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Super Bowl memories: Part II

Posted by keithosaunders on February 4, 2011

The 1980s and ’90s were an era of Super Bowl routs.  You can count the compelling games on one hand.  Whether it was the Buffalo Bill’s four-peat of futility, the reaming of the Denver Broncos, or the one-off pratfalls of the Chargers and Falcons, it was an era of lopsided spectacles.  I watched them all.

Super Bowl XXII — San Diego

Redskins vs Broncos

I watched the game at my Aunt Ellie’s and Uncle Herb’s in downtown Brooklyn, USA.  My friend Jeff and I volunteered to bring over food from the 2nd Ave Deli in the East Village.  We didn’t count on the fact that every Jew in New York had that same idea, and we ended up missing practically the entire 1st quarter.  By the time we arrived Denver was ahead 10-0 and had concluded the scoring portion of their afternoon.  Before we had finished our corned beef sandwiches, Doug Williams had thrown four 2nd quarter touchdown passes and the game was, at least for this blog’s purposes, over.

Super Bowl XXIII – Miami

49ers vs Bengals

A rematch of Super Bowl XVI.  This time I was couch-side for the action.  Once again Jeff and I found ourselves at Ellie and Herb’s, this time joined by cousin Alan.  This was one of the few good games of this era, capped off by a late 49ers drive to give them the victory.  After the game the normally mild-mannered Herb lost his temper.  All day long he had been doing the slow-burn because Alan, upon arriving, had taken his shoes off, and Herb hated feet.  When Herb’s repeated attempts to get Alan’s attention failed, he finally lost it, exploding in a rage of invectives — an eventful end to an action-packed day.

Super Bowl XXIV — New Orleans

49ers vs Broncos

The first of many Super Bowls I would watch at Jeff’s house in the Bronx.  I had a gig in Connecticut so Jeff taped the game.  Somehow I made it back to Jeff’s without having discovered the score.  What followed was a good old-fashioned blood-letting.  52-17 Niners.

Super Bowl XXV — Tampa

Giants (!) vs Bills 

Jeff scored tickets to this game, but I had a gig at a restaurant called Camelback and Central on the East side, with the singer, Richard Lanham, and was unable to go.  Thank god there was a TV there and I was able to see most of the action, most notably the Giant’s clock-eating 3rd quarter drive, the Bill’s 4th quarter scoring drive, and the subsequent Scotty Norwood missed field goal.  20-19 Jints!  

Super Bowl XXVI — Minneapolis

Redskins vs Bills

Don’t be fooled by the final score, which was 37-24 Redskins.  This game was 24-0 at the half and going nowhere fast.  I’ll give you $100.00 if you can name the Redskins quarterback.  Time’s up!   Mark Rypien.  The game was so forgettable I don’t even remember where I was.

Superbowl XXVII — Pasadena

Cowboys vs Bills

The Cowboys had become good again but more importantly for them, they played the Bills.  I watched the game in my Long Island City apartment (I was living in Queens by then) with my wife, Debra.  Final score:  52-17.  Ouch.

Super Bowl XVVIII — Atlanta

Cowboys vs Bills   

I went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida with my wife to visit my in-laws.  My parents flew in from Las Vegas to join us.  My brother, who was living in Orlando at that time, drove down to Ft Lauderdale to complete the family affair.  I watched the game mostly with my Dad and brother.  I say ‘mostly’ because midway through the 1st quarter my father in law sat down, watched one series of plays, and declared that Dallas would win the game.  He then left the room and we didn’t see him until dinner later that evening.  It turned out he was right.  30-13 Boys.

 Super Bowl XXIX — Miami

49ers vs Chargers

How ironic that with all of the supposedly great Chargers teams of recent history, their one actual Super Bowl team was a forgettable squad quaterbacked by, of all people, Stan Humphries.  Stan who?!    I had a gig at Trumpets in Montclair New Jersey and missed most of the game.  Good thing, too.  The 49ers romped.  What’s that I hear?  The 49ers just scored again!

