Category Archives: Uncategorized

Today in Texas History – November 5

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From the Annals of Classic Country –  In 1960, Johnny Horton  was killed in a car accident near Milano.  Horton was born in Los Angeles in 1925, but grew up in East Texas and graduated from high school in Gallatin. He worked in the fishing industry in California and Alaska but got serious about a country music career in 1950. In 1955, Horton got his big break when he joined the Louisiana Hayride as “The Singing Fisherman.” His first hit was Honky Tonk Man in 1956 and  “When It’s Springtime in Alaska” made it to No. 1 on the Country Music Charts a few years later. JH was also known for crossover hits such as North to Alaska, The Battle of New Orleans, and Sink the Bismarck.  Red’s personal favorite is his rendition of Whispering Pines.

Murder at the World Series

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In honor of the Fall Classic, Red will be posting something about  the World Series every day.  Today’s entry comes from a particularly odiferous made for TV movie called “Murder at the World Series.”  Red remembers watching this with a group of friends back in 1977 mainly because it featured scenes shot in Houston in and around the beloved Astrodome.

Other than that, MATWS has little to offer.  The basic plot is that an aspiring but psychopathic baseball player tries out for the Houston Astros and is rejected.  He tries to get revenge by undertaking a series of kidnappings and plotting to bomb a World Series game at the Astrodome.  His plans go awry when he sort of falls for one of his kidnapping victims.  He intends to let her go, but ends up killing her when a bomb planted in his van goes off.  He either gets captured or killed – Red doesn’t remember because this is some awful tripe masquerading as actual entertainment.  The MFTVM is notable in featuring Joachim “Where’s My Head” Andujar as the starting pitcher for the Astros and the late great Bob Allen as a sportscaster.  Red can’t imagine that this is ever showed anywhere, but if perchance it is, the only reason to watch is to see what the Astrodome looked like in its glory days – including the movie credits being displayed on the big light board in centerfield.

And finally, as Red’s old buddy Scooter said at the conclusion, “You know it had to be fiction because the Astros won the World Series.”

 

Did Michael Lee Call the 2016 World Series for the Cubs – in 1993?

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There is a heated debate swinging about whether Michael Lee – Mission Viejo High School Class of 1993 called the Cubs as the winner of the 2016 World Series as part of his yearbook photo tag 23 years ago.  Internet sleuths are trying to verify whether this is real or a hoax.

Frankly, Red doesn’t see it as a big deal.  Good for Michael Lee if this is his 15 minutes of fame.  And if it is a hoax, it’s a pretty good one.

The real story would be if Lee put down some serious cash with a London bookmaker on the Cubs winning the Fall Classic 23 years in advance.

 

Lance Zierlein Attempts to Bolster Josh Innes

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Out of strictly morbid curiosity, Red has listened to Josh Innes on KBME 790 a couple of times since he replaced the immortal Charlie Pallilo.  And may Red just say, it’s pretty sad.  But yesterday may have been the rock bottom.  Lance (of many entertaining voices but otherwise useless) Zierlein was basically interviewing JI in an attempt to deflect the massive amount of criticism coming his way from Pallilo fans.  The basic thrust 0f LZ’s attempt was to protest that the listeners were out of bounds in calling for Innes to be fired because that was going after the man’s livelihood.  This was mixed in with apparently blatant lies from Innes about his departure from Philadelphia.  JI was making it sound like he left Philly voluntarily because he had left Houston, gone and conquered the East Coast and was disenchanted with Philadelphia and really wanted to come back to Houston.  Somehow he left out the part about getting fired for his racist shenanigans and sagging ratings.  Anyhow, LZ was more than willing to carry the water for Innes in crying foul about listeners who can’t stand Innes and are abandoning KBME in droves after CP’s abrut firing.  Listen here Lance Baby, the listeners have every right to call for Innes’ or anyone else’s head.  It’s a tough world out there and if you and JI can’t handle, try actually working for a living like most of your listeners.

