What it is -- is Football

Football is upon us.  I have three Fantasy Football drafts in three days. Time to get caught up.  Let's see . . .

Payton Manning is a Bronco.

Baby bro Eli has more Super Bowl rings than Payton & Archie combined - and is still the 3d most talked-about QB in New York.

Chad Ochocinco now Chad Johnson (again). The season hasn't started and already he has one arrest, one divorce, one reality series cancelled, one sponsor dropped, but no football team after he was cut by the Dolphins.

Notre Dame opens its college football season by playing Navy -- in Ireland.

This season, the Colts are relying solely on Luck.

In this presidential election year, the most talked about person in Washington D.C. isn't a Republican or Democrat, but RGIII. 

Politically correct Washington remains the only place in American where you can still talk about Redskins in polite company.

3,000 former NFL players are suing the NFL because they got hit while playing football.

And where is Curtis Painter?

But at least a gaggle of reporters aren't hanging out in Brett Favre's backyard waiting for him to unretire.

Yep, it's that time of year.  And to paraphrase the late Andy Griffith: "What it is, is football"

IMAGES FROM 2012 MOTO GP AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

THE SITES AND SOUNDS OF THE MOTO GP ARE AMAZING.  HERE ARE SOME IMAGES CAPTURED AT THE 2012 RED BULL MOTO GP IN INDY

Capturing the feel of speed by slowing the shutter

Touching the pavement, two MotoGP bikes race into a sharp turn

Interesting digital image - pixelized photo of large TV on scoreboard

THE END

Mid-Ohio Raceway: Indycars and American LeMans cars

A few photos from my day at Mid-Ohio Race Course taken during the Indy Car / American LeMan Series racing weekend.

Helio Castroneves

James Hinchcliffe in Go-Daddy car

J.R. Hildebrand in pink camo National Guard car

Ooops.  USF 2000 car ends up in the sand trap

Purdue's Top 25 Basketball Players

A few days ago, I published my list of top I.U. basketball players.  While I'm an I.U. fan, I've also followed Purdue since the Terry Dischinger battled Ohio State's Jerry Lucas when I watched snowy images on Channel 4 with my older brother.+

Top Purdue Players:

1.  Rick Mount
2. John Wooden
3. Glen Robinson
4. Terry Dischinger
5. Joe Barry Carrol
6. Robby Hummel
7. Troy Lewis
8. Dave Schellhase
9. JuJuan Johnson
10. Paul Hoffman
11. Herm Gillium
12. Brad Miller 
13. Jerry Sichting 
14. Billy Keller
15. Bulbs Ehlers 
16. Charles "Stretch" Murphy
17. Cuonzo Martin 
18. Todd Mitchell
19. Bruce Parkinson
20. Woody Austin
21. E'Twaun Moore
22. Brian Cardinal
23. Jimmy Oliver
24. Carl Landry
25. Chad Austin

I.U.'s Top 25 Basketball Players

In light of the Indianapolis Star current series listing of Indiana University's top 50 players, here's my top 25 -- okay, its actually 27, but Tom & Dick VanArsdale were really one player, weren't they?  And I just could not leave Bobby Leonard off this list.

Isiah Thomas would probably have been higher, but he only played two years. Eric Gordon could have made the list, but he only played one year.  Cody Zeller may well move up near the top of the list.  Some pre-1960s players probably got overlooked, but my choice for the most overlooked player on the list is Walt Bellamy, a member of the incredible 1960 Olympic team who had an amazing NBA career overshadowed by being a contemporary of Wilt Chamberlain & Bill Russell.  

My list of Purdue's best will follow shortly.

