PA Trip - Day 5

Sunday Night Debacle

One of the highlights of my visit to Pennsylvania was supposed to be watching my beloved Kansas City Chiefs playing my best friend Skip's beloved Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. Unfortunately, only one of the teams actually showed up for the game, and it wasn't mine.

Post-game memorial service for the Chiefs' offense

In a game that wasn't nearly so close as the score would suggest, the Steelers crushed the Chiefs 43-14, beating them thoroughly on offense, defense, and special teams. It was an embarrassing performance by Kansas City.





In many ways the Chiefs self-destructed, fumbling to set up one early Steeler TD drive, and throwing an interception to give them another short field. A Chiefs kick return TD was negated by penalty, and many other penalties wiped out large gains.

The Chiefs have a bye next week, and I can only hope they figure out what needs
to happen next. The Chiefs team that played in Pittsburgh last night isn't going to win many games in the NFL...

"So, no Chiefs highlights at all?"

I presume the bus driver got the team to and from the stadium in good order...aside from that, nobody did anything right all night...

With a Whimper

My beloved Kansas City Royals ended their disappointing, injury-plagued 2016 season
at Kauffman Stadium yesterday afternoon, falling to the Cleveland Indians 3-2 and thus failing to achieve the team's fourth consecutive winning season (they finished 81-81).
In addition to getting swept by the Indians in their three-game series, the Royals also lost to the Twins the day after recording their 81st win, so the season ended on a four- game losing streak. The Royals were outscored in the four games 23-13.

The Royals went 12-15 in September, and the biggest reason for their failure to make the playoffs was a 6-11 home record after September 1, including four-game and five-game home losing streaks.

It was a splendid two-year run,
and two straight American League pennants and a World Series Championship are certainly nothing to sneeze at.

Most of the team's key players will be back next season, so there is plenty of reason for optimism.

"You just really didn't have a very good sports day yesterday, did you?"

I really didn't, no...

Survival of the Fittest

From the indispensable comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though Wiley is a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

On October 3, 1954 Stephen Ray Vaughan was born in Dallas. He began playing guitar at age seven, inspired by his older brother Jimmie (also a favorite of mine), and by the time of his tragic death at age 35 in a helicopter crash Stevie Ray Vaughan had become one of the most popular and influential guitarists who ever lived.

A little over a year after he died,  
The Sky Is Crying, was released.
The album, which consisted of unreleased studio tracks, was compiled by Jimmie mostly because he wanted Stevie's cover of the title track, a blues standard by Elmore James, to see the light of day.

My own favorite from the album is Stevie's cover of the traditional blues standard "Boot Hill" (which has been around so long no one is sure who wrote it). It is my go-to Stevie Ray number when I'm enjoying my air guitar iTunes playlist.

Today's send-off is the original album track, just as Stevie recorded it in 1989, when he was at his peak as a guitarist. Enjoy...