The Music Game - Courtesy of Chris Campbell

I'm glad that "I know Chris Campbell" because this is just pure greatness. Check out his blog for the 1988 version. Anyway, if you want to do this...here is what to do:

1. Go to musicoutfitters.com and, in the search box provided, enter the year you graduated high school.
2. From the search results, click the link for the top 100 songs of that year.
3. With the resulting list:
1. Bold the songs you like
2. Italicize the ones you hate
3. Underline your favorite.
4. Ignore the ones you don't remember/don't care about.

So, with that, I give you the best (and worst) from 1989:

1. Look Away, Chicago
2. My Prerogative, Bobby Brown
3. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Poison
4. Straight Up, Paula Abdul
5. Miss You Much, Janet Jackson
6. Cold Hearted, Paula Abdul
7. Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
8. Girl You Know Its True, Milli Vanilli
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird, Will To Power
10. Giving You The Best That I Got, Anita Baker
11. Right Here Waiting, Richard Marx
12. Waiting For A Star To Fall, Boy Meets Girl
13. Lost In Your Eyes, Debbie Gibson
14. Don't Wanna Lose You, Gloria Estefan
15. Heaven, Warrant
16. Girl I'm Gonna Miss You, Milli Vanilli
17. The Look, Roxette
18. She Drives Me Crazy, Fine Young Cannibals
19. On Our Own, Bobby Brown
20. Two Hearts, Phil Collins
21. Blame It On The Rain, Milli Vanilli
22. Listen To Your Heart, Roxette
23. I'll Be There For You, Bon Jovi
24. If You Don't Know Me By Now, Simply Red
25. Like A Prayer, Madonna
26. I'll Be Loving You (Forever), New Kids On The Block
27. How Can I Fall?, Breathe
28. Baby Don't Forget My Number, Milli Vanilli
29. Toy Solider, Martika
30. Forever Your Girl, Paula Abdul
31. The Living Years, Mike and the Mechanics
32. Eternal Flame, The Bangles
33. Wild Thing, Tone Loc
34. When I See You Smile, Bad English
35. If I Could Turn Back Time, Cher
36. Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
37. When I'm With You, Sheriff
38. Don't Rush Me, Taylor Dayne
39. Born To Be My Baby, Bon Jovi
40. Good Thing, Fine Young Cannibals
41. The Lover In Me, Sheena Easton
42. Bust A Move, Young M.C.
43. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Great White
44. Batdance, Prince
45. Rock On, Michael Damian
46. Real Love, Jody Watley
47. Love Shack, B-52's
48. Every Little Step, Bobby Brown
49. Hangin' Tough, New Kids On The Block
50. My Heart Can't Tell You No, Rod Stewart
51. So Alive, Love and Rockets
52. You Got It (The Right Stuff), New Kids On The Block
53. Armageddon It, Def Leppard
54. Satisfied, Richard Marx
55. Express Yourself, Madonna
56. I Like It, Dino
57. Soldier Of Love, Donny Osmond
58. Sowing The Seeds Of Love, Tears For Fears
59. Cherish, Madonna
60. When The Children Cry, White Lion
61. 18 And Life, Skid Row
62. I Don't Want Your Love, Duran Duran
63. Second Chances, .38 Special
64. The Way You Love Me, Karyn White
65. Funky Cold Medina, Tone Loc
66. In Your Room, Bangles
67. Miss You Like Crazy, Natalie Cole
68. Love Song, Cure
69. Secret Rendesvous, Karyn White
70. Angel Eyes, Jeff Healey Band
71. Patience, Guns N' Roses
72. Walk On Water, Eddie Money
73. Cover Girl, New Kids On The Block
74. Welcome to the Jungle, Guns 'n Roses
75. Shower Me With Your Love, Surface
76. Stand, R.E.M.
77. Close My Eyes Forever, Lita Ford
78. All This Time, Tiffany
79. After All, Cher and Peter Cetera
80. Roni, Bobby Brown
81. Love In An Elevator, Aerosmith
82. Lay Your Hands On Me, Bon Jovi
83. This Promise, When In Rome
84. What I Am, Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians
85. I Remember Holding You, Boys Club
86. Paradise City, Guns N' Roses
87. I wanna Have Some Fun, Samantha Fox
88. She Wants To Dance With Me, Rick Astley
89. Dreamin', Vanessa Williams
90. It's No Crime, Babyface
91. Poison, Alice Cooper
92. This Time I Know It's For Real, Donna Summer
93. Smooth Criminal, Michael Jackson
94. Heaven Help Me, Deon Estus
95. Rock Wit'cha, Bobby Brown
96. Thinking Of You, Sa-fire
97. What You Don't Know, Expose
98. Surrender To Me, Ann Wilson and Robin Zander
99. The End Of The Innocence, Don Henley
100. Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul

Things I observed while reading this list of songs:

