Cleaning out the Inbox

      The inbox may ebb and flow, but it never stops, so it's time to clean and move some things out adequately!

Ryan sends this from the 13th Dimension on the greatness of Frank Gorshin's portrayal of the Riddler on the original Batman series.

Dan Greenfield's thoughts on the Gorshin Riddler are all similar to mine, and I've thought for years that if you were creating a Batman series or film and you could magically pluck anyone from any time that played a role in any Batman related vehicle, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler is the one slam dunk to retain that role above any challengers that was originally from the 1966 TV series.

Gorshin's Riddler is that good.

The Premier League is changing its game ball manufacturer.

Puma will provide the official league ball for the 2025-26 season.

Nike had been the provider of the official ball for twenty-five seasons and, along with Adidas, had been the top two companies involved with worldwide soccer, but Germany-based Puma has begun to make strides in an attempt to catch up.

Puma has been supplying the game balls for Serie A (Italy) and La Liga (Spain), but the English Premier League brings even more prestige and visibility as the most widely watched league in the world.

ABC News wonders about the ethics of bringing back extinct animals.

Recently, scientists announced the revival of the Dire Wolf, and the article questions (without judgment either way) if it is ethical to bring back animals that became extinct.

It's interesting to consider, although I'm more concerned with returning a dangerous predator that may not have a natural enemy to the modern environment!

The Athletic writes of one of the better shots that you will see by someone off the floor.

In 2013, photojournalist Gary Knox tweeted to keep an eye on sixth-grader Paige Bueckers, rating her as the best player of her age he had ever watched.

Twelve years later, the Dallas Wings selected Bueckers as the top overall pick in the WNBA draft.

Good call. 

KC Yesterday writes of the story behind the June 1979 roof collapse of Kansas City's Kemper Arena, which hosted the NBA's Kansas City Kings at the time of the incident.

The article discusses the engineering issues that led to the collapse and how equipment that could have been replaced might have avoided the problem.

Kemper would reopen within a year, and the Kings would play their games at their previous home, Municipal Auditorium, until the roof was fixed.

Kemper Arena is still around after being converted to a youth sports facility. It is now known as Hy-Vee Arena, and a local grocery chain owns the naming rights.

Cleaning out the Inbox

    Way behind on cleaning the inbox as often happens during football season.

13th Dimension writes of the opening of the first museum devoted to the Batman 1966 television series. 

Located in Logansport, Indiana, the museum possesses items from the show, reconstructed sets, and a theatre.

This is worth the stop for the photo ops alone from the photos in the article!

ESPN writes of former Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer's life in Norman, Oklahoma as the unofficial "King of Norman".

Switzer, Jimmy Johnson, and Pete Carroll are the only men to win a Super Bowl and a collegiate national championship.

In recent years, Switzer discovered that he had a daughter that he had never known, and is spending much of his time with here among his many interests in the Norman area.

The Barry Switzer story has to be read to be believed and is the greatest sports biography documentary or scripted film waiting for someone to make.

The next three notes are all from The Athletic.

The Premier League continues to move further south with fewer and fewer teams from the North side of the country.

Other than Newcastle (the northernmost city in England), the three other teams nearest the Magpies have been relegated, Sheffield United and Burnley last year and Leeds two seasons ago.

For the first time since the Premier League began, there are only five teams in the Northern half of England, Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton, and the two Manchester squads

The Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions played an epic game a few weeks back and this article deals with two Rust Belt towns still seeking a Super Bowl trophy along with some famous names in sports with connections to both cities.

Names such as Bob Lanier, Dominik Hasek, Pat LaFontaine, and Chris Spielman are among the many with a background in both areas with arguably the most influential person, former Bills owner Ralph Wilson, a Detroit resident who owned a minority share of the Lions but unable to gain controlling interest, purchased a charter franchise in the AFL and didn't know where to base his team.

Wilson picked Buffalo after he couldn't use the Orange Bowl for his team's home stadium and pulled out of Miami.

The final word from the Athletic writes of the school with the surprising lead in the best transfer portal class- the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The article discusses the Tech NIL operatives, who and how they look at potential recruits, how quickly Tech moves on players they want to sign, and how the entire collective works together to energize the Red Raiders, who finished 8-4 this season before a Liberty Bowl loss to Arkansas.

TechSpot writes of a small Indiana bakery that is still using the Commodore 64 as its cash register!

The 64 RAM Commodore (hence the name) has more than enough processing power to run a cash register and was released in 1982 with updates discontinued in 1994.

Ryan sends word of a fire that burnt down the four-story Morrison Hotel in Los Angeles, which is famous for the backdrop of The Doors "Morrison Hotel" album in 1970.

The hotel had been vacant for over a decade and was being used by squatters and homeless and LA firefighters have used it as a training site.

The story behind the album cover is that a clerk had told the group that they weren't allowed to take photos but when the clerk was called away from his desk the group jumped into the lobby into place for the photo taken through the window by famed rock photographer Henry Diltz.