Movie Scratches 2023: Groundhog-- Brady--Plane-- 65

Movie Scratches--  Movies I saw in the theater in 2023.

5.  GROUNDHOG DAY--  2-5--  Woodstock--  $2--  There wasn't one today.  What if there is no tomorrow.  Nothing like seeing this great flick on the big screen and in a theatre that was actually in the movie.

6.  80 FOR BRADY--  2-10--  Super Brady fans  What those ol' gals got into?  Four lasses on the loose and their "particular" skills that avoided disaster.

7.  PLANE--  2-10--  All the action you could possibly want from a storm, lightning strike, jungle landing and those mean old rebels.

8.  65-   3-31--  Fox Lake--  $7--  Earth 65 million years ago was not a friendly place.  If the dinosaurs don't get you, that big ol' asteroid thing will.

--RoadDog

CBS Sportscaster Ranks Cure Bowl As Best Game-- Part 2

"The game's biggest lead came when Miles Joiner  caught a 12-yard TD from Rocky Lombardi to put Northern Illinois ahead 24-16 late in the first half.  Even that deficit was short-loved as  Coastal got a field goal a minute later to make it 24-19.

"Not only was it a  one-score game the entire time, but the lead changed seven times (4 times in the third quarter).  It was non-stop, back-and-forth football entertainment.  Coastal couldn't stop Northern Illinois, and the Huskies couldn't stop the Chanticleers.

"Aside from the final  possession of the half, the first 12 possessions of the game ended with points, and only three of them ended in field goals.  When Coastal's Charles Ooverson came onto the field for the game's first punt, he did so with only 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

"It came down to the very last play, too.    Northern Illinois had the ball at the Coastal 8-yard line with two second left, but Lombardo's pass to Joiner was stopped short of the end zone and the Chanticleers held on  for the win."

I Completely Agree, That Was One Hell of a Game.  --RoadNIU

CBS Sportscaster Ranks Cure Bowl #1 As Far As Entertainment in 2021 (Coastal Carolina vs. Northern Illinois)

From the January 6, 2021, CBS Sports "Ranking the 37 college football games for 2021-2022:  Rose delivers as Orange, Cotton disappoint" by Tom Fornelli.

Evidently this guy watched all the bowl games and I have to say his picking the Cure Bowl game in Orlando, Florida, as the best of the lot is one I have to agree with.  It matched Northern Illinois versus Coastal Carolina and was the second bowl game player (read most meaningless), but not so with this one.

Coastal Carolina was a 12 1/2 point favorite, but Northern led the whole game until the last six minutes, when Coastal went up and "held" on to win.

This is what Tom Fornelli wrote:

"#1  Cure Bowl    Coastal Carolina 47  Northern Illinois 41

And so we come to the best bowl game of the postseason.  I'm assuming a lot of you are perplexed about how the Cure Bowl can rank ahead of the Rose Bowl or Music City Bowl, but that's just because most of you probably didn't watch it.

"You should have because the second bowl game of the season was incredible.  Not only was there a bunch of points scored, but it was a one-score game the entire time."

Continued.  --RoadBowl

Thanksgiving Weekend: Granny's Diner and Lots of High School Championship Football

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26

Web went to a new place that just opened Tuesday in Johnsburg called Granny's Diner.  The owner had come in to Sunnyside and we had a nice talk a couple weeks ago.

This is where the old Epic Deli was until it moved to a bigger place on Route 31 in McHenry.  We didn't expect a lot of people there, since it was new, but they had a crowd even when we got there just before they closed at 2 pm.

We both ordered lunch meals and there were huge and very good.  I think this place will do well.

During the course of the day, I watched a lot of the Illinois High School playoffs in Margaritaville (in our basement).  Wilmington, on Route 66, won in Class 2A, Byron (out by DeKalb, won in 3A and, no big surprise, but Joliet Catholic walked all over Springfield's Sacred Heart-Griffin to win a 4A.  Joliet Catholic beat our local high school, Richmond-Burton, last week.

Enjoyed cocktail at the bar and the Ultimate Juke Box.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27

I had planned on going to Crystal Lake for the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group and then to Algonquin for Half Price Books and White Castle, but kind of felt like I had a cold coming on, so decided to stay in.  

Today was the Class 5A to Class 6A high school playoffs.  In Class 6A, East St. Louis High School was heavily favored to beat Cary-Grove, in nearby Cary, Illinois, but this has to go down as one of the biggest David vs. Goliath games in the history of high school football as Cary Grove won 37-36n in frigid DeKalb at Huskie Stadium where the championship games were played.

