Mike's Noise

"Horns" pull it off!

Last night I did something I rarely do - I sat down and watched a sporting event, the Rose Bowl national collegiate football championship between the USC Trojans and the University of Texas Longhorns.

And my Horns did not dissapoint.

It was a real nailbiter of a game, and probably the most exciting final two minutes of football that I've seen in a long time.  Texas pulled off some of the most flawlessly-executed offensive football that I've ever seen.  And Vince Young was simply unstoppable.  Maybe no one remembers the late-70's Dallas Cowboys anymore, but I immediately thought of Roger Staubach in his prime, looking for receivers, spotting a hole, ducking the ball, and charging, slipping through tackles and barging his way to a first down.  Vince Young rushed for almost as many yards as he passed, and scored three of UT's touchdowns.  I predict that he will be a very wealthy man when he joins the NFL.

Congrats, Texas Longhorns!

YEEESSSSS!!!

YEEESSSSS!!!

45 to 12.

It's been a long, long time.

To the Sooners: consider this an act of kindness, sparing you from being humiliated a third consecutive time in the National Championship game. (heh)

Hook 'em Horns!!  A UT National Championship looks pretty good right now...

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For your listening pleasure:

Milton Brown and his Brownies - Beautiful Texas (1935)

Download milton_brown_beautiful_texas.mp3

Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights - Deep In The Heart of Texas (1942)

Download horace_heidt_deep_in_the_heart_of_texas.mp3

Lance Armstrong, The All-American Boy

7th Heaven!

Lance is 100% American and a testimony to the fact that hard work and determination can conquer even the threat of death.  Armstrong never surrendered to doubters or even to his own pain and suffering.

No wonder the French don't like him.

Not much metal left in "Iron Mike"

I've never been a pugilist or a fan of the sport, but occasionally fighters come along that compel all of us to watch them.  Muhammad Ali was one of those rare athletes whose quick wit, showmanship, and stamina gave boxing the intellectual status that it so desperately needed.  Many have tried to become boxing stars of Ali's magnitude, but none have succeeded him.

Mike Tyson became a star because of his strength.  His management and promotion team, led by the freakish Don King, made sure that the entire world knew that no other fighter could stand a chance against Tyson's heavy blows.  His knockouts were impressive, but they drew attention away from the fact that he was a poor stamina fighter.  If he had to take a fight into more than six rounds, then he couldn't keep the magic flowing.  After he spent time in prison and was forced to more or less fight his way back to the top, he had lost the magic all together, and if he couldn't knock out an opponent in the opening rounds then it was a sure bet that he couldn't last long enough to pound his opponent into defeat.

Now thanks to Tyson's loss to unranked Kevin McBride, his fighting career is over, and what does Tyson have left?  A criminal record, bankruptcy, $300 million down the toilet, a ruined marriage to a supermodel, and he isn't even 40 years old yet.  His last few fight purses have gone to pay off debts and further keep him out of the courts.

More proof, I suppose, that talent and fame are no guarantees of an easy life.