Cleaning out the inbox: Passings

Some very eclectic tributes in this version of recent passings as we have stars from sports, acting, and music who recently passed away.

Goodbye to Mike Curtis at the age of 77.
"The Mad Dog" starred for the Baltimore Colts from 1965-75 before being one of the Seattle Seahawks expansion draft picks in 1976.
Curtis would then finish his career with two seasons for George Allen's Redskins in 1977 and Jack Pardee's Washington team in 1978.
Curtis was the Colts first-round pick in 1965 as a fullback and part of arguably the best first-round draft in league history that included three Hall of Famers (Joe Namath, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers), Curtis, who has a case for induction, a Super Bowl losing quarterback (Craig Morton), a receiver that finished with over 6,000 yards (Jack Snow), and two running backs with 8,000 and 6,000 total yards from scrimmage (Ken Willard and Donny Anderson) in a 14 player first round.
Curtis also intercepted the Craig Morton pass in Super Bowl V, setting up the Jim O'Brien field goal that, on the last play of the game, won Baltimore the title.
Most remember the "Mad Dog" for blowing up a fan who ran on the field in Baltimore, but he was an excellent player who has been overlooked for induction in Canton.
The video below was a staple of the TRS VHS collection from the mid-80s when NFL Films produced excellent pieces on players of the past. It also includes the mentioned fan incident.


Goodbye to Bob Oliver at the age of 77.
The father of pitcher Darren Oliver, who would pitch for twenty years in the majors, Bob Oliver was the top power threat in the early 70s for some pretty terrible Royals and Angels teams as their first baseman.
Oliver hit 13 homers as a 26-year-old rookie for the expansion Royals in 1969 before breaking out with his career season for Kansas City in 1970 with 27 homers and finishing the season with 99 RBI.
Oliver was traded to California in April of 1972 and hit 38 homers for the Angels between the 1972 and 73 seasons before struggling in 1974 before a late-season waiver claim by the Orioles moved him to Baltimore.
Oliver would play 18 games for the Yankees in 1975 before his career ended at only 32.

Goodbye to Tom Lester at the age of 81.
Lester was known best for his role as "Eb" the hired hand for the Douglas family on "Green Acres" even though Lester would never again work in a series after "Eb". Lester was able to find occasional roles as a supporting actor and played the adult Pete Maravich in the film "Pistol- Birth of a Legend".
Lester was also a Christian speaker who often traveled the country to spread the word and also appeared at television nostalgia conventions.


Goodbye to Harold Reid at the age of 80.
Reid was the bass vocalist for the Statler Brothers who also played the comedic role for the group onstage and for their variety show on the now-defunct Nashville Network in the 1990s.
Reid was the one part of the act that the Statlers would not have been able to replace and not for his voice, which was memorable on its own, but for his comedic timing and his humor.
The onstage banter could never have been as funny or as successful without Harold Reid and much of the credit for the success of the group has to go to Reid for the quality and longevity of the group.


Goodbye to Scott Bowden at the age of 48.
Bowden was a referee and manager in the Memphis wrestling territory in the 1990s and I've often stated that Scott Bowden was the one person who was born too late to be a star in the wrestling business as he just missed the days of the manager being the main focus of a promotion.
Bowden was a friend of Jerry Lawler's sons and wrestled with the Lawler sons in a neighborhood before being asked to referee for the company.
Bowden then managed in the territory using the gimmick of being former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden's nephew and referred to his "Uncle Bobby" often in his interviews including Bowden using a Florida State helmet given to him by "Uncle Bobby" against his charge's opponents.
Bowden wrote about his wrestling days at Kentucky Fried Wrestling, which led to a podcast of the same name.
Long-time readers may remember Bowden losing to Rachel in a Wrestlemania guess-the-winner challenge that saw Bowden send her a few DVDs for her victory.
I wasn't a friend of Bowden's, but we did talk a few times through the years and he had committed to do the old TRS podcast, but we were never able to make the times work out for both of us.
The promo below on live Memphis television caught host Dave Brown off guard as the socially incorrect references incensed Brown for real and Bowden reported that when the cameras were off Brown chastised Bowden for the word usage.