1. Steve Alford
2. Walt Bellamy
3. Calbert Cheaney
4. Isiah Thomas
5. Scott May
6. Mike Woodson 
7. Don Schlundt
8. Allan Henderson
9. Quinn Buckner
10. George McGinnis
11. Archie Dees
12. Jay Edwards
13. Dick & Tom Van Arsdale
14. Randy Whitman
15. Cody Zeller
16. Damon Bailey 
17. Kent Benson
18. Steve Downing 
19. Jimmy Rayl
20. Jared Jeffries
21. Brian Evans 
22. Keith Smart
23. Ted Kitchell
24. Eric Anderson
25. A.J. Guyton / Bobby Leonard

Top 20 Annimated Movies Ever - My List

Just saw Brave, the newest Disney/Pixar annimated movie.  It's well done and worth seeing, but not a classic.  Talking about the movie afterward, I gave thought to what are the best annimated movies ever.  Here's my list:

1. Up.  The first 10 minutes of this film are as good as any movie ever made.
2. Beauty and the Beast.  Everything animation can be.
3. Toy Story 1&2.  Woody, Buzz and a new type of animation
4. Sleeping Beauty.  My favorite of the classic Disney movies. I still have nightmares about the queen turning into a dragon
5. Incredibles.  Superheros growing older, out of shape, with teenage kids who are, well, teenagers.
6. Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs.  This classic created a new art form.
7. Shrek 1 & 2.  Ogres and and ass have never been so entertaining.
8. Finding Nemo.  Simply delightful
9. Pinnochio.  This classic story still remains fresh and vivid decades after its release
10. Lion King.  Majestic. 
11. Little Mermaid.  The first modern heroine with a memorable score.
12. Aladdin.  Once we heard Robin Williams, we were no longer left with the image of Barbara Eden as the ultimate genie. 
13. Iron Giant.  The animation is not breathtaking, but the story is classic.
14. Wall-E.  An unusual, risky movie that delights and amazes
15. Nightmare Before Christmas.  Tim Burton's vision, and Santy Clause will never be the same.
16. Ratatouille. A rat as a hero? 
17. Coraline. Fascinating, creepy, dark and entertaining
18. How to Train Your Dragon.   Exciting and just fun
19. Lady and the Tramp.  Maybe the sweetest Disney film, with one of the best villains in all of cinema
20. An American Tale. A true American story done in classic animation style.

Death and Promise: A Tail of Two Basketball Players

Life in its full array of tragedy and promise is played out this week on basketball courts in Indiana.

Indiana All-Star Larretha Draughon

Two young people from troubled backgrounds -- one a young Indiana All Star from inner-city Indianapolis;  the other a second round NBA draft pick acquired by the Indiana Pacers.  One was a young woman with a troubled past of drugs and the wrong type of friends, but who spoke the right words in public.  The other was a young man left to be raised by two brothers after he survived the murder of his mother, the death of his grandmother, and a house fire in which four relatives were killed.

The young woman, Larretha Draughon, 22, died in a barrage of gunfire early Tuesday morning when she went with a group of those "wrong" friends to a deserted basketball court for a prearranged fight between gangs.  Someone opened fire and Larretha was shot twice in the chest.  She was found dead in a car a few blocks from the scene.

Orlando Johnson is the young man.  Drafted by Golden State, Johnson was obtained by the Pacers in a draft night deal.  The Pacers are high on his talent and think he could end up in the teams rotation at shooting guard, something not common for a second round draft pick.

UCSB Star & Now Indiana Pacer Orlando Johnson

This was a momentous week for Johnson, who took the court this week for his first practice as an NBA player.

There are a whole bunch of people pulling for him.  The obstacles he has overcome are nearly unfathomable.  His mother was murdered (still unsolved) when he was an infant.  He lived with his grandmother, but at age 6 tragedy struck again and the grandmother's house burned, killing four relatives.  Five years later, his grandmother died.  

Orlando was left to be raised by two brothers, not always a happy prospect.  But the brothers were "strict and stricter" according to Orlando.  He graduated from University of California Santa Barbara.  And now, with a world of promise in front of him, he is taking his best shot at the NBA.

Two lives filled with tough times.  One heading into a future of shining promise.  The other dead.