The cleaning of the inbox starts with the long-overdue induction of Dick Allen into the baseball Hall of Fame.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic writes about Allen's induction and why Allen was such an important player to fans who grew up in his era.
I've always thought of Allen as a member of the White Sox more than a Phillie, despite Allen spending more seasons with Philadelphia, because Allen's best Phillies years came before I could remember, but no denying that, outside of Chicago, Allen is remembered as a Phillie.
Finally, it appears that McDonald's has come to its senses as Cherie sent me this note that McDonald's is returning its missing McDonaldland characters as part of a new meal aimed at adults.
The meals will return the classic characters that the company shelved over twenty years ago, and there will be more promotions with those characters in the future, per the company.
Hoping to see more Mayor McCheese, Officer Big Mac, and Captain Crook!
Youngstown, Ohio, will be decorating the entire side of a building with a penguin.
Youngstown State uses the Penguin as their mascot and has given permission for the Gallagher building to paint a mural of Pete the Penguin on the side of the building.
No word on what Pete's wife thinks of the exposure.
The Athletic writes about a treasured staple of my childhood and even adulthood-the preseason football preview magazines.
I collected these for years (and still do), ranging from childhood Street and Smith's to Lindy's and Athlon's regional (Big Ten) magazines, and in recent years, the massive Phil Steele versions.
Steele's college football preview is the number one selling magazine for Barnes and Noble every year, and that stat doesn't come from Steele's self-promotion; it comes from Barnes and Noble itself which has no reason to lie.
I used to buy these from all sports, but now I'm down to only college football in the internet age.
Although I do have a weakness for the seventies Street and Smith's editions, and I still collect them if the price is right.
Still, I look forward to these every year, and I devour Phil Steele's every year as a throwback to a simpler time.
The inbox is finally full, so there's no better time to clean it out than now!
As I've been writing during the pandemic in the various inboxes, The Athletic has been filling time and space with the type of stories that during the average sports year aren't always being written because of the live-action on the fields of play.
We start with three stories from The Athletic and the first will cover the man behind the donut shop as Tim Horton's hockey career funded what is the Canadian standard for coffee and donuts.
Tim Horton's is moving into America more every year it seems as it moves franchises south and although I'm not a passionate donut fan, I do like one a few times a year and Tim Horton's does have a good one. Tim Horton, the player, played for 24 years in the NHL, retiring more than once and returning to roll more money into the donut shop business.
Horton played until he was 44, made the hall of fame, and was named one of the NHL's top 100 players of all-time in 2017.
Horton was still playing for the Buffalo Sabres in 1974 when he died in a car accident driving back to his home in Toronto (The Sabres had lost to the Maple Leafs) and what I found interesting after his death dealt with the business as his partner bought Horton's wife's half-ownership in the chain (40 stores at the time) for one million dollars.
Tim Horton's was sold to Burger King in 11.5 BILLION in 2017.
The next story deals with Phil Steele, the maven of college football.
Steele's annual preview issue release is anticipated by me as one of my favorite days of the year and the article talks to Steele about how the magazine is assembled, the work that it takes to do so, and just how close Steele came to not making a magazine this season.
You can order a copy of Phil Steele's college football magazine here with a release date scheduled for July 15th, which I have been told is another special day...
BTW- While I'm still firmly in Mr.Steele's camp, on the word of John McAdam, I purchased Brett Ciancia's Pick Six Previews that covers the Power Five leagues.
Like Phil Steele's, Brett takes a deep and comprehensive dive into each of the teams that he previews and it's a sharp read.
Phil gets an edge for including every division one team and my beloved space to write in the results, but otherwise, I found the two very comparable.
I really enjoyed it and I'll be a customer next season.
I think I've converted very well to the digital age with books, magazines, etc, but the two items that I want physical copies of are college football previews and NFL draft previews (and reviews), so I'd be happier with a Pick Six physical copy (Phil Steele's goes straight into the backpack on day one and travels everywhere I go until the end of the season).
Brett's PDF file is said to be printer-friendly, but I'd wager that the printing and binding bill might cost what the file cost (18.00) and well over thirty dollars isn't viable.
The final article from The Athletic recalls the most recent trip by the Purdue Boilermakers to the Final Four when Purdue arrived via bus in Indianapolis in 1980.
The Big Ten placed two teams in the Final Four, as Purdue and Iowa won regionals before losing to UCLA and Louisville respectively.
Purdue would win the now-defunct consolation game over Iowa for the official third place designation. Purdue was coached by Lee Rose, who took UNC-Charlotte to the Final Four in 1977 and then Purdue in 1980 in the second of his two seasons in West Lafayette.
Rose left for South Florida after this season and after six seasons with the Bulls and zero trips to the NCAA's (South Florida did make three NIT's), Rose resigned, never coached college again, and would spend several years as an NBA assistant.