Missing Charlie Pallilo Yet?

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The answer seems to be “Yes.”  And dissatisfaction with his replacement, the racist ass-clown Josh Innes, is growing.  A reader writes:

Innes has spent the first couple of days on air trashing his previous employer as well as mocking Charlie. What kind of classless ass talks crap to the guy that they replaced? I have never heard that behavior on radio before. And of course he immediately went to racial crap. Playing Sanford & Sons over black callers, saying that they were going to call it the “black phone” and that it would be sponsored by Frenchy’s fried chicken. That’s not funny or outrageous, it’s straight up racist. 

Red is putting the over/under on Innes at 6 months and going short.  Any takers?

Red’s Texas College Football Game of the Week

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This week we visit the not-s0-friendly confines of Rice Stadium on University Blvd in Houston as the pesky Owls take on the UTSA Roadrunners in an all avian matchup.  The Owls are in trouble at 0-5 and Coach David Baliff’s squad may be looking at a winless season if they can’t knock off the 2-3 Roadrunners this week.

UTSA is coming off a big 55-32 win over Southern Mississippi last week.  UTSA finally got its faltering ground game going as running back Jalen Rhodes tallied 165 yards and three touchdowns including an 80  yard scamper.  Rhodes barely outplayed Jarveon Williams who ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns while racking up the longest play in UTSA history with a 92 yard run.

Rice is missing on all cylinders having been competitive only against weak sister North Texas.  Other than that – it’s been pretty much blowouts for the Owls.  There is a good case to be made that the Owls are the worst team in college football so far.  Rice ranks near the bottom of the nation on both sides of the ball.  They are 117th in total yards per game on offense (335 yards); 111th in passing yards per game on offencse (162 yards); 128th in  allowing a 568.4 yards per game overall  and 213 rushing yards per game.

Red would like to see the Owls win a game, but this doesn’t look like it.  UTSA 45 Rice 20.

Today in Texas History – October 12

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From the Annals of Organized Religion –   In 1680, the first Catholic Mass in Texas was held near the current day Ysleta Mission. The Mission is located in the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo within the El Paso and is recognized as the oldest continuously operated parish in Texas. The Ysleta community is also recognized as the oldest in Texas and claims to have the oldest continuously cultivated plot of land in the United States.

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 6

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Red brings you his weekly six-pack of NFL Picks for the bargain basement price of clicking onto this site.  What a deal!

Unlike Donald Trump, Red is trending in the right direction. Last week he racked up a second consecutive 5-1 record with the big upset prediction of the Falcons beating the red hot Broncos. Not in the plus column yet at 15-15 after five weeks, but this week for sure, maybe.

Sure Bet Pick of the Week – Eagles over OTNAs. An unusual pick headlines the weekly six-pack.  The line is all over the place on this one.  Some bookies have the Eagles getting 1.5 and others having them giving up from 2.5 to 3.  If you can get someone foolish enough to give you the Eagles and 1.5 take it and run.  Just don’t run too far because you might owe the Man some money.  Sure Bet?  Well, it’s a bet anyway.  Red likes the under at 45 and curiously likes the over at 44.  Aw, Uncle Red’s just messing with your math-challenged little head.  Take the over at 44 and pray for OT.  Philadelphia 26 Landover, MD 20.

Underdog Pick of the Week – Bengals at Patriots. Red picked this format and has to live with it.  So every dang week Red has to choose an underdog. And every doggone week it seems to get harder and harder.  And every dadgum week, it seems like he has no real reason to believe that a team like, say the Bengals (who got ass-whomped by the Cowboys last week) could stroll out of Foxboro with a victory over a team like the Pats (who merely beat the Browns and please note for the record, that under the technical definition of “ass whomp” it is impossible to “ass whomp” the Browns – you just can’t do it). But this galldurned week Red is going with it.   Cincinnati 24 New England 22.

