We Hardly Knew Ye: Don James

The greatest coach in Washington football history died yesterday at age 80.

In 18 seasons, from 1975 to 1992, James lead the Huskies to 14 bowl games. They won ten of them, including four Rose Bowls. In 1991, his 12-0 Huskies shared the national championship with Miami.

Read more here.
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MPLS

Yesterday I returned from the latest of my annual ballparks-I've-never-been-to-before road trips, this time to Minneapolis. There I saw the Mariners take two out of three from the Twins, though I didn't stick around for the series finale, which the M's also won. (I've now attended games at 26 of the 30 current MLB stadiums, leaving only Toronto, Tampa Bay, Miami and Wrigley Field.) The series highlight was easily Monday's game, in which King Felix threw a complete-game five-hit shutout. On top of that, Root Sports showed me on the M's Seattle telecast, thanks to some behind-the-scenes arrangements by my pals Curtis and Amy. Here I am, game face on...

A couple days later, I took a tour of the Twins' former home, the Metrodome, where the Vikings still play...

I was far more impressed with the Dome Plus store across the street, especially its Original Baseball Hall of Fame Museum of Minnesota...

I bought a Twins T-shirt there.

One day I went out to Saint Paul, where I checked out the Minnesota Wild hockey arena, and had a late breakfast at Mickey's Dining Car...

Another day I ventured down to Bloomington to see the rocket-powered Human Fly motorcycle, built in 1977 by Rocketman Ky Michaelson. Ky welcomed me into his home, showing me his custom cycles and homemade rockets and celebrity photos and heaps of other memorabilia, and regaling me with stories of working with the Human Fly and other daredevils throughout his career. All in all, a great guy.

Here's video of the Fly's rocket-powered jump (it starts at the 5:15 mark), and here's the bike's gas tank (which wasn't actually on the bike at the time of the jump)...

Also in Bloomington I visited the Mall of America, just to gawk at the monstrosity of it all (I bought an Orange Julius to enhance the experience). It's built on the site of the former Twins/Vikings home, Metropolitan Stadium, while the nearby Ikea is built on the site of the former North Stars home, the Met Center. These are my feet...

I got around the Twin Cities via bus, taxi, light rail and bicycle. The bike rental system is way better than what I experienced a few years back in Copenhagen, and even if the bikes themselves are somewhat cumbersome, they're easier to ride in flat Minneapolis than a lightweight 18-speed is in hilly Seattle. This is what a rental kiosk looks like...

I pedaled by the Let It Be house and Paul Westerberg's house, around Lake Calhoun, across the Stone Arch Bridge, and through Dinkytown to the Gopher Hole...

Foodwise, the best thing I ate was an amazing mushroom tart at Fika, the American Swedish Institute's cafe (and I got Eliza this tea towel in the ASI gift shop). I also liked the Jucy Lucy at Matt's, and Black Sheep's meatball pizza, which I shared with my pal Nicole. Along the way, I enjoyed plenty of Surly, Summit, and especially Grain Belt beer...

At The Depot (part of the famed First Avenue/7th Street Entry rock 'n' roll complex), I had the pleasure of meeting up with Tom, the guy who does my favorite baseball blog, It’s a Long Season. The building is covered with stars commemorating the more noteworthy acts that have performed there over the years, including this personal favorite...

Besides the 'Mats, songs by Husker Du and Soul Asylum ran through my head throughout the trip.

What else? I played Spider-Man and Rolling Stones pinball at Grumpy’s, saw statues of Mary Tyler Moore, Kirby Puckett, and several Peanuts characters, bought some Batman Legos at the flagship Target store downtown, walked through a bit of the Skyway, and took in the view from the Foshay Tower...

So yeah, I crammed a whole lot into three days, yet I still found time for a couple naps and a dip in the hotel pool. Still, I missed a few things that'll have to wait 'til next time: the Witch's Hat Water Tower, Nye’s Polonaise Room, the 5-8 Club, the CC Club, and a Silver Butter Knife Steak from Murray's (currently closed for renovations)...

Love is all around, indeed... Skål! 

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Mandich Update

Earlier this season, Jim "Mad Dog" Mandich -- the most famous guy with my last name -- was posthumously inducted into the Dolphin Honor Roll at Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium Pro Player Park Pro Player Stadium Dolphins Stadium Dolphin Stadium Land Shark Stadium Sun Life Stadium. From the Miami Herald comes this article, plus photos and a video. Here he is in action against Pittsburgh...

I first blogged about him in 2008, and again last May when he died. Here's another shot, hauling in a pass against New England...

Much less famous is Dan Mandich, who I once briefly mentioned here...