Purdue's star was Joe Barry Carroll, who has been given a bad rap for his career following his top overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft.
Now the trade that saw the Warriors trade for the top pick to draft Carroll wasn't a good one (Golden State traded the 3rd overall pick, used to select Kevin McHale and veteran Robert Parish to Boston), but Carroll was a productive player for Golden State and averaged over twenty points a game on four occasions in his seven seasons in Oakland with eight rebounds a game five times.
Carroll's numbers were better than Parish's four years there and Parish didn't become a hall of famer until after the trade.
Boston clearly won the trade, but Carroll certainly wasn't a bust on the level of 1972 top pick Larue Martin and shouldn't be remembered as such.
This is an older article from 2016 and the Omaha World-Herald as columnist Tom Shatel remembers the days when Omaha shared the Kansas City-Omaha Kings from 1972-78 and for ten to fifteen games a year- Omaha Nebraska had NBA basketball in their town.
I can't imagine Omaha as an NBA city today as their demographics have them twenty spots behind the NBA's smallest market (Memphis) in television market size and two hundred thousand fewer than the same smallest city in population, but one never knows if Omaha's favorite son (Warren Buffet) would decide to give his hometown one final gift.
ESPN writes about the business side of the XFL's collapse from people that worked for the league.
It's an in-depth piece that writes of the chances taken both and off the field, the dealings with Vince McMahon, the suit that commissioner Oliver Luck has filed against McMahon, and yes the chances of the league surviving for 2021.
There will be a bankruptcy process for bidders on August 3rd and over thirty interested bidders have perused the books and signed non-disclosure agreements to do so.
Vince McMahon had planned on potentially bidding on the league, but demurred after league creditors claimed McMahon was rigging the process to encourage a low bid to pay those creditors.
Imagine someone thinking such things about a wrestling promoter...
The Bulwark may be known mostly for their political writings, but many of their writers are sports fans as well and Ed Condon writes of MLB using the pandemic to force-feed the designated hitter into National League baseball.
Baseball says the DH is only installed for two seasons and then will be evaluated, but how often are rules in sports installed when the league in question wants them badly, eventually overturned?
Condon adds some of the other changes through the years that he disagrees with and he asks this question to fans that have children- how far would it go with you, should your child utter this comment when playing sports- "I don't do defense"?
We wrap up with Fred Landucci sending thisfrom Definition.org asking how many of these defunct restaurant chains do you remember?
Of the thirty chains, I had heard of fifteen (Fewer than I figured before I started), had eaten at ten with one as a former employer.
Battlin' Bob defeats me as he can checkmark two of these chains off as a former employer!
Check it out and see how high you score.
I was planning to start my trip review, but I discovered that I left my notes on my tablet, so that will be slightly delayed.
I also started work on a new version of a post that I wrote a few years ago-Fights that I'd like to see, but I'm doing a little of that at a time, so I'll have that in the future on a slow day.
Instead, what I'm going to offer today is a list of sports podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis and perhaps one or more of them might entice you to give them a try.
I'll have a non-sports list sometime soon.
I listen to podcasts more of late than I had in the past after purchasing an IPad and I find that I really enjoy the return of radio, albeit in a specialized form.
I'm not connecting any links since I'm sure that not everyone uses the same podcasting provider.
I miss doing Fightheads and I'm hoping that Ramon Malpica will consider returning in some form eventually, but besides our podcast, here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.
Let's start with my favorite boxing podcast with Steve Kim's Three Knockdown Rule that he hosts with Mario Lopez of Saved by the Bell fame.
It's a fun podcast that sticks mostly to the fight game, yet is willing to drift off into anything that might strike Steve and Mario at any moment.
It's clearly my favorite boxing podcast and since I'm not around for your listening pleasure at the moment, give Three Knockdown Rule a listen.
In the world of wrestling, Jim Cornette's Drive-Thru and Cornette Experience are must listens.
The Drive-Thru sticks more to old school wrestling (which is the only kind I want to hear about), while the Experience is more wide-ranging with plenty of wrestling too.
If you are offended by strong language or have a great affection for President Trump, you might want to think about passing on the Experience, but if not- get ready for plenty of laughs and lots of great memories!
Another wrestling podcast is Scott Bowden's Kentucky Fried Wrestling, which sticks to looking back at the old Memphis territory.
Bowden used to run the website of the same name, where long-time readers might remember Rachel defeating Bowden at a wrestling pick em and Scott sending her a DVD years ago.
There are many interesting guests from classic Memphis grappling and from someone that loves the classic era, yet missed so many of the great Memphis television shows (Since I didn't live there!), I always learn something new from Bowden and his guests.
Tim Hanlon's Good Seats Still Available focuses mainly on defunct and deceased teams and leagues.