My Favorite Sports Podcasts.

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!!

Cleaning out the Inbox

We start with a pre-Opening Day or opening day inbox cleaning with a tip to my favorite fan of the wrestling game-Rachel.
Rachel out picked Scott Bowden over at my favorite grappling page Kentucky Fried Wrestling at predictions for Wrestlemania.
I entered her (since I wouldn't have the slightest idea) and she earned a mention by the Colonel himself at KFR.
Rachel has become quite skilled at mat wrestling as she demonstrated during a recent visit to our home by the Masked Superstar in the picture shown.
Congratulations, Rachel!!

Time for a few Pirate notes as the Pirates added pitcher Hayden Penn off waivers from Florida and then designated Brandon Moss for assignment.
Moss would have to clear waivers to be assigned to AAA Indianapolis.
I can see Moss being claimed (and then the claiming team would have to make a deal with Pittsburgh) as he still could be looked at as having potential, but it would not surprise me if he made it through at this time of year as teams may not want to acerbate roster problems as they are down to their final few cuts.
Moss has been quite a disappointment as a Pirate and it could as simple as a player failing to handle the pressure of being (along with Andy LaRoche) the most visible part of the Jason Bay trade.
Perhaps a new city could turn things around for Moss.

Penn was a former highly touted arm from the Oriole system and was rocketed through the minors and made his Baltimore debut at 20, but the Orioles seemingly ruined him with the hurried move as his numbers were bad and arm injuries piled up as well.
Penn was one of a few that Baltimore ripped off the vine far too soon around the same period, zapping their young pitching in the process.
Penn spent last year split between Florida and AAA New Orleans and was primarily a reliever in Miami.
Penn is still only 25, so perhaps a comeback is not out of the question and these are the types of gambles that Pittsburgh should take occasionally.

The Pirates hammered out an extension with Fox Sports Pittsburgh for televised coverage of Pirate games and although I doubt they were battling any other bidders for the rights, one thing is a positive for Bucco fans.
FSN will increase its coverage from the 120s to a minimum of 150 games and add a winter "Hot Stove " show to the network as well.
This also should end the monthly Thursday afternoon home game that no one is ever able to see on TV and even though the Pirates are usually long out of the race, the days of next to no games being aired in September are history as well.
Maybe one year down the road, the Bucs could be good enough for FSN to show a baseball game instead of one of those wonderful Steeler pre-season scrimmages.
I won't hold my breath waiting for that one.

The Pirates have also added some new menu items at PNC Park.
Some of the additions seem pretty good, others are not as much.
Check out the new arrivals here.

I realize the Hagerstown Suns home opener is one week from today and the weather over the next few days is projected to be positively fantastic, but guess which day in the ten-day forecast is scheduled to have rain?
Yep, you guessed it-opening day.
One can hope the forecasters are wrong, considering the lengthy time for things to change, but such is a baseball fan's luck...

The end of the Super Six bout between Andre Dirrell and Arthur Abraham ended in controversy when Dirrell slipped to the canvas and Abraham knocked him cold in the eleventh round, giving Dirrell the win by disqualification.

Dirrell was far ahead on my scorecard, so the right guy won, but Abraham seemed to be coming on with a knockdown in the tenth (which was not scored as one by referee Lawrence Cole) and Dirrell seemed to be running out of gas.
The DQ and Dirrell being unable to continue seemed legit to me, but I do think Abraham's decision might have cost him a dramatic come from behind knockout.

One new mail arrival as former Brave pitcher Preston Hanna signed four cards.

Finally, check out the usually hilarious Bill "the sports guy" Simmons take on Wrestlemania.
Simmons's commentary is often great (his top 50 NBA draft moments is an all-time classic) and he delivers again as he looks at the circus that is Wrestlemania...

Photo Credits
Rachel-Cherie Heimberger
Penn-Baltimore Sun