Super Bowl XXX — Tempe

Cowboys vs Steelers

Not a bad game compared to the array of clunkers that preceded it.  Final score 27-17 Dallas.  I watched the game at my LIC pad with my wife, one year old son, Jake, and cousin Alan who had free reign to take his shoes off. 

Super Bowl XXXI — New Orleans

Packers vs Patriots

I watched the game with Alan’s poker cronies at the apartment of Dan Afariat (The Afarianator) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  At halftime a poker game broke out.  I drank too much beer, and all I recall is losing a large amount of money.  This was my pre anger management days and I ended up screaming at poor Alan.

Super Bowl XXXII — San Diego

Broncos vs Packers

Viva Las Vegas!  I was visiting my parents in Vegas and watched the game with my Dad.  The Broncos finally won one.

Super Bowl XXXIII — Miami

Broncos vs Falcons

DRG.  That stands for Don’t Remember Game.  This was Elway’s swan song.  He was da winnah.

To be continued…

 

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Super Bowl memories!

Posted by keithosaunders on February 2, 2011

It’s that time of year again.  A time of renewal and a time to reflect.  Without further ado I give you…Keitho’s Super Bowl sagas!

Before 1977 I wasn’t that interested in sports so my memories from that period are not specific enough to cite.  I remember Miami kicker Garo Yepremian trying to throw a pass after a botched field goal attempt in Super Bowl VII.  I also recall that the Mary Tyler Moore show used Super Bowl VIII — the Dolphins vs the Vikings — as  part of the plot for one of their episodes.   Most of the games in those days were one-sided affairs and were anti-climactic.  On the other hand, there wasn’t nearly as much hype around the games. 

Enough preamble, let’s get started.

Super Bowl XI — Pasadena

Raiders vs Vikings

I was there!  My Uncle Ernie got tickets and I went with my Dad, cousin R, and Ernie.  We parked in the driveway of the home of the L.A. District Attorney, John van De Kamp, who was friends with my uncle and lived walking distance of the Rose Bowl.  Our seats were a few rows in front of O.J. Simpson and Franco Harris who were sitting next to each other.  We also saw Cary Grant.  After the game we found that Ernie’s car was parked in by another friend of the D.A.’s.  My cousin, who had an impatient streak, ended up keying the guy’s car.

Super Bowl XII — New Orleans 

Cowboys vs Broncos

I watched this one in my Van Nuys living room with my Dad and my girlfriend.  The game was a rout but my girlfriend impressed us by knowing the names of the Broncos skill position players.

Super Bowl XIII — Miami 

Steelers vs Cowboys

Once again we were couch side at Casa Saunders although that year I was sans girlfriend.  Present were my Mom, Dad, brother, and cousin.  This was the brother of the cousin who keyed the car at SB XI. 

Super Bowl XIV — Pasadena

Steelers vs Rams

I was playing a gig at a club in Malibu called Pasquale’s with the drummer Roy McCurdy.  Rather than miss most of the game driving to the gig the band decided to arrive early, rehearse, and watch the game at the club-owner/bass player’s apartment, which was located above the club.  It was an exciting game but too bad the Rams lost.

Super Bowl XV — New Orleans

Raiders vs Eagles

The Eagles?!  I remember watching this one at home with my immediate family.  A terrible game but Philly was crazed with success from a few months earlier when the Phillies won the World Series for the first time in their history.  That being said they still await their first Super Bowl win.

Super Bowl XVI — Pontiac, MI

49ers vs Bengals

I missed this one because I was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.  I was upset because it turned out to be an exciting game and up until that year there hadn’t been that many compelling Super Bowls. 

Super Bowl XVII  — Pasadena

Redskins vs Dolphins

I only saw the first half of this one because I had a gig with drummer Dick Berk in Seal Beach which is way he hell down in Orange County, CA.  I remember listening to the second half on the radio and hearing John Riggins break off that long run for the deciding score.