Watched two great movies:  "Christmas Vacation" and  "Joker."

--RoadBall

Great Illinois High School Nicknames: Go You Wooden Shoes

From the October 27, 2021, Rockford(Illinois) Register Star "Which Illinois high school has the coolest nickname?  here are our favorites" by a panel of six.

Well, I went to Palatine High School (the Pirates) and Fremd High School (the Vikings).  Okay names, but nothing extraordinary.

Here are some extraordinary school nicknames.  Go to the site and learn how they became known as them.

Rockford East E-Rabs

Plano Reapers

Rochelle Hubs

Centralia Orphans

Canton Little Giants

Teutopolis Wooden Shoes

Illinois Central Valley Grey Ghosts  (and just in time for Halloween)

Freeport Pretzels

New Berlin Pretzels

Witt Speedboys

Hoopestown Cornjerkers

Lincoln Railsplitters

Galesville Silver Streaks

And, just in time for the start of the 2021 IHSA Football Playoffs this weekend.

The Cornjerkers  --RoadBall

Around Here: A Civil War Encampment, Stucky's, Karaoke and Da Pack Beats Da Bears

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16

For the first time since 2019,I went to a Civil War encampment at Hainesville, Illinois.  It was good to get around like-minded folks like me.  It was sunny, but blustery with a good bit of cold in the air.  Not bad in the sunlight, but avoid tree shade.

I met and talked with my friend Bob, who was playing the part of Elijah Haines, the founder and namesake of Hainesville.  We go back to 1973, when we were both teachers in Round Lake.  I also sat in on the presentations by U.S. Grant and Abraham Lincoln.

They were going to recreate the Battle of Bentonville, fought in North Carolina on March 19-21, 1865.  This battle was fought just 25 miles from where I was born in 1951, Goldsboro.  However, I had been wind-blown enough by then so I decided to leave.

Later that night Liz and I went to Stucky's in Johnsburg where we ate an d I sang karaoke.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17 

Met the new neighbors across the street for the first time.  We went to the McHenry American Legion where we watched a certain quarterback own us again as he said so emphatically after scoring a TD.  The 24-14 final score was not truly indicative of their domination.  Sure getting tired of watching Da Bears play Da Packers.

--RoadSadBears

Who to Back in the 'Big Game' or Is It the Souper Bowl?

**  Well, tomorrow, it is here and again, Da Bears aren't in it.  But, as usual, we don't know who our quarterback will be next year.  You want to see something sad, look up how many qbs have started for Da Bears during the Favre/Rodgers era at Green Bay.  Now that is sad.  (Answer below)

**  I hate the 5:30 start.  Should start at 3.  Come on, it gets dark real fast these early days of February.

**  Bet, Bet, Bet Your Money on all those sporting aps.  Win millions of dollars.  Yep, right.

**  Who to back?  Who to back?  When neither Da Bears or Da Packers are not in it.  Yep, I do back both teams and am a Packer fan unless they play Da Bears.

**  I am more of an NFC fan and do like the Buccaneers as my third favorite NFC team, but I have a problem.  I am not a New England Patriot fan, ergo, Tom Brady and he is the Tampa Bay QB.  Though, I must admit he is one of if not THE greatest NFL quarterbacks ever.  Just look at how badly he beat Aaron in the NFC Championship game.

**  But, Kansas City is a Midwest team and I back most Midwest teams.  And then, there is the young quarterback Patrick Mahomes.  But, he is becoming as ubiquitous as Ditka and Jordan were in their heyday in commercials.

**  And to think Da Bears could have had him, but went with Trubisky.  And they could have had Watson as well, but you know who they went with.

Reckon I will eat some soup at the Legion for the Souper Bowl and then go home and pull for the Chiefs before they have to change their name.

Oh Well.  RoadChallenged

ANSWER TO THE FIRST QUESTION

Favre--  22 Bears QBs, Rodgers--  13 Bears QBs

JSIS: Stupid-Looking Hair Coming Out of Helmets-- Conference Championship Games-- NIU Football

JSIS--  Just Some Interesting Stuff

1.  STUPID-LOOKING HAIR COMING OUT OF HELMETS--  A couple weeks ago Liz and I saw the annual Army-Navy football game at the American Legion.  Sure was nice to see that no member of either team had hair coming out below their helmets.  I'm sorry, but that just looks stupid.  

Anytime you watch a college or NFL game it seems you see more and more of that long, funny-looking hair on both Blacks and whites.  I don't like it on any person.  Then, there is the guy on the Titans we all call Old Turd Hair.

