JohnO

Anybody know why the song isn't on the soundtrack album? There are 11 tracks on it - 2 Danny Elfman instrumental pieces, a Johnny Depp reading of "The Joker", and 8 originals from '72. . . . .Nights In White Satin (Moodies), I'm Sick Of You (Iggy Pop), Season of the Witch (Donovan), Top Of The World (Carpenters), My First, My Last, etc. (Barry White), Get It On (T. Rex), No More Mr. Nice Guy (Alice C.), and Ballad of Dwight Fry (also Alice). Wonder if Eric was approached about using the original GATW?

Long-time Memphis musical mainstay Charles "Skip" Pitts passed away the other day at age 65, due to cancer. He was Isaac Hayes' guitarist for years - that was Skip on the wah-wah pedal on the "Theme From Shaft", and did tons of sessions for Stax/Volt (his guitar on The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing.") Most recently the guitarist for The Bo-Keys - both of their recent CDs are worth picking up. Saw them live at three Ponderosa Stomps in New Orleans (2008-2010). RIP

"I LOVE "only Japan""!!! Good for you! My use of the term "unfortunate" refers to the fact that the CD costs between $53 and $54 US dollars for the CD, including shipping from Japan. If the CD is released in this country, I'm guessing it will cost maybe $15 - $18......and a lot more people would be able to enjoy the music. It's unfortunate for those people who can't afford the import CD, and the artist (Flashcubes) as well, since they probably won't be able to sell many copies at the current price.

Just got my copy of "Sportin' Wood", the new Roy Wood tribute album by The Flashcubes the other day, and noticed that Bernie is responsible for art direction of the CD's cover. . . .an excellent collection of covers of 12 songs by one of my all-time favorite artists, and The Flashcubes nail them! An awesome overall package, including a very cool cover, and produced by the 'Cubes drummer Tommy Allen, a member of this board/site. (Unfortunately, it only appears to be available in Japan now.)

Per Levon's web site, he passed away peacefully today. Very sad, but he outlasted The Band's other singers, Richard Manuel (suicide at age 42), and Rick Danko (drug-related heart failure at 56). . . . a lot of tragedy associated with that bunch.

I've read reports that he's gone, but haven't gotten confirmation yet. P.S. Levon wrote "Dixie Chicken"? Lowell George is spinning in his grave about that, I bet. Hard to believe Lowell's been gone for close to 33 years now.

No surprise, based on Robbie Robertson's comment about him at the R&R HoF induction last week. Levon doesn't just have cancer - he's in the final stages at this point, and has little time left. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1998, and underwent massive radiation treatments, and then surgery, which robbed him of his voice. It eventually returned in 5-6 years, at which point he started recording again. Sadly, the tumor has returned.

Hmmmm. . . . could have sworn that the rules here require political posts to go in Cartoon World. Or am I incorrect? After being fed a long-term diet here of "if you don't want to read the political posts here, then just stay out of Cartoon World", why can't we all just keep the politics there? To me, it's just plain common courtesy to the board members here.

No, actually you didn't have to share it here, in Everything. . . .might have been more appropriate in, let's say. . . . Cartoon World, no?

Paulie - I would feel differently about the Manning situation if he had gotten to the point where he's aging and injury-prone.....I didn't realize that he'd never missed a game with the Colts in 13 seasons. He'll be 36 for the upcoming season, but he's been a model of consistency his entire career, and I think he got treated pretty shabbily, considering all he's done for that team. It's not as if he wanted to leave there. They dumped him, apparently to avoid having to pay him a bonus he had coming. I can't blame him for wanting to go with the best possible team. I think the Colts are robbing Andrew Luck (assuming they draft him) of an invaluable education by pushing Peyton M. out the door. He basically ran their offense....something that Luck certainly won't be ready to do yet. The 49ers were a viable option for Manning, but I think he wanted to stay in the AFC. Had he signed there, well.....Alex Smith won 2 playoff games last year, and almost a third, and had a Pro Bowl caliber season, yet would have left. Tebow beating the Steelers....sure, it was impressive, but I remember the likes of Trent Dilfer, Kerry Collins and Rex Grossman getting their teams to Super Bowls (and winning them, in the case of Dilfer in Baltimore)....and they got dumped very shortly after, for QBs their teams felt were upgrades. As I stated earlier in this thread, Tebow's moving after 2 seasons in Denver isn't that big a deal in the overall scheme of things to fans who've been following the NFL closely for decades, and know what a harsh business it can be. IMO, the media has made it a lot bigger deal than it should be.

Jason Reid wrote an interesting column in the Wash Post the other day, about how the "L" in NFL certainly doesn't stand for loyalty....and he made a great point that nobody's mentioned here yet. Tebow's popularity aside, a team dumping a QB who finished 28th out of 34 qualifiers for the league passing title, after 13 starts in 2 years, isn't that unusual. However, a team dumping a certain Hall of Famer, who's been the face of his franchise for 13 years, with 2 Super Bowl appearances and 1 title, 10 playoff appearances, 4 MVPs (a record), 11 Pro Bowl appearances, a .680 W/L %, 11 out of 13 seasons passing for 4,000+ yards (worst ever - 3,739 yards as a rookie......versus Tebow's 1729 yards), after his FIRST injury ever that caused him to miss a game, after 208 straight starts....when they have no guarantee that Luck or Griffin or any draftee is actually going to pan out......seems unconscionable and ridiculous! Denver management wasn't loyal???.....How about the Colts' management??? (and yeah, Peyton's an "asshole"......based on his wanting to continue to play after multiple surgeries??)

Good to see that Tim T's getting a typical warm New York greeting!......So far, CB Antonio Cromartie has tweeted that the team doesn't need him, Sanchez is just fine; Joe Namath said that the Jets' acquisition of him "stinks", and is a slap in the face to Sanchez; and Mike Lupica of the Daily News referred to it as the latest sideshow attraction in the never-ending Jets' circus. In this day and age, however....show me an NFL team with a lousy backup QB, and I'll show you a bad team that usually falls apart when their starter gets hurt. Last year alone, for example - the Chicago Bears were 7-3, riding high on a 5 game winning streak, and apparently playoff-bound again, when Cutler broke his thumb. With Caleb Hanie (who looked good the year before against the Packers in the NFC title game) starting, they went 1-5, beating only the hapless Vikings the last game of the season....and they had to sign veteran backup Josh McCown before the end of the season, to replace Hanie. For a more obvious example, the Colts without Peyton Manning or a decent backup QB.....from 10 wins to 2. Tebow's QB days are not over, even if he does start the season sitting on the bench for a team that he really didn't want to play for......although he may change his mind if the Jets step up the use of the Wild Cat, and/or he starts getting much more lucrative endorsement deals from just being in NY.

Paulie - This is exactly why I was asking the question the other day about why there was a necessity to get rid of Tebow, instead of letting him sit and learn behind Manning. Nobody knows how Peyton's repaired neck is going to hold up. If he goes down, who's going to play for Denver? Denver is rolling the dice here that Manning is going to stay healthy. If he does, they'll probably look like geniuses. If not....or if Tebow wildly succeeds in NY, hey, GMs and coaches are fired in the NFL every year. Those are two jobs with next to no job security. However, I do NOT think that signing Manning was part of any kind of a plot designed to get rid of Tebow....Elway, Fox and company aren't deliberately trying to sabotage their team just so they can dump one player. They're definitely trying to win and win big. If anywhere near 100%, Peyton M. can do that, no doubt. What makes this issue really interesting for me is that there appear to be two diametrically opposed camps on this subject....the old school football scouts, coaches, media types and experts, who are convinced that Tebow will never be able to play at a high level consistently....and no, he didn't do that last year, in spite of his overall 8-5 record. He was either ungodly great (mostly in the 4th quarters) or horrible (the first 3 quarters of most games, and in his games where the Broncocs lost). Then, on the other side, are fans who don't give a damn about his fundamentally unsound footwork, passing mechanics, etc......they point to the fact that the team made the playoffs after a 1-4 start, and his games were exciting, at least the wins. And this viewpoint is equally valid. And there appears to no compromise at all between these two sides.

Just read an on-line analysis which said that, assuming the Jets and Broncos can settle on who pays Tebow the $5M salary advance, Ryan intends to use him as a situational player, running the wild cat offense. This particular journalist said that this is probably the most effective way to use his skills. Regarding the advance. . . . . . apparently Tebow's contract calls for a $5M advance, of which he has received $1M already. The Jets expect Denver to pay all of it, but Denver wants NY to pick it up. This particular item apparently ended a potential deal between Denver and Jacksonville. If the NY trade falls through, Arizona is a possibility for TT.