Super Bowl XVIII — Tampa

Raiders vs Redskins 

For some reason I don’t have visceral memories of this one.  I probably was gigging with Berk again.  All I know is that Marcus Allen dominated.  This was the last Super Bowl I experienced while living in L.A.  It’s odd that I don’t remember this one too well since the Raiders had moved to L.A. by then.  You’d think it would have been a big deal for the city finally to have been a champion after all of the years of disappointment with the Rams. 

Super Bowl XIX – Stanford

49ers vs Dolphins

My first Super Bowl as a New York resident found me back on the west coast.  I was on the road with the saxophonist Richie Cole and we watched that game at his friend’s house on Whidbey Island somewhere off of the coast of Seattle.  The Marino era had dawned but unfortunately it would be his first and last Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XX — New Orleans

Bears vs Patriots

Daaaaaaaaa Bears!  Not much memories of this game other than the Bears dominance.  I was living in Brooklyn and must have watched the game at my Aunt and Uncles apartment on Jay St, which was near Brooklyn Heights.

Super Bowl XXI — Pasadena

Giants (!) vs Broncos 

New York had not yet come down from the high of the Mets improbable Series victory three months earlier.  Unlike Philly, New York was able to pull off the daily double and went on to claim the first of their three Super Bowls.  I watched the game at my cousin Judy’s in Rockville Center Long Island with her family, my Aunt Ellie, Uncle Herb, and my best friend Jeff.  After the game Jeff drove us all home which entailed making stops in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.  I tried to get him to go to Brooklyn first but he was having none of it.  After all, it was my family. Why should I get dropped off first?  This typical show of magnanimity on Jeff’s part prompted my Uncle to utter the now famous comment, “Jeff, you’re a prince.” 

To be continued…

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Seahawks give it!

Posted by keithosaunders on January 10, 2011

On Saturday the Seattle Seahawks pulled off the upset of the year beating the defending champion New Orleans Saints 41-36.  In the wake of the upset I hope I hope the NFL doesn’t mess with their playoff rules, preventing under .500 teams from qualifying.  True, the seedings are now skewed, but this is what makes sports worth watching — the unpredictable and the wacky.  This is the first time in over 80 years that a sub-.500 team has made the playoffs and I wouldn’t expect it to happen with any regularity. 

The Seahawks actually beat the Bears in week 6 of the regular season.  I’ll be rooting for them to knock off an inconsistent, yet consistently boring Bears team , thus putting the fear of God into the NFL (and myself)  of a Patriots-Seahawks Superbowl.  How about Jets-Seahawks?  We can dream, can’t we?

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Aloha

Posted by keithosaunders on December 24, 2010

I’m in Hawaii for Christmas.  Wasn’t there an Elvis song, Blue Hawaii?  Well that’s me this year; just me and The King.  I’m not going to waste your time describing what it’s like — you know the drill — tropical climate, the Leis, the Hulas, the Luaus, the one-armed, double-jointed stewardess.  Wait, did I go one too many?

A few points of interest are worth noting and then we’ll forget this ever happened.  After arriving at Kona Airport my sons and I drove one of the rental cars while my wife, ex-neighbor, and daughter took the other one.  Naturally, being guys, the  first thing we did was to check out the local radio stations.   First station,  reggae; second station, reggae; third station, smooth jazz; fourth station, reggae.  We even heard Christmas reggae music. 

“We wish you a reggae Christmas and a reggae New Year!” 

It’s a little too much, if you ask me.  There’s no jazz here, only of the smooth variety, and that’s not jazz, but Muzak to my ears. 

I don’t know how real sports fans live here.  Besides the fact that there are no pro local teams, with the earlier time zone the basketball and hockey games all begin at 2PM and are over with with by 9PM.  What do you do after that…listen to reggae? 