2.  CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES--  Well, one thing nice about all the college conference championship games this year is the size of the crowds.  NIU is in the MAC and our championship games draw maybe 5,000 to 8,000 fans (but then again, who wants to go to Detroit).  Then the Power 5 games are standing room only.  This year, they are all essentially empty.  Wonder why?

3.  NIU FOOTBALL--  A sad year for Northern Illinois University football with an 0-6 record.  But, this really wasn't a real year anyway.  Too weird and strange with you-know-what.  But, the second year Joe Novak was our coach, we were 0-12 and then by the fourth year, it was all up from there as we were able to somehow keep him despite his success and the Big 10, 11,12,13,14 grabbing MAC coaches all the time.

Maybe This Is a Sign of Good Times to Come?  --RoadWin

In case you're wondering what the name of the group was that beat out the Beatles in their audition, scroll down to this months Music Deaths for David Munden.

Speaking of NIU: Here Are the Non- Conference Football Games for the Next Several Seasons

2020:  Rhode Island, at Maryland, at Iowa, Brigham Young University       (Well, of course, we know that none of these games will take place this year.)

2021:  Maine, Wyoming, at Michigan, at Georgia Tech    (Wondering if any of these will take place?)

2022:  Eastern Illinois, at Tulsa, Vanderbilt, at Kentucky

2023:  at Boston College, Southern Illinois, at Nebraska, Tulsa

2024:  at Notre Dame, Massachusetts

2025:  Maryland, at Iowa,  at UMass.

2026:  at Nebraska, Univ. of South Florida

Okay Huskies.  --RoadHowl

JSIS: Democrats Behaving Poorly-- Just Mercy-- Congrats Kansas City

JSIS--  Just Some Interesting Stuff

1.  DEMOCRATS BEHAVING POORLY--  I watched the Presidential State of the Union Address, or should we have called it, "Democrats Behaving Poorly."  They hit a new low.  A bunch of petulant children.  Had they been in my classroom, especially the one sitting behind the President, they or she would have been sent to the principal's office.  And, both Liz and I did not vote for Donald Trump in the last election.  Maybe not this year, and we'd really like to vote against him again.

2.  "JUST MERCY"--  I just saw this movie this week and in my opinion should have had Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations.  This movie really moved me and perhaps there is something to Blacks saying they don't get proper credit in the film industry.

3.  CONGRATS KANSAS CITY CHIEFS--  What a game!  One of the best Super Bowls ever.  What a comeback!!  Liz and I were pulling for the Chiefs since they are Midwest and win about as often as Chicago.  Loved the Bill Murray Jeep commercial.  We also were pulling for the 49ers with the local connection of quarterback Tony Garappalo from local Arlington heights and EIU, Jimmie Ward from NIU and Robbie Gould from Da Bears.

Well Have to See.  --RoadDog

Getting In the Yule Spirit-- Part 1: Army-Navy Football Game and "Guardians of the Galaxy"

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14

We went to the McHenry (Illinois) American Legion where we watched the Army-Navy college football game in Philadelphia.  The place was nearly full of folks pulling for the Army or the Navy and lots of banter and boasting going on.

I had been pulling for the Army the last ten years because of Navy's domination.  I just have a tendency to pull for the underdogs.  But, since Army had won the last three games, I was pulling for my real favorite, Navy.  I won a Navy hat.

And the Army fans were having quite the good time early on, but eventually the better team won.

Went to Sunnyside, came home and watched my favorite superhero movie "Guardians of the Galaxy."

--RoadLord


DID YOU KNOW:  Dueling is legal in Peru as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

It's a Numbers Thing

Some Numbers of interest.

7-6     Record of the Chicago Bears as they prepare to play the Packers in Green Bay Sunday.

10-3    The Packer record.

14-0    The 2019 record of the Richmond-Burton High School Rockets.  They won the Illinois State Class 4A Championship!!

5    The number of Illinois State Championships won by Route 66, Lincoln Highway and US-12 high school football teams.

8    The number of days before we start adding daylight time to each day.  I'm really ready for it.

40   The number of new Christmas movies being shown on the Hallmark Channel.

$1,000   How much you win if you have the best WDRV 97.1 FM, the Drive logo in Christmas lights.

I'm Not a Twit.   And Don't Call Me Shirley.  --RoadDog

DID YOU KNOW:  That a pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

Congratulations to the Richmond-Burton Rockets on Winning the IHSA Class 4A State Football Championship!!!