Rivalry Game Pick of the Week – Raiders over Chiefs. This week we get a real rivalry –  a real bitter rivalry in fact.  The Chiefs lead the series 60-52-2 having played the Raiders every season since the first meeting at Kezar Stadium in 1960.  Of course, they have racked up a number of wins since the Raiders have been sucking for an extended period of time. The Raiders have only won once in the last 3 seasons (Thanksgiving in 2014), but this is not your father’s Raiders team.  They are your grandfather’s Raiders team.  The emaciated ghost of Al Davis rides astride pale horse on the Raiders’s sideline this week. Chiefs fans beware. Oakland 33 Kansas City 30.

Texas Franchise Pick of the Week – Packers over Cowboys.  The Cowboys spanked the Bengals last week leading 28-0 before coasting to a 28-14 win.  Dak P. continues to impress and Red’s Aunt Ida could probably run for 50 yards a game behind that offensive line.  Clearly the Cowboys offense is putting the longstanding Red Rule (score 13 points and beat the Cowboys) in jeopardy.  Packers are coming off a workmanlike win over Los Gigantes, but are still plagued by the inability to get any production out of the TE position.  Packers defense will have to win this one with at least 3 sacks and 2 turnovers.  If the Cowboys win this one, Red will eat his hat. Fortunately for Red, he typically sports a chapeau constructed from an assortment of Belgian waffles, cheese Danish and croissants. Green Bay 24 Arlington 17.

Prime Time Pick of the Week – Texans over Colts.  Texans clearly suck as do the Colts, but somebody has to win this pathetic excuse for a professional football division and the winner of this one will have a leg up on a first round exit from the playoffs. Why pick the Texans?  They are typically only embarrassed and outclassed by real football teams – and usually that happens on the road.  Sunday night in Houston, they face a pretender at home.  Fortunately for Bill-O the Clown, this is a pretender his team can probably handle. Ock Brosweiler desperately needs a decent game or the feckless faithful on Fannin Street will be calling for his head by halftime. BO manages to save his job for now, but don’t get carried away Texans fans – this Colts team is a mere shadow of its former self. Houston 21 Indianapolis 13.

Shit Bowl Pick of the Week – Panthers over Saints. Every once in a very long while, the Shit Bowl features teams that aren’t frankly all that shitty.  In other words, you could actually watch this game without having to first put away your guns, knives and sharp objects. The Panthers, for example, are one hard luck team this season who could easily be a respectable 3-2 (having lost two games by a total of 4 points) and fighting for the division lead.  Even the Saints aren’t terrible having lost two games by a total of 4 points. Are you sensing a trend here? But nonetheless, these two not-so-venerable franchises come into this week’s Shit Bowl with a combined 2-7 record.  But either of these teams could rip off 4 wins in a row and get back into the mix in the NFC South as the Falcons are destined to cool off a bit.  Which makes this one a must win game for both teams and a total crapshoot for someone like Red.  Next week, he goes back to the Browns who probably take up permanent residence in the weekly execrable excrement exhibition for the remainder of the season. Carolina 45 New Orleans 27.

Why Was Josh Innes Hired?

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The justifiable angst over the firing of Charlie Pallilo from his Drive Home slot on KBME AM 790 has also given rise to the question of exactly why was roundly disliked provocateur and obvious racist Josh Innes hired to replace him?  Innes’ departure from KILT was less than amicable and his short tenure at Philadelphia’s WIP was marked by ugly controversy over racist remarks and his general churlishness.  According to several sources,  was suspended earlier this year for calling a white Eagles’ player a “house negro.”  He was fired in August after racist mocking of fake racist caller on Mike Missanelli’s show on FM 97.5 – another Philadelphia sports talk station.   Innes is also known for his intemperance – having engaged in “feuds” with other sports talk radio morons including one incident that boiled over at an Eagles practice in 2015 – and his rudeness and mocking of callers.  Some have suggested that the racist incidents were merely the excuse used by management to get rid of Innes.  The suggestion is that he was  not liked by anyone at WIP and everyone was glad to see him go.  Add to that the fact that Innes was getting crushed by Missanelli – his  major competition in Philly.  Missanelli dominated Innes in audience share in the key men’s 25-54 demographic beating him by more than 3 points in recent ratings.   As one source put it, , “in some ways it will be a shame if he got fired for racial comments as opposed to the reality of sucking and getting bad ratings. Because now Innes will be able to play the martyr role.”