There is one perc, however.  This Sunday the Giants play a huge game in Green Bay against the Packers.  The game begins at 8AM Hawaiian time.  The way things are playing out I’ll be able to watch the entire game without disrupting my families’ plans.  I am da winnah.

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Sunday in the NFL featuring the Giants, Eagles, and 49ers.

Posted by keithosaunders on December 21, 2010

I actually have ties to all three of these teams.  I was born in Wilkes Barre, PA, about 100 miles north of Philadelphia, and had I grown up there I almost certainly would have been an Eagles fan.  I lived in New York City for 26 years and, like my father before me, I am an ardent Giants fan.  As of last August I became a resident of the Bay Area, and although I live in Berkeley, CA, which puts me in the middle of Raider country, the 49ers are considered a local team and we are subjected to, I mean, uh, presented with all of their games on television. 

The Giants suffered one of their all-time worst regular season losses, blowing a 21 point 4th quarter lead at home against the Eagles.  It was a game that featured over 100 yards rushing from quarterback Michael Vick, a successful Eagles onside kick, and a 65 yard game-winning punt return from Desean Jackson. 

The Giant punter, Matt Dodge, made a huge mistake by punting the ball directly to Jackson, who initially bobbled it, picked it up, and slashed his way through the Giants punt coverage like a rocket as the game clock expired.  I submit to you, however, that the real culprit is Giants coach Tom Coughlin.  On the Giant’s previous possession Eli Manning had thrown an incomplete pass on third down stopping the clock and setting up the punt.  The Eagles had no timeouts remaining and no way of stopping the clock.  The Giants should have run it on 3rd and even if they didn’t make the first down they could still have let the game clock wind down another 45 seconds before running a 4th down play.  That would have at least assured an overtime.  

This brings us to the 49ers, who in a bizarre twist of events are alive for a playoff spot while sporting a 5-9 record.  If the 49ers win their final two games and Seattle loses one of their final two games they will go into the playoffs as the leagues first sub .500 team.  Right now they are ranked 28th out of 32 teams in the Sagarin ratings yet they would go into the playoffs as the 4th seeded team.  Heck, they would even host a game on wild card weekend.

You’re probably thinking that this next paragraph is going to be about the injustice of the current playoff system and how there has to be changes made during the offseason.  No!  The NFL has gone 90 years without a team with a losing record being in the playoffs.  The chances of this happening on a regular basis are so remote as to be laughable.

I say we embrace the anomaly.  It’s quirky and will make for some intrigue.  So what if a Green Bay, Tampa Bay, or yes, even the Giants are shut out of the playoffs.  They all had their chances.  The Giants, of all teams, have no right to cry.  JUST PROTECT A 3 TOUCHDOWN LEAD!

Desean Jackson

Frank Gore

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Grannypack

Posted by keithosaunders on December 10, 2010

I was watching last Monday night’s Jets debacle with my 13 year old son when he asked, “Hey Dad, why do they wear the granny-packs? 

Granny packs?

“Those things around their waists.  You know, man-purses.”

I gave a closer look and sure enough about half of the Jets offense were wearing granny-packs.  What, I wondered, could possibly be inside?  Extra mouthpieces?  Steroids? 

We noticed that the Patriots players weren’t wearing them.  Had Bill Belichick instituted a strict no granny-pack policy?  Perhaps this is the secret to their dominance.  No distractions.  Focus! 

The other thing I’ve noticed is that every team has at least one lineman who is so large that you wonder where he could possibly find work outside of the NFL or the Los Angeles Clippers.  It’s amazing how big some of them are.  300 pounds is svelte these days.  They move remarkably well for their size.  They are quick, agile, and not to be trifled with.  I can’t help wondering what kind of wear and tear a body that size endures.  It can’t be pretty.

