The American Spectator

Today on the main site:

• Breathless, by Ben Stein

• Cuba 1962: Lessons for Today, by John C. Wohlstetter

• Nothing New at Chrystler, by Eric Peters

• Plus more…

Comment of the day:

Reader John on Reid Collins’s Hike!

My father passed from this Earth in winter of 1975. He was a 39 year old football fanatic. He would watch football even if the teams on the field were two of his most despised.

He was deathly ill the year of the 1975 Super Bowl. (for the ‘74 season) Super Bowl IX… We had shared that season, savoring the upstart Steelers who from 1969-1974 had come from no where to dominate the decade.

His ending comment for the game was about Terry Bradshaw… “He’ll be the last of the great quarterbacks…. ‘cause he calls his own game.”

Dad, called Tom Landry “The Fantastic Plastic Man”. He reviled the computers, the plays called from the sideline, the hopping popping jumping wiggling motions on the line…

To him, football stewed down to 4 running plays and 2 pass plays and all the rest of it was just “fancy waving and moving around to distract the defense”.

A few years back I watched a total minute for minute replay of Super Bowl III - Dad and I watched that one together, too. For a “high powered” fancy passing attack, there was no motion, no bobbing and weaving, and it turned out was mostly a split back formation with Don Maynard split out. Boozer and Snell basically pounded the ball. And Joe Namath called his own plays.

So did Bart Star…. YA Tittle… Johnny U (Who would have punched out a coach if the coach dared to call a play.)

Dad was right. No one since Bradshaw has been truly great. Formidable skills… maybe… but not great.

I agree with Mr. Collins. Ban play calling from the sideline. I don’t care if the Center is calling plays with an assist from the Flanker… I don’t care if they draw them in the dirt like we used to do as kids… no pads… no yard markers… no rule book…

Just “1 minuted of planning, 5 seconds of furious execution, and 3 minutes arguing over who fouled whom after the play…” (that from Dad over watching our furious sandlot football games when I was a kid.)

What to watch for:

• IMF starts negotiations in Belgrade.

• Windows 7 will be launched and supposedly rival Mac’s OS X.

• New York City will crack down for a day on cell phone use while driving.

Game of the day:

• Playoffs: Yankees vs. Angels at 7:57 pm (ET)

Wednesday’s Best:

A Day in the life of Bernie Madoff: