Things Sure Getting Expensive, A Saturday Afternoon Band and Da Bears Da Stink

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6

.After finally getting the "Smart Phone" smart, we drove over to 'Cuda's on Grasslake Road and enjoyed their beer-batter fish fry.  It is now AUCE for $12.99 and was $9.99 before the virus hit.  Draft beer was $3 and had been $2 before.  Things sure getting expensive.  Gas it going up fast again as well.  I paid $3.20 on the way over to 'Cuda's

We then went to the Fox Lake American Legion for 50/50.

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

Met Kevin and Kelly, Glenn and Barb at the Fox Lake American Legion for their first Saturday band.  Where else you gonna go in the middle of winter on a Saturday afternoon and get some band entertainment.  Performing today was Aging Teen Idols with out friend John Piet.  They play a whole lot of oldies, originals and Beatles songs.  Plus, draft beer is still just $2 a pint.

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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8

Went to the McHenry American Legion and saw the Bears lose their tenth straight game to finish the season 3-14.  Da Bears!!  Were sure bad This Year!!     Oh, well.  At least we get the very first draft choice as a result of being the worst in the NFL.

--RoadBear

Ending January: Warms Up, Donovan's, Round Table, CDs, Sliders, Stucky's & NFL

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27

Felt good to get outside after not even venturing out at all the last two days because of highs in the single digits without wind chill figured.

Picked up newspapers and mail from the driveway and mailbox (Like I said, I didn't even go outside the past two days).  Went to Donovan's in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, and played trivia with Uncle Jeffie.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28

Drove to Crystal Lake and Algonquin (the farthest I've driven since the virus arrived in 2020, about 35 miles).  Met with other board members of the Civil War Round Table I belong to in order to discuss what's happening at Panera..  This virus thing has sure been rough on us.

Then, drove to two of my favorite places and made purchases.  I bought nine CDs at Half-Price Books and a ten-pack of Sliders at White Castle.

Went to Sunnyside.

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 29

Went to Ron's 61st birthday at Stucky's in Johnsburg, Illinois.  Ron and his wife Deb own the place.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30

Went to Stucky's and watched the Kansas City-Cincinnati AFC Championship game and then home to Margaritaville for the Rams-49er game.  Between the Division Playoff games last weekend and the two games today, we sure saw some great football.

I'll be backing the Bengals in the Super Bowl since they have never won it.

--RoadFoot

Non Power 5 Conference NFL Draftees-- Part 3: South Florida to Buffalo

South Florida--  three-- 4th, 5th, 6th
Albany (Georgia)--  one--  4th
Kutztown--  one--  5th
Wyoming--  one--  5th

Boise State--  two--  5th and 6th
Utah State--  one--  7th
San Diego--  one--  5th
Drake--  one--  5th

West Georgia--  two--  5th and 6th
Georgia Southern--  two--  5th and 6th
Louisiana Lafayette--  one--  6th
Tulane--  one--  6th

Coastal Carolina--  one--  6th
Chattanooga--  one-- 6th
Eastern Michigan--  one--  7th
Buffalo--  one--  7th

So What If You're Not Power Five.  --RoadDog

Non-Power Conference NFL Draftees-- Part 2: Youngstown Sate to South Dakota State

Continued from June20th.

School, number drafted and rounds drafted in.

Youngstown State--  two--  3rd and fifth rounds
Troy--  one--  3rd round
Toledo--  three--  3rd, 4th and 7th rounds
Central Florida--  one--  3rd

Northern Illinois--  one--  3rd
Grambling State--  one--  3rd
Florida International-- one--  3rd
Lamar--  one--  3rd

Florida Atlantic--  one-- 3rd
Alabama State--  One-- 7th
Bucknell-- one--  4th
South Dakota State--  two-- 4th and 5th

You Don't have To Go To a Power 5 Conference To Get Noticed.  --RoadDog


YOU'RE DRINKING TOO MUCH COFFEE WHEN:  You don't need a hammer to pound in nails.

Many Non-Power 5 Conference Players Drafted-- Part 1: Western Michigan to East Central

Looking through the first seven rounds of NFL draft choices, i couldn't help but notice there were a lot of players drafted from non-Power 5 conferences.  The Chicago Bears picked three of them with their five picks, as I have already mentioned.

School  totals and round for the non-Power 5 Conference players:

WESTERN MICHIGAN--  3  Rounds 1, 2 and 7
WESTERN KENTUCKY--  2  Rounds 2 and 3
SOUTH ALABAMA--  1  Round 2

ASHLAND--  1 Round 2
VILLANOVA--  2 Rounds 2 and 7
CHARLOTTE--  1  Round 3

EAST WASHINGTON--  2  Rounds 3 and 4
LOUISIANA TECH--  3  Rounds 3, 5 and 6
EAST CENTRAL--  1 Round 7

And There Are More to Come.  --RoadDog

North Carolina A & T and Kutztown University

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

The Bears' second pick in Round Four, Tarik Cohen, came from NC A&T.