Tim's shows on the WFL, USFL and the CFL's American expansion are among the few podcasts that I have saved for permanent safekeeping.
I'd be lying if I said I listened closely to every show as a show with this format is not going to focus on mainstream sports every episode, but Hanlon is always super prepared and when it features a subject that I really love, there is none better.
Scott Dryden used to guest on the TRS podcast, before hitting it big and now is the featured analyst at the Browns Scout Podcast.
Dryden's opinionated, smart (although the jury is still out on our disagreements on Jabrill Peppers and now Baker Mayfield) and the show is stocked with intelligent football talk.
Don't look for a lot of chuckles, bells, and whistles here, but if you like your Browns talk straight forward- give the Browns scout a listen.
I've also enjoyed the Rouge, White and Blue podcast with American fans talking about the Canadian Football League.
I've reconnected with an old friend that hosts the show in Joe Pritchard and it's nice to listen to American fans that love the three-down game.
And Joe, I'm still available to talk 80's and 90's CFL in the off-season!
Most of you know that my go-to college football expert is Phil Steele and his season preview is constantly with me all summer and season, but Phil has a podcast as well- Strong as Steele.
Phil is weekly during the season and then Strong as Steele goes dormant, but his conference previews will hopefully begin any day now!
Cleveland Baseball and Brews might not seem to be a good fit for someone that hates the taste of beer, but for Indians fans, it is well worth the listen.
Generally, it's just good conversation by Indians fans for Indians fans and Caitlyn Boron, who also appeared on the old TRS show, is one of the regular panelists on their program.
I always enjoy listening to Caitlyn's segment as her energy and passion for the town and the Indians literally jumps out at you through the speakers.
My final recommended podcast is Justin McGuire's Baseball by the Book where McGuire talks with authors of baseball books.
I haven't come anywhere near clearing out my chosen archives of Baseball by the Book, but if you love baseball, yet don't have the time or don't care to read- this is your avenue to learn a lot about the history of baseball!
I'm a big fan of Baseball by the Book!
Hopefully, you'll give one or more of these a try and if you like them, be sure to give them a good rating and tell them that TRS sent you!!
Time to dust off the brush and wipe out the inbox.
Lets start with a Hardball Times article on the pictured 1967 Topps Tribe Thumpers with Indian outfielders Rocky Colavito and Leon Wagner.
This card was one of my favorites as a kid for many reasons (despite being released a year before I was born) and Colavito was always a personal favorite of mine as a Indians fan.
The article reads more about Colavito and Wagner than the card,but it's still a fun look back at two players that were memorable for some pretty bad Cleveland teams of the 1960's....
Paul Lukas and his UniWatch column for ESPN is one of those that I try not to miss and even though I don't always agree with his opinions,his column is always worth reading.
We do have one thing in common after this column-we both love those 1970's Houston Astros uniforms.
The rainbow togs (officially named Tequila Sunrise) are still popular to this day,although like many bright uniforms,they are a love it or hate it brand and rank with the red,white and blue basketball for the NBA and the powder blue San Diego (um,Los Angeles) Chargers as the clubhouse leaders for the "Why in the hell don't they use this/these all the time?!" award.
I'm a basic uniform guy,although I don't mind some throwback days,but I do love those uniforms and the orange hat (along with the Seattle Pilots) is so sharp that I've considered buying the hat because I like it so much....
I've written about Phil Steele before and how his is the only college football magazine that you'll need for a season,but this article at Omaha.com digs a little deeper into how much Steele works,how he does things,how much football he watches and how he got into the football magazine business.
If you are a Phil Steele fan like me or just want to know more about college football,give it a glance!
And if you decide to order a book from Phil-make sure you tell him how disappointed you are that he isn't doing an NFL book this season.
The NFL version was only available via ordering from Phil,while the college version can be bought where magazines are sold-until they sell out and they do so quickly!!!
The Atlantic writes about the museum in Philadelphia that has famous (or infamous) brains from the past including a slice of Albert Einstein's,but this article is based on the brain of Charles Guiteau,the assassin of President James Garfield in 1881.
The article discusses why the brain was kept,the apparent mental issues of Guiteau and what doctors of the day thought could be accomplished by keeping Guiteau's brain for research.
Wrapping up with what looks to be an interesting show this Sunday on the History Channel with yet another show on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
These types of shows usually claim to offer much,but in the end offer little more than the standard line or nothing but speculation.
This time though,something has been discovered that might shed some light with a picture of that could be Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan on a Japanese controlled (at the time) Marshall Islands.
Some respected authenticators in their field have declared that the picture is not doctored,so could this finally be the key to a long mystery?
We make the case for Ken Stabler for Canton,DeAndre Jordan and how he set the Mavericks back years and the top football book on the market-Phil Steele's college football preview.