Finally, it must be a rule that every team has to have at least one player with Troy Polamalu hair.  You know what I’m talking about– the long, flowing curly locks billowing out of the helmet.  At first Polamalu was the only guy with that look.  Now even my grandfather has it.  It’s like, remember when Telly Savalas and Yul Brynner were the only completely bald guys you had ever heard of?  These days bald is a look.  Come to think of it, this actually bodes well for me.

Who loves ya, baby?!

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And now for some Thanksgiving weekend taping foibles

Posted by keithosaunders on November 29, 2010

My friend, Jeff Mazzei, and I have spent many a fine afternoon recounting taping foibles; that is failed attempts at setting the VCR timer.  Yes, you read correctly, VCR.  I’m old school, baby!  Some of these anecdotes were recounted here.  As a kind of coda to the Thanksgiving weekend I present to you two more taping foibles of a most recent vintage.

Today I awoke to the good news that my New York Giants were getting some Bay Area television play.  This was a by-product of the hapless Raider’s inability to sell out their stadium.  The Raiders had a late game against Miami.  If that game had sold out it would have been televised in this market, thereby necessitating an early FOX game.  (the Giants were at home vs the AFC Jacksonville Jaguars which put them on CBS)  Instead we were treated to an early CBS game, the Giants, and a late FOX game, the Eagles vs da Bears.

I had an early brunch gig in San Francisco so I quickly sprung into action, setting my DVR (yes, I have moved into the 21st century) to record the Giants.  I checked and double checked and everything seemed to be in order.  I went to the gig without a worry in the world.

I arrived at the gig to find that there was a TV in the bar showing the Giants game.  No worries.  We were playing in a different part of the restaurant and the other musicians didn’t seem to sports fans.  Wrong.  The trumpet player arrived and quickly announced that he was the first cousin of David Girard, the Jaguar quarterback.

What are the odds?  You tape a game and end up playing a gig with the cousin of the quarterback of one of the teams you are taping!  Needless to say the trumpet player kept going into the bar to check on the score and he was not shy about letting us know that the Jaguars were kicking butt.  (they had an early 17-9 lead) 

By the first break I had abandoned all hope of avoiding the score so I happily joined the trumpet player in the bar for some third quarter action.  The Jags had the ball and were driving when the Giants D came up big for a stop.  A punt pinned the Giants at their own 10 and I boldly announced that they would drive 90 yards for the tying touchdown and two point conversion.  And they did.  We had to go back to work and by the time we finished the Giants had a 24-20 comeback win.  I wish I could have seen the entire game but at least I had a brush with greatness. 

Now for the rarest of rarities:  A taping non-foible!  Here it is in Jeff Mazzei’s own words.

Here’s my taping tale.  I opted to not tape any of the Thanksgiving games on the assumption that I’d hear or see the scores anyway, and I was getting back Sunday for the live games.  [Jeff was on vacation in Cape May, NJ]  I wound up seeing the 2nd half of the Dallas game which was real good.  I decided I’d just try to find the Jet highlights or read about it in Friday’s paper.  To this moment in time (Sunday), I have not been able to find out a thing about that game.  The taping gods mock me.

 This is the bitter irony that befalls the taper.  When you try to avoid the score you end up playing a gig with the quarterbacks’ cousin , but when you really want a score it is nowhere to be found.  Good day.

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Let’s talk turkey

Posted by keithosaunders on November 26, 2010

I spent Thanksgiving with my father in Las Vegas.   We had our “dinner” at 1 in the afternoon, which I initially thought to be way too early of a starting time.  In effect, however, it dovetailed perfectly with the NFL schedule allowing us to see most, if not all of the three games. 

The Lions were blown out in the early game but they did us the favour of jumping out to a big lead.  True, they gave us false hope of an improbable upset over Bill Belichick and the hated Patriots, but hey, they kept it close until the 4th quarter thereby giving us more joy than we had a right to expect from this ill begotten team.