Just curious to see if Goodell goes back and penalizes Williams' former clubs. He was defensive coordinator in Jacksonville in '08 and Washington from '04 - '08, Buffalo head coach from '01 - '03, and Tennessee's d. coordinator from '97 - '00. So far, I've heard or read about accusations regarding bounties from his Bills and Redskins days. I know that Joe Gibbs gave him total autonomy in Washington as far as the defense, and would be shocked if he didn't have a bounty system there.

So Tebow went to the Jets? Well, no guarantee he'll start there, but he certainly will be a positive influence in their locker room (and hopefully on their a-hole of a coach!) Interesting, how a 1st round pick from 2 years ago, who was pretty damn successful his second year in the league, and who will generate ticket and merchandise sales, is now only worth a 4th round pick, no? I've heard car dealers/salesmen say that the minute you drive a car off the lot after buying it, it's depreciated about 40-50% immediately. Sounds about the same for NFLers...... CORRECTION/EDIT - Tebow and a 7th round pick were traded for a 4th and a 6th.

Pat - Kelly Tripucka is Frank's son. Forgot to mention that.

Paulie - Also, please keep in mind that the examples I gave above were pro-active steps initiated by long-time football coaches and minds.....not reactive, dumbing-down measures, which, frankly, is the way the Broncos coaching staff and media portrayed their attempts to tailor their playbook and plays specifically for Tim T. This was a huge mistake by whoever started this nonsense, feeding the media this info. From what I've read, the kid's got a football mind like a sponge, absorbing anything and everything he hears and reads. Certainly, the staff wasn't going to let him run pass plays that require pin-point accuracy on slant routes run by receivers - his release isn't that quick at this point. However, this got portrayed in the media as - the Broncos coaches had to significantly modify and dumb-down their playbook to suit Tebow's playing style. Quite honestly....I'm sure the Eagles had to do the same when Vick got hurt; the Bears certainly did when Cutler went down; and the Colts, for sure, didn't allow their backups to run plays designed specifically for Peyton Manning last year. The difference - these cases weren't bandied about in the media, with their backup QBs treated like idiots or worse.

Paulie - Yes, if I recall, Namath, the first QB to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season, was criticized, as was Weeb Ewbank, his coach, for throwing the ball so damn much. (And Namath's big mouth, coupled with the fact that he was really the first big name college QB to sign with the AFL over the NFL, didn't help much.) How they silenced everybody was by kicking the sh*t out of the Colts in Super Bowl 3, running the ball down their throats and playing a very physical game. The rise of the passing game seemed to coincide with a lot of non-mobile QBs like Sonny Jurgensen (pretty fat for a QB), Namath (bad knees), and Blanda (getting up in years), and the new league (AFL) is where the passing game got more pronounced first. Lionel Taylor of the Broncos was the first player to catch 100 passes in a season. What caused the NFL to start passing more was, IMO, their two consecutive Super Bowl losses. After the Jets won convincingly in Super Bowl 3, the Chiefs beat the Hell out of the Vikings in Super Bowl 4, although the NFL teams were heavy favorites each year. After those two games, the leagues merged into the NFL with two conferences in 1970. I don't think there's as much resentment toward Tebow's playing style, as there is skepticism among football experts, who, frankly, have seen this kind of thing before..., and it usually doesn't last past a season or so. The 49ers were the first team using a shotgun formation in 1960, and they terrorized the league for about half a season, beating everybody, before Buddy Ryan, then the Bears' defensive coordinator, devised a defense against it that worked. Still, the shotgun didn't die - it was modified and used on just passing downs...the Jets started using it on 3rd & longs, to allow Namath more time to set up pass plays with his bad knees. It's still used to this day. Other examples - the 2 minute drill exercise with no huddle, the prevent defense (which doesn't seem to work that well, IMO), and the Cowboys'and Tom Landry's insane offense where they alternated QBs every play, with the incoming QB bringing in the play to the huddle. Landry did it first in the early 60s with Don Meredith & Eddie LeBaron, then brought it back in the 70s with Staubach and Craig Morton. Usually, they'd win 3-4 games and run up huge point totals, but then would burn out, and Landry would pick just one QB at that point.