Last night, in a chilly DeKalb, Illinois, at Huskie Stadium, Home of the NIU Huskies, the Richmond-Burton Rockets completed a wonderful 14-0 season with a big win over Murphrysboro.

Richmond-Burton serves students from Richmond and Burton townships and the villages of Richmond and Spring Grove.  We live in Spring Grove and our subdivision's high school students go there so it makes this an even bigger win for us.

And, what a season it was for the Rockets.  They were a scoring and defensive juggernaut.

A look at their games:

R-B  48  Wauconda  12
R-B  50  Aurora Central Catholic  0
R-B  47  Johnsburg  0
R-B  44  Harvard   0
R-B  38  Marengo  13
R-B  56  Woodstock  0
R-B  49  Woodstock North  0
R-B  37  Johnsburg 14
R-B  34  Quincy Notre Dame  14

So, in the regular season, Richmond-Burton scored 403 points and gave up 53.

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PLAYOFFS

R-B  56  Chicago Urban Prep/Bronzeville  6
R-B  49   Marengo  7
R-B  24  Elmhurst Immaculate Conception  14
R-B  30  Coal City   0
R-B  50  Murphysboro  14

Scored 209 points and gave up 41 in the playoffs.

These scores show domination.

Immaculate Conception won Class 4A last year and Coal City was picked to winit this year.

Thank You for a Great Season, Rockets.  --RoadRocket

This Should Be Another Sports Axion: Don't Start Off Too Well

Case in Point, the 2018 Chicago Bears and the 2019 Bears.

We were all really, really happy last year when Da Bears had that 12-4 unbelievable turn-around season under first year coach Matt Nagy.  That sure got hopes up and excitement for this season.  But with that 3-3 record (and especially after Sunday's excuse for a game) things aren't too happy for the Monsters this year.  Now, the Bears are 4-5.

And, of course, because of that record and the excitement, the Bears have a whole lot of night and late afternoon games this year.

Well, if this season ends up tanking, at least we won't have so many late games next year.

On that note, first year Northern Illinois University coach Thomas Hammock is off to a poor start with NIU now at 2-5.  This brings to mind the greatest Northern coach, Joe Novak, who went 1-11, 0-12 and 2-10 his first three seasons before he turned the NIU program into the winner it is today.  Now the Huskies are 4-6.

So, there's hope, and if the axiom proves true.

To Coach Novak.  --RoadHuskie

From Happy to Happy Valley: #1 Place to Enjoy a Football Game is Penn State

#1  PENN STATE

Why, they even call the area where Penn State is located "Happy Valley" even though it really refers to the fact that the area wasn't hit as hard during the Great Depression because of Penn State being located there.

More than 100,000 fans descend into a cozy Pennsylvania town (42,353) every football weekend and transform it into one of the grandest parties in college sports.  Parking lots open on Thursday night as pop up towns of tents and RVs cluster around Beaver Stadium.

Students set up camps for first-come, first-served seating in their section, helping to build anticipation before game day.  Stroll through the tailgating area before kickoff and you're likely to be invited to share a beer or a brat in somebody's tent.

It's hard to beat the raucous atmosphere of a whiteout during a night game in State College with students chanting,  "We Are Penn State!!"

The downside?  Traffic is miserable with a two-lane road in and out of town.

I sure would like to have done some of (or all of) the research for this article.

Can't Beat Fun at the Old Football Game.  --RoadBall

I Guess I Should Be Telling You How They Arrived at the Rankings

I have only been to a whole bunch of games at Northwestern's Dyche Stadium, now Ryan Field, and one U of Illinois and one Indiana University game, so that is the extent of my Big 10 football experiences.

The writers of the article in the Tribune last year said they weighed factors such as atmosphere, tailgating, tradition, food and even parking to rank fan experience at each school.

They think you should put some of these on your bucket list, but say you might want to skip the East Coast.  I personally believe that those East Coast schools:  Maryland and Rutgers, are a blemish on the Big Ten, 11,12,13,14.

--RoadDog

From Happy to Sad-- Part 5: #3 Nebraska and #2 Wisconsin

3.  NEBRASKA--  Even if the game is a dud, you'll never forget your first trip to Memorial Stadium.  It is well-situated  near booth the campus and downtown Lincoln, where the most intense pregaming takes place.

The "O" Street area is full of college bars and the Haymarket part of downtown is just the place for you late 20s and 30s folks.

The experience of the fans of the visiting team is unmatched, with upbeat "Sea of Red" locals saying, "Welcome to Lincoln!  Hope you enjoy the game!" and inviting you to their tailgate for free food and drink.