As for the rumor that fellow radio racist bloviator Michael Berry had input into bringing Innes back to Houston, it is just speculation for now.  But birds of feather as they say . . .

 

Red’s NFL Picks – Week 4

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Last week Red was 1-5, dragging season totals down to 5-13. Help me Jesus, it’s going to be a long season for old Uncle Red as he appears to be violating the first rule of holes – all the more complicated by the very tough line up of games this week.

Sure Bet Pick of the Week – Broncos over Buccaneers. The less said about last week the better.  And the less said about this week – even better.  It is hard to see a real sure fire bet this week, but Red created this monster and has to ride it until the end of the season.  Broncos will have to overcome double time zone, inverse altitudinal and humidity index hexes to win this one.  They seem up to the challenge so far.  Meanwhile, things on the west coast of the Sunshine State are not going as well as expected.  Jameis, the would be felon, is racking up the stats but mostly in garbage time.  The defense seems incapable of stopping anyone.  In the Mile High City, Coach K seems to have his quarterback mojo back and is doing amazing things with TS. Take Denver giving up 3 if you are incorrigible, but if you really must put some green down on this one, go with the over at 44. Denver 33 Tampa Bay 20.

Underdog Pick of the Week – Jets over Seahawks. Red goes with the full triple time zone, inverse hipster hex here. And the fact that Ryan Fitzpatrick usually follows a god-awful performance with a competent one. It’s a tough challenge this week going against the supposed top-ranked Seahawk defense, but RF has a decent running game to fall back on.  Meanwhile the Seahawk offense has been overly reliant on Christine Michael – that is a branch that is going to snap at some point.  Red thinks it happens this week as Jets defense stifles the running game and forces Wilson to heave it up.  New Jersey 24 Seattle 17.

Rivalry Game Pick of the Week – Cowboys over 49ers. Well this used to be a rivalry anyway.  Now it may be just another game.  Cowboys look to be on a roll but wait until December.  The Niners are not as bad as they look – they are actually far worse.  Two low mediocre defenses will at least keep this one exciting on some level. Arlington 32 Santa Clara 30.

Texas Franchise Pick of the Week – Texans over Titans.  Speaking of last week might just get your ass kicked in the Texans locker room right now.  Texans were humiliated in Foxboro, but have had 10 days to regroup for their first division outing.  All well and good until the JJ Watt news broke yesterday.   With the glamour seeking superstar probably out for the season, the Texans may actually have better focus and realize that they can’t just wait around for Watt to make a game-winning play.  The big problem is where it has been for several seasons.  They have a second string quarterback playing behind a makeshift offensive line.  Nothing will fix that, but it should be good enough to win over the weak sisters of the league like the Titans. Houston 24 Tennessee 11.

Prime Time Pick of the Week – Vikings over Giants.  Red’s pick of the Vikings is starting to look brilliant.  At least something is going right.  Red’s pick of the Giants is okay so far, but they likely lose division lead to the Cowboys this week.  That’s okay because the Cowboys always suck in December. Minnesota 26 New Jersey 23.

Shit Bowl Pick of the Week – OTNAs over Browns. The Browns have to win at least one game this season.  This one won’t be it. Do something you’ve been putting off – like having open heart surgery – rather than waste 3 hours of your precious Sunday afternoon watching this beastly bowel battle.  Landover, Md 17 Cleveland 0.