One more issue regarding Tebow's future, that a friend of mine just reminded me about.....While I agree with Mar's post about the level of excitement that Tim T. generated for Broncos' fans last season, I suspect he generated an equal but opposite reaction among his coaches, GM and owner, relative to his long-term survival odds. While Peyton M. has health issues regarding how his surgically repaired body will react to getting hit frequently once the regular season starts in Denver, he has a very quick release when passing, and as a general rule, gets hit or sacked less than the average QB. Tebow, on the other hand, by frequently taking off and running, and passing out of the pocket while on the run, invites serious injuries.....as occurred in that last playoff game with New England, when he suffered a torn cartilage between a rib and his sternum, a badly bruised lung, and accumulated fluid in the associated pleural cavity. Odds are, had they won, he might not have been able to play the next week. He is as strong as an ox, and may have played anyway....but between his playing style and the fact that he's going to have a bull's eye target on him the rest of his career, due to last season's publicity, he needs to tone down his game a bit for the sake of his career, I think. I suspect whoever winds up with Tim T. is going to try to convert him to a traditional pocket passer, as opposed to having to write a separate offensive playbook for the team when he plays. He proved he could play in the traditional QB manner against Pittsburgh the week before the Patriots game. While this may inevitably cut down on the excitement factor, as far as the fans, it should lengthen his career.

BTW, Tripucka wasn't the only aging ex-QB to come out of retirement when the AFL started up. Tobin Rote, who was QB at Green Bay from '50 - '56 (remember him, Larry?), then Detroit from '57 - '59 (including leading the Lions to their last NFL title, in '57, pre-Super Bowl, of course), retired after '59, only to come back and play for the San Diego Chargers in the new league from '63 to '65, then Denver for 1 more year as a backup. He was 36 when he un-retired.....and the Chargers won the AFL title his first year back! George Blanda also pulled the unretirement stunt, but he was only out of football for a year ('59), playing 10 years in the NFL, retiring for 1 year, and then coming back and playing 16 additional years in the AFL/AFC...(retired at age 48.)

Frank Tripucka's the original QB on the Broncos when the AFL was formed. He's the Broncos' original # 18....and I doubt that many remember him, even in Denver. He had a very strange career....played at Notre Dame in college, was drafted by the Detroit Lions in '49. Played 3-4 years in the NFL, mostly as a backup, and retired early. THEN - came out of retirement 8 years later, in 1960, at age 33, to become the Broncos' starting QB their first year in the AFL. Was their starter for 3 seasons, backup for 1, then retired again for good at age 36. I made the comment yesterday about how Tebow could have been a great QB 50 years ago....This is what I'm talking about....Tripucka in 1952, as a starting QB, threw 186 passes in 12 games, completed 91 (about 48% completed), for 809 yards, 3 TDs and 17 interceptions. His # of attempts and completions ranked 8th in the league at that time! BTW, his initial year in Denver, 1960, he passed for an AFL-leading 3,038 yards, 24 TDs and 34 interceptions.

Frankly, whoever winds up with Tebow (New England, Jacksonville, Philly) is likely to try to continue to convert him to being a "normal" NFL drop-back QB, with the possible exception of Philly. Belichick, I'm guessing, wants him as insurance against Brady becoming more injury prone as he gets older.....but I doubt that Bill B. will devise 2 offensive sets. Belichick is also pretty eccentric, though, and could just turn TT loose to do what he does if Brady gets hurt. I agree with Patrick that Philly may be TT's best fit, because Michael Vick probably plays closer to Tebow's style than any other current starting QB, and his learning Philly's system wouldn't be a real stretch.....although Vick is allowed to air it out frequently, and TT would have to improve the accuracy of his mid- to long-range passing. Also, Vick's QB draws depend on his sheer quickness and speed, and TT is more of a power runner. Not sure about how Tebow would fare against arguably the world's worst fans, though. Peyton an asshole? I don't care one way or the other for the Mannings, but I can't blame Peyton for doing what he's doing. Every QB in the NFL has an ego the size of the state of Montana, no exceptions; if they didn't, they wouldn't be playing the position. If Manning's anywhere close to 100% healed, he'll be a bargain for Denver. His career winning percentage is .678, which puts him in the all-time top 5 or 6 QBs.....and he's essentially a coach on the field as well. As far as karma and religion/faith?.....The kind of thing happening this very minute to Tim Tebow happens every damn year in the NFL! Nobody's job is guaranteed, due to the nature of the game, the prevalence of serious injuries that regularly occur, and foolishness with the salary cap. (NOTE: One of the problems I have with a salary cap in sports is precisely this....there are a lot of still very good players who get cut from teams or traded solely because their salaries are too high and their teams, in lieu of negotiating with them to take a possible cut, just dump them.) Is Denver tempting the fates by getting rid of Tebow? Why??? What exactly makes him so damn special? Is he bigger than the game? To hear people talk about him, you'd think he's overcome so much to get where he is......Hell - he was allowed to play high school football for a school he never attended (home-schooled), which isn't even legal in most states, was the youngest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, and for a college which won 2 National titles while he was there (as well as 35-36 of their players being arrested during Meyer's last 5 years there), and was a multi-millionaire before ever lacing up his shoes to play a single NFL game (endorsements). Does the kid have talent? Certainly! He's an amazing athlete....and probably would have made a great pro QB 50 years ago, when 15-20 passes were attempted per team per game, and the QB's completed less than 50% of them......