We were finished with “dinner” by 2:30 which allowed us to repair to the living room for the  Dallas-New Orleans contest.  By the time we got to it the score was 17-0 Saints leading us to believe we were in for a long afternoon.  Not that either of us are Dallas fans — far from it — we just craved a competitive matchup while we digested our food.

Lo and behold the game turned around and Dallas actually went in front 27-23 late in the 4th and had the ball to boot.   When Roy Williams caught a breakaway pass late in the period it looked as if they would ice the game, but all of a sudden a defender, Malcolm Jenkins, snatched the ball away from for the turnover.  The Saints then drove 89 yards for the go-ahead score.  The game was not over, though, and Dallas actually got into position for a tieing 59 yard field goal.  The kick had the distance but went wide left.  Ballgame. 

The announcers couldn’t get over the brilliance of Jenkin’s takeaway.  To these amateur eyes, however, it looked like Williams could have covered the ball up more than he did. He has to know that even if he doesn’t score, as long as he keeps possetion, the game is probably over.   At worst it would have ended up tied going into overtime, allowing for more Thanksgiving day football!

Full disclosure:  We didn’t watch most of the Jets game.  The Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster film, Seven Days in May came on TCM and once we flipped to it during a break in the Jets game we couldn’t turn away.  It’s a tense, political thriller that seems just as relevant to today as it did in the cold war ’60s.

So there you have it.  I heartedly recommend the early Thanksgiving dinner.  It is the sports fan’s best friend.

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I have a dream: A world without booth reviews

Posted by keithosaunders on November 19, 2010

Sometimes it feels like I’m on an island.  I am the only one I know who would be happier if the NFL did not use instant replay.  For years we got along without it and we did just fine.  In fact, if you asked to name one important game that was lost due to lack of instant replay I would be stumped.

To be honest I don’t care if the refs get it right or not.  All I want is for the game to keep moving.  I have confidence that the refs are professional enough that they will call the play called correctly over 90% of the time.  That’s enough for me.

How many times are you enjoying an exciting game only to have it interrupted to decide whether or not both of the receiver’s feet were inbounds?  Not only does the game come to a grinding halt but we are then subjected to at least a half-dozen replays.  Not to mention the mind-numbing speculation by the announcer as to the ruling.   By the time the ref gets his ass out from behind the curtain I don’t even care if the call is reversed.  I just to see more of the damn game.

Worse still is when the game gets down to the final two minutes of the 2nd and the 4th quarters, at which point the refs upstairs decide if a play is reviewable.  They always err on the side of caution;  they will call for a booth review if the left tackle so much as sneezes. 

Under the current system it stands to reason that half of the time the call is going to go your way, meaning in favour of the team you’re rooting for, and the other half of the time you’ll be disappointed.  Wouldn’t it be exactly the same without replay?  Sometimes a bad call will go your way, sometimes it won’t.  The only difference is that without replay the game moves at a much faster pace. 

Human error is part of life.  Sometimes imperfections give it character.  I don’t care if Max Roach speeds up and I also don’t care if Chad Ochocinco is inbounds or not!

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Still some Giant steps to take in 2010

Posted by keithosaunders on November 12, 2010

So far this season the New York Giants look like the class of the NFC.  They have been relatively injury free and their defense looks like night and day compared to last season’s porous mess.  Eli Mainning is having a dream season, and in Hakeem Nicks he’s found a target to replace Plaxico Burris. 

We will soon find out just how serious the Giants are.  They have yet to play the Eagles, who now feature a healthy and lethal Michael Vick.  Also remaining on the schedule are dates with the Vikings, who at appeared to be revitalized last week with a dramatic come-from-behind win over the Cardinals.   They also play the Packers which very well could decide who gets home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  Throw in two dates with the Redskins, and one with Jacksonville and you have one tough second half of a season.  Ironically, the only gimme on the schedule is this week’s home game against the feckless Cowboys. 

Fasten your seatbelts.

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