Located in Greensboro, N.C., the third largest city in the state with a population of 270,000.   Full name North Carolina Agricultural and Technology State University.

A historically black college founded in 1891, now has 10,725 students.  Teams are nicknamed the Aggies and are in Division 1's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

One of their noted alumni was Ronald McNair, Class of 1972, who died when the Space Shuttle Challenger blew up.

KUTZTOWN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

Guard Jordan Morgan played at Kutztown and was drafted by the Bears in the 5th Round.

Located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, (population 5,012) in eastern Pennsylvania near Philadelphia.  Established in 1866 as Keystone Normal School, name changed to Kutztown in 1928.

Student enrollment 10,000.  Teams called Golden Bears and participate in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference  Divison II.

--RoadDog

YOU'RE DRINKING TOO MUCH COFFEE WHEN:  You spend your vacations visiting "Maxwell House."

ADD These Two NIU Huskies to the List in the 2014 Draft

Jimmie Ward was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round, the 30th pick.

Ken Bishop was drafted by Dallas Cowboys in the 7th round, 251st pick.

--RoadDog

NIU's Top NFL Picks-- Part 3

4.  GARRETT WOLFE, RB: One of Liz and my all-time favorite Huskie players.  Third Round, 93rd overall in 2007.

When the Bears selected the 5-foot-seven running back in the third round in 2007, a lot of fans raised an eyebrow.  Despite dominating the college ranks as an NIU senior in 2006, Wolfe did not have the kind of build for an NFL running back.

Wolfe never got consistent carries with the Bears, although he was a solid special teams player, and spent four seasons in the NFL


5.  DOUG BARTLETT, DT:  Los Angeles Rams, fourth round, 91st overall in 1987.

Bartlett, a member of NIU's 1983 MAC Championship team, didn't play a game for the Rams, but did play in ten cpntests for the 1988 Eagles, the team that lost to the Bears in the 1988 divisional playoff game known as the "Fog Bowl."  I watched that game, sort of.

Proud of Our NIU Boys.  --RoadDog

NIU's Top NFL Picks-- Part 2

Here are Northern Illinois' top five draftees of all-time before the 2014 draft:

1.  LARRY ENGLISH, DE:  San Diego Chargers, first round, 16th overall in 2009.    Awarded the Vern Smith Award as Mid-American Conference MVP as a junior and senior.  Senior year in 2008, finished with 14.5 tackles and 8 tackles for loss.  However, has had trouble with injuries and started just 9 games in career.  This year is the final one on his contract.

2.  JOHN SPILIS, WR:  Green Bay Packers, third round, 64th overall in 1969.  Played three seasons and started 14 games.  Best year in 1971 when he caught 14 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown.

3.  LESHON JOHNSON, RB:  Green Bay Packers, third round, 84th overall in 1994.  Led the nation with 1,976 rushing yards as senior in 1993 and finished sixth in Heisman Award voting (a record for NIU until Jordan Lynch finished third this year).  Played five seasons in NFL with Packers, Cardinals and Giants.  Best season with Arizona in 1996, when he ran for 634 yards and six touchdowns.

More to Come.  --RoadDog


SIGNS OF OLD AGE:  Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.

NIU's Top NFL Draft Picks-- Part 1

From the May 8, 2014, Northwest herald "Ward projects to be among NIU's highest draftees" by Steve Nitz.

Well, here it is about time for another college football season to start.  I even saw a game on TV this past Saturday.  NIU plays Thursday night and if the weather is willing, we'll be there and for DeKalb's annual Corn Fest weekend.  Anyway, this article came out back in May prior to the NFL draft and Jimmie Ward was widely considered to be a 2nd-3rd round pick.

He ended up going in the first round.

It was also expected that qb Jordan Lynch might also be drafted (he wasn't), buy was invited to Bears' camp and is trying to make the team.

Only two NIU Huskie quarterbacks have ever been chosen in the draft: Jerry Golsteyn in 1976 (12th round and 333rd overall) and Chandler Harnish in 2012 (seventh round, 253rd overall, the final selection in the draft).  Harnish was chosen by the Colts and still plays for them, but mostly on the practice squad.

It's hard to get respect if you're from NIU.  Something about the Big Guy Schools.

--RoadDog


SIGNS OF OLD AGE:  Lawn care has become a highlight of your life.