Now...regarding Tebow....I don't personally give a damn if he's a Muslim who takes out a prayer rug and bows to Mecca after throwing TD passes! I just don't care about any athlete's religion or faith....none of my business. While fans get all excited about last second come-from-behind finishes....sorry, but any coach, GM or owner worth his salt would prefer to see his team win convincingly....which the Broncos certainly didn't do in most of their wins last year.....and none of the 7 wins in regular season games where TT played were against winning teams. Also, Tebow's fans conveniently forget that, in the wake of his team's 6 game winning streak, the Broncos had, I believe, a 2 game lead in their Division, with an 8-5 record. All they had to do was win 1 of their last 3 games, 2 of which were against teams with losing records, to sew up the Division title. They proceeded to lose to New England 41-23 (expected), to Buffalo (40-14 - NOT expected), and Kansas City (7-3....ditto). All that saved them was the fact they were in a crappy Division, with three teams tied at 8-8, and they had the tiebreaker. I suspect Elway and Fox wanted to dump him at that point. What saved him undoubtedly was the playoff win against Pittsburgh....and the fact that he finally looked like he could develop into a "normal" drop-back passing QB. But then, once again, he ran out of "miracles" against New England. Why go after Manning, in lieu of simply handing the job to Tebow? One simple reason....while the kid's loaded with leadership skills and charisma, he operates best as a wild card/loose cannon at QB, seemingly improvising as he goes along. And while it works to his advantage as far as confounding defenses, who don't know how to play him, it's also confusing as Hell to his own Offensive Coordinator and, I'm guessing, his receivers as well. No coach wants to to have to develop two entirely different offensive schemes - one for Tebow, one for their other QBs if Tebow gets hurt - and aside from Brett Favre, a very rare exception, that WILL and does happen at some point to all QBs. The fact that Elway himself was one of the all-time greatest drop-back QBs certainly didn't help Tebow. A question that needs to be asked - Why exactly do they have to trade Tim T. now? A 1-2 year stint playing as Manning's backup would be a priceless education for ANY young QB (and sitting behind Brett F. for several years certainly didn't hurt Aaron Rodgers.....) It seems to me that the team's probably doing it to ensure that the fans don't start screaming for him every time Manning throws a pick or doesn't convert a 3rd down play. And as far as "miracles" and God being on Tebow's side......if that's the case, who exactly is on Eli Manning's side?????? I'm pretty sure he led the Giants to more comeback wins than Tebow, and two of his were in the NFC title game and Super Bowl.....and he led a 9-7 team, worst record in history for a Super Bowl champion. (Frankly, I think God has a lot more important business on his/her plate than the outcome of NFL games.....)

A comment or two about Alex Smith. After being taken with the very first pick in 2005, here's what he did his first 6 seasons in SF: Played in 54 games, missed 42 (injuries, including shoulder problems and a couple of concussions. He missed the entire 2008 season after shoulder surgery); His team had a 37-59 record over those 6 seasons - no playoff appearances, no winning years (and in the 54 games in which he played, the team's W/L % was about the same as the team's); Smith threw for 51 TDs, 53 interceptions, and a passing rating of about 72. Local media compared him to Ryan Leaf, as far as the worst early draft picks ever to be huge busts in the NFL at QB. First year under new coach Jim Harbaugh, who visited Smith before the season and talked him out of leaving SF and giving him (Harbaugh) a shot for one season - Played all 16 games, # of sacks way down; threw for 17 TDs and 5 interceptions, a 90.7 passing rating. The team went 13-3 and made it to the NFC title game in the playoffs. Now.....all things considered, does Alex REALLY want to leave Harbaugh? If so, good luck! P.S. And don't get me wrong, I'd probably be pissed too if my team went all out after a QB who's just had multiple neck surgeries, and is no guarantee to be anywhere close to 100% in the future....But the fact is, Peyton turned them down. If I were Alex, I'd really, really be tempted to give Harbaugh another chance.