He played in 111 NHL games, all for the Minnesota North Stars, between 1982 and 1986. One of his game-worn jerseys was recently up for auction...

Here he flattens Calgary's Lanny McDonald...

Finally, video of him taking out Detroit's Greg Stefan.
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We Hardly Knew Ye: Jim Mandich

The most famous guy with my last name passed away last Tuesday at age 62. That's him catching a Bob Griese pass in Super Bowl VII. I previously wrote about him here.
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Go Huskies Ducks!

Though I'm a Husky alum/fan, I'm cheering for the rival Oregon Ducks to win tonight's big game. I'm no traitor - I just think it'd be cool for a Northwest team to be crowned national champs. We'll be watching at the home of Duck alum/fan (and ESPN subscriber) JP, but first we're gonna whip up a batch of UO cookies.

Speaking of JP (and depicting of mascots), here he is at Friday's Thunderbirds game:

I've submitted it to the Cool Bird & Me Photo Contest - good luck, JP!

UPDATE

The cookies turned out better than the game:

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Sweet-Ass Simulations

Above, what Husky Stadium will look like by the 2013 season, after its $250 million renovation. Below, what Tacoma's Cheney Stadium will look like next season, after its $30 million renovation...



Lastly, what the proposed tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct will look like, after its $900 bazillion construction...



This is my favorite simulation of the three, but I hope it doesn't become a reality.

12/3/10 UPDATE



Above, what Vancouver's BC Place Stadium will look like next year, after its $150 million renovation. Below, what Portland's PGE Park will look like next year, after its $31 million renovation (it's not a video, but click here for a somewhat interactive simulation)...

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Postage Stamp of the Week: George Halas

Welcome to my blog's latest feature, Postage Stamp of the Week™ (inspired by that killer crossword stamp below). The US Postal Service has issued enough stamps in the last 160 years to keep this thing afloat for awhile, so let's get right to it, shall we?

George Halas, depicted on this 1997 stamp, coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years -- including six NFL titles -- and to this day his Bears pay tribute by wearing his initials on their sleeves.

So, Bears v. Colts, Super Bowl XLI. At this time last year I was pooping my pants over the Seahawks's Super Bowl debut, in a cool old city with my favorite band playing halftime. However, I'm fairly indifferent about this year's game. Ever since the Colts left Baltimore, I haven't been able to take the India-no-place team too seriously. Meanwhile, the Bears clobbered my 'Hawks 37-6 earlier this year on national primetime TV, and then knocked them out of the playoffs in a 27-24 overtime game a couple weeks back. Still, the ol-skoo Bears are my sentimental favorite, but I won't be paying much attention.

Anyway, read more about the legendary George Halas here.
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It Was Twenty-Five Years Ago Today

Halloween, 1981: The Wave is invented at Husky Stadium.

Geez, lotsa entries here lately about big stadium events...

Anyway, the Wave's origin revolves around Robb Weller, a former UW "yell leader" who went on to a broadcasting career, most notably as an Entertainment Tonight co-host in the '80s, and now as host of a local news show in LA. Weller graduated from the UW in 1971, and was was often invited back to subsequent games as a "guest cheerleader." As he explains here: “We used to do a version of the wave, just in the student section of the stadium, but we didn’t have a name for it. Then, while I was serving as a guest cheerleader for the homecoming game in October 1981, the wave leaked out of the student section and just took off. That’s how it got started.”

The origin is explained a bit differently in Wet and Wired: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Pacific Northwest, which says Weller co-created the Wave with UW Marching Band Director Bill Bissell: "For a couple years, the two had experimented with a version that moved horizontally from the bottom row of stands to the top. Although it worked well, only part of the stadium could be involved at any one time. During the Halloween game with Stanford, however, they got the idea of moving the Wave section by section in a circular fashion throughout the stadium, and the thing just took off. Bissell recalled that the players stood in awe of what the fans were doing and that Stanford almost didn’t get its plays off."

In the following days, there was no mention of this weird new crowd cheer in the Seattle P-I or even the University of Washington's Daily, but Seattle Times columnist Georg N. Myers noted: “Washington’s student rooters remained glued to their seats, mesmerized by the medicine-man tactics of Robb Weller, the irrepressible, irreplaceable yell king of a decade ago. Into the final minute, Weller had the stands in a rolling roar, standing, section by section, shouting, waving arms. The decibel level was appropriate to the outrageous commotion on the field.”

The Huskies won, 42-31, and at some point soon after, the "rolling roar" became the world-famous "Wave."

There's also an entirely different, totally bullshit version of the Wave's origin according to some clown named Krazy George.
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