Eat a corn dog and ask who the third-string punter is.  Husker fans will know.

2.  WISCONSIN--  Tradition and winning combine for a fantastic atmosphere.  Wisconsin has it all.  When "Jump Around" blasts at Camp Randall before the fourth quarter and the stadium literally starts rocking, you know you're at the Big Ten's best parties.

Wisconsin doesn't have a central tailgating area, but feel free to pop onto a lawn for a house party and buy a red Solo cup  and tap a keg.  Fans mill in and out of bars on regent Street.  Grab a couple of Spotted Cows (craft beer, hey, it's Dairy Land for crying out loud) and some brats to feel like one of the locals.

Fans even stick around for the postgame celebration with the marching band, known as "The Fifth Quarter."

So, Who's #1?  --RoadDog

DID YOU KNOW (From the Orange Peel Gazette):  The longest one syllable word in the English language is   "screeched."

From Happy to Sad, Big 10 Football Fun-- Part 3: #5 Ohio State, #4 Iowa

5. OHIO STATE--  The first time you see the "Shoe", you might be awed by its size and grandeur.  There is a massive tailgating area and then, that marching band, which bills itself as TBDBITL:  "The Best Damn Band In The Land" and they live up to that as well..  Before the game, about 10,000 fans go to the St. John Arena  for a concert.  However, OSU fans have a reputation for being less than cordial to visiting fans.

Though I am definitely NOT an OSU fan, one year a buddy and I were in Columbus when the Buckyeyes played Indiana at home.  And, I was pulling for OSU, something I thought I'd never do.  But it is always more fun to be cheering with the home team when you are in their home.  I had a real good time at several bars.

4.  IOWA--  When "Back in Black" plays, the crowd roars in anticipation of "The Swarm" where Iowa players lock arms before running onto the field.

And recently, they have added another tradition, "The Wave" as fans show support for patients in the children's hospital that overlooks the stadium.  That to me is probably the greatest college football tradition anywhere and really moves you as you can see the kids waving back.  I'm getting tingles just typing this.

Kinnick Stadium is a classic brick stadium that seats about 70,500 fans, but there are often 100,000 or more people in black and gold milling around.

--RoadFan

From Happy to Sad, Big 10 Football Fun-- Part 2: Minnesota, Indiana, MSU, Michigan

9.  MINNESOTA--  TCF Bank is the most modern stadium in the Big Ten and a huge improvement from when they played their home games in the Metrodome.  Finally a home field on the campus and, and you can buy beer.

8.  INDIANA--  The Hoosiers have a late arriving crowd, especially for noon games.  There might be 15,000 fans in the stadium at kickoff and twice as many in the parking lots.

7.  MICHIGAN STATE--  A huge, underrated walk along the Red Cedar River on a fall day as the leaves are changing is a must..  Spartan Stadium is blah, but the tailgating is astounding.  Drink beer, not the water.

6.  MICHIGAN--   The Big House is an intimidating, massive stadium, sometimes referred to as a crater with a football field at the bottom.  Some consider it a sure-fire bucket list item, and that fight song will sure stick in your mind.

Football Saturday, You Know.  --RoadPunt

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CROSS PURPOSES:  "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was a 1964 hit song for which British Invasion group?


Gerry and the Pacemakers

From Happy to Sad: Where to Go for Big Ten, 11,12,13,14 Fun-- Part 1: The Bottom Five

From the September 21, 2018, Chicago Tribune by Shannon Ryan and Teddy Greenstein.

Well, it's that time of the year again.  Leaves are turning, beer is flowing, winter's on its way.  Where to have a lot of fun at football games in the Big Ten, 11, 12, 13,14:

(Not exactly sure how come they still call it the Big Ten what with 14 teams, but I'll simply refer to it as the Big Ten after this.)

14.  MARYLAND:   Probably more into Hoops.

13.  RUTGERS:     Eating. but not much else.

I hate these two above teams being in the Big Ten.  They are not Midwest in any sense.

12.  ILLINOIS:    Bad teams don't attract.  Careful.  Everyone, even us fifty year olds get carded on the party street.  Well. that last second win against Wisconsin Saturday might help a little.

11.  PURDUE:  Low attendance at games.

10.  NORTHWESTERN:    Really not much around it.  But I will be at the game this Saturday.  Sre glad I wasn't there this past Friday against Ohio State.

--RoadTailGate
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CROSS PURPOSE:  Who was the founder of the American Red Cross?


Clara Barton