13 NOV 05: P-RESSURE T-EST 109
OK, I'll mention it right off the bat -- Texas 66, Kansas 14. Who WAS it who sang "Back to Life, Back to Reality?!"
With my one-week college football bubble successfully punctured, several big college football battles unfolded in our area Saturday. It ended Saturday night with the 109th Auburn-Georgia game. For you younger readers - no, I do NOT think Larry Munson attended the first one.
BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: Auburn won a 31-30 classic on a field goal in the final ten seconds, even though D.J. Shockley played for Georgia. Perhaps the bigger "shock" was that John Vaughn made a clutch kick for Auburn on the road.
Auburn had a big night from running back Kenny Irons. He carried the ball 37 times for 181 yards - enough that I nominate him to replace Lou Gehrig as the "Iron Horse."
(Did Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville recruit this runner simply to give his team a psychological edge next week? It could be the "Irons Bowl," you know....)
With no cable TV or satellite dish, your "blogger on a budget" listened to the Auburn-Georgia game on radio. Georgia announcer Larry Munson asked at one point where Auburn keeps finding so many good running backs. Maybe if Herschel Walker and Garrison Hearst did a bit more recruiting....
The Auburn-Georgia game went back and forth - and at one point Larry Munson warned fans: "Don't think Lady Luck is smiling on us. She is not." That's OK, Larry. Since nobody won Mega Millions Friday night, she didn't smile on anybody else.
It was a night for all sorts of other wonderful Larry Munson comments:
+ Early in the second half, he noted: "We have a six-point lead. That does not mean anything." How nice of Munson to do Coach Tommy Tuberville's work for him.
+ Later in the second half, Munson declared: "We've got to find a hero somewhere." Big rivalry games like this one don't allow for free military veterans' tickets.
+ Munson even asked for an "old junkyard dog" to play defense at one point. I thought the pro wrestler with that name died several years ago.
But what IS the matter with WRCG radio, that its signal remains terrible after all these months? At times I heard WSB radio's Georgia-Auburn broadcast from Atlanta better than WRCG in downtown Columbus - and let's face it, every Larry Munson broadcast now could be his last.
(WRCG promised listeners a 60-day test period for its new Phenix City antenna back in the summer. It's now mid-November - and I'm starting to wonder if this station is trying to broadcast to Smiths Station or Columbus.)
Meanwhile, Auburn broadcaster Rod Bramlett also had some fun moments. When the winning field goal was kicked, he said "GOOD!" about as long as the stadium clock ran on the kick.
Both broadcast booths agreed that a questionable third-quarter pass was dropped by a Georgia receiver. Rod Bramlett saw the freshman receiver smiling, and said he had his "hand caught in the cookie jar." After all these years, you'd think someone would create a container with a padlock for such things.
By the way, did you know the first two Auburn-Georgia games were played in February? This was more than 100 years ago - before anyone realized you should only play arena football at that time of year.
Meanwhile, Alabama's dream of an undefeated season ended with a 16-13 overtime loss to Louisiana State. L.S.U. kicker Chris Jackson was 1-for-4 on field goals - which had me wondering if Auburn's kicker called him during the week.
Lest we forget: Columbus State University's men's basketball team ambushed Alaska-Anchorage 80-61 Saturday night. C.S.U. sportscaster Scott Miller clearly was in mid-season form - urging fans to hang on to those "lucky spots" even when the Cougars were up 15 points. [True!]
And how about the Columbus State women, who beat Division I team Georgia State in Atlanta by two points? It again raises the question about why C.S.U. doesn't try moving up to top-level sports. Of course, the only thing "top level" about Georgia State is that it's above a subway station....
Let's put our sports balls back in the chest now, and check other items from this Veterans Day weekend:
+ As we mentioned, no one matched all the Mega Millions numbers -- so the jackpot jumped to $310 million. If Mayor Bob Poydasheff could win this prize Tuesday night, all the one-cent sales tax talk might stop.
(Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind winning this $310 million jackpot. I certainly would feel a lot less guilty about filling a new SUV with gasoline.)
+ A new nightclub called "The Bridge" opened in Columbus. This one is different, because it's aimed toward Christians - so bridge might be the steamiest card game you'll find there.
+ My pastor at church added to his list of cities Christians should avoid. In addition to Las Vegas and San Francisco, you should now avoid living in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans and Atlanta. No, I did NOT receive any nominations from blog readers -- else Columbus or Phenix City might have been named.
(The thing is, this man used to be my pastor IN Atlanta - and I never heard him give a message urging residents in his congregations to leave town. But then again, he lived in suburban Mableton....)
+ Perhaps in a pre-emptive strike to this sermon, Atlanta unveiled its new city slogan: "Every day is an opening day." Keep telling that to the Atlanta Hawks, and they might win a game sooner or later.
+ Area Wal-Marts offered flu shots, and attracted long lines of people. I can hear the complaints from Midland now - that a new Wal-Mart SuperCenter will put all sorts of doctors out of business.
+ Instant Message to the man I saw hauling a dead deer at Veterans Parkway and Britt David Road: Save the trophy for the living room, pal - instead of displaying it from the back of your four-by-four.
BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.08 a gallon at Raceway on Victory Drive.... six pumpkin cake donuts for one dollar a box at the Auburn Kroger.... and does anyone mark down U.S. flags after Veterans Day?
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