later on in the game, the brilliant play-by-play crew gave an update stating that this fellow was at University Hospital in New Orleans and it had been confirmed that he had a "lower leg fracture." Really????? No...Really???? But it was a good game anyway, and I got the score right.

I was right about my beloved Dallas Cowboys, too. I knew that my 'Boys were going to lose their last home game at Texas Stadium. I just knew it. My 'Boys are doing their very best, week by week, to miss the playoffs. It's almost like there is some kind of thought process going on in Dallas that says, "Hey, we got to the playoffs and lost last season...if we don't get to the playoffs, then it'll be impossible to lose a playoff game...so let's just stink up the regular season and we won't face that same disappointment again." Hopefully, next week The Eagles will want to lose more than the Cowboys do. We shall see which team loves defeat the most.

And, I was right also about the Detroit Lions/New Orleans Saints game. I have been looking through my word book for a way to describe just how bad the Detroit Lions are...but there ain't one in there. The Lions are the worst team in the State of Michigan...pro, college & high school included. When you lose 42-7 at home, to a team that's not going to the playoffs...you really can make a stockyard smell bad.

I was busy, so I only watched a little bit of the game. But I thought about Bobby Bare's old country music song "Detroit City." Bobby sang, "Last night I went to sleep in Detroit City..." I'm glad to know that Bobby's doing so well now, and playing for the Lions. Man, those guys are terrible. They remind me of the expansion Tampa Bay Bucaneers, except they aren't that good, and not nearly as funny.

I loved following the Bucs through their 1976 season (0-14 if memory serves...The Lions have eclipsed them only because they play 16 games now), because QB Doug Williams was a Louisiana boy. I have met Doug since he retired...fine gentleman to be sure. But I especially loved coach John McKay. He was one card for sure. I remember an interview he gave once where the reporter asked him about his legacy as a coach. McKay answered "Legacy? I don't care about how I'm remembered. What I want out of life is a fat wallet & a smooth backswing."

I got to looking around the computer and found this collection of McKay quotes. Enjoy:

Vintage John McKay
One of the highlights of the 1976 season though were the quotes from John McKay. Not just content with being a good coach, McKay was at his hilarious best throughout the 14-game losing streak in that expansion season and beyond.

“It bothers me that they (the national media) have picked us to be the worst team in football. Because what they are doing now is challenging your physical and your mental capacity and my ability to coach you. Now, this hurts me. Second worst team, I could stand it. But not the worst team.”

“We’ve broken down the expansion teams and they’ve averaged winning 2.7 games their first year, which to me is rather difficult. I figured out the 2, but the .7 has got me wondering what the hell is going on.”

When he heard that one of the kickers during training camp, Pete Rajecki, had mentioned he was nervous kicking in front of his coach, McKay asked that the press “Tell Mr. Rajecki that I plan to attend all the games.”

"Kickers are like horse manure. They're all over the place."

"We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking."
"Intensity is a lot of guys that run fast."

"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."

On his team's blocking strategy: "Hold when you're at home and don't hold when you're on the road."

"If you have everyone back from a team that lost ten games, experience isn't too important."

On how coaching an expansion team is a religious experience: "You do a lot of praying, but most of the time the answer is 'no.' "

“I’ll probably take a little time off and go hide somewhere. We will be back. Maybe not this century, but we will be back and we will be a better football team.”

On the Buccaneers poor special-teams play, “They were absolutely horrible and that’s the best thing I can say. Besides that they were bad. These people are not poorly paid you know.”

On the play of Joe Namath in the Jets 34-0 victory over Tampa Bay, “Namath is still Namath, but I must say that our guys were nice to him. I noticed when they knocked him down, they helped him to his feet. That was gentlemanly. I thought one stood around long enough to get his autograph.”

On how badly the Bucs looked in losing to the Steelers 42-0, “There were times I felt like leaving the stadium and hitchhiking home.”

"If a contest had ninety-seven prizes, the ninety-eighth would be a trip to Green Bay."

On Tampa Bay ending its 26-game losing streak: "Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs."

Well, that's about it. I was right...kinda.