1. I couldn't italicize Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" or Donny Osmond's "Soldier of Love" enough to tell you how much I hate those songs.
2. Music in 1989 was 70% terrible, 25% good and 5% lip synced (Milli Vanilli).
3. I forgot how cheesy Tone Loc and Young MC were. Yet, I strangely remember every single word of those songs. Too bad you can't get some C&C Music Factory or Technotronic on this list...then you would just have awful late 80's or early 90's dance music. Where's Scott Mestan when I need him? (those of you who know him are nodding right now...)
4. Yep, I pretty much still like the awful hair metal. Hadn't changed in a month since posting this...
5. I never knew that Cher and Peter Cetera did a duet, but I am pretty sure it was horrible.
6. The people who signed off on Will to Power's version of Freebird should be tortured and then shot. Then we find the band and do the same. Never. Cover. Skynyrd.
7. And finally, how they couldn't David Hasselhoff's song that he sang on the Berlin Wall (as it fell), I'll never know. What was the name of that again?

Thank you Chris Campbell. Now, Bust a Move...

Best. Game. Ever.

As both of you know, I like sports. Just a little.

There are few things that top the unpredictability of a game. It is fun to watch momentum swing from one group of athletes to another. It is cool to see a crowd react to something positive or negative on a field or court. It can be such an adrenaline rush to watch your team win. It is the ultimate reality show.

There are not many times that I sit and watch a game with no emotion. My friend, Garrett, tells me I look like an idiot when I watch football. He is dead on. Man, I wish he could have seen me last night.

Very few things get the "Save Until I Delete" designation on our TiVo. This got one. This is why I love sports.

Last night, during the Tennessee-LSU game, there might have been a little emotion. I was angry, depressed, sick, laughing (at awful offensive plays), apathetic, hopeful, fired up, worried, negative, elated and joyous.

Tennessee roared back from a 21-0 halftime deficit and a 24-7 score at the beginning of the 4th quarter. I was pretty resigned to a loss and an 0-2 start to conference play. However, I should have known...

I had seen this before. In 2000, I attended my first Tennessee game in Baton Rouge. Tennessee, much like last night, was quickly down 24-6 and then down 31-15 in the 4th quarter. They clawed back with two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to tie the game and send it to overtime, where they promptly got hammered. LSU scored with their first possession (first play) in OT and then stopped Tennessee four straight times from the 8. It was a long bitter drive back to Abilene.

It was eerie how much last night resembled that game. UT was awful in the first half and the crowd was going ape. They played "Tiger Rag" every five seconds and those drunk cajuns went insane. Tennessee regrouped at halftime and started making plays, ultimately sending the game into OT. UT won the toss (just like 2000) and went on defense. LSU chose to go the direction of their student section and band. However, this time, the Vols stopped them (after a scary first down play) and made them kick a field goal. Tennessee promptly ran the ball down the Tigers' throats and won the game. Did they really just win? Unbelievable.

When Adam Vinatieri kicked the game winning kick against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, I laid in the floor with my arms in the air. No screaming. No jumping. Just disbelief and elation No way New England won the Super Bowl! New England?? The same thing happened last night. Laying on the floor...arms in the air. No way did UT just erase a 21-0 defecit. LSU had never blown a 21 point lead in Baton Rouge in 112 years. 112 years? Disbelief and Elation.

This is why I love sports.

Save until I delete.

My other job...

Three years ago, ACU's Volleyball Coach (who is a friend of mine) called and we had the following conversation:

her: "Would you be interested in calling our games?"

me: "What do you mean calling your games, you mean like on the radio?"

her: "No, I mean as the PA Announcer."

me: "You actually have one of those? Oh wait, you mean the guy who was terrible last year, he is not doing it again?"

her: "Mercifully, no."

me: "Sure, I'll do it. Why not?"

So, I am now into my third season as the PA Announcer for ACU Volleyball. I am the "Voice of ACU Volleyball", if you will. Is that something I should put on a resume? Probably not...

Then last year, Shawna Lavender (wife to one of my best friends and the ACU Women's basketball Coach) asked if I wanted to do their games. So I gave that a shot.

I'm not going to lie to you. I love it. I get paid to sit there at courtside, watching sports, calling the game and playing music during timeouts. How great is that? It's even better that our Volleyball Team is nationally ranked and our Basketball Team should be (They are awesome). It is a blast. We never lose at home. It's a good gig.

However, I know that I am not the best PA Announcer ever. I miss calls. I make mistakes. I know that everyone in the stands thinks I am a dork. I know my friends make fun of me. How do I know this? They do it to my face. I made one mistake in my first game and I am still living it down. It's actually pretty funny. But I don't care. They can laugh at me and I won't change anything. I love what I do.

When I first started calling games a friend of mine reminded me of this story. Norman Archibald (now the Mayor of Abilene) had called ACU games as long as I could remember. He was pretty good, although sometimes he went a little over the top (like I do on occasion...). During a men's basketball game in the 1980's, we were playing a conference rival and a fight on the court broke out. Both benches cleared and Norman started screaming "Stay off the Court! Stay off the Court!". We all looked at each other because, well, no one was going on the court. The players in the midst of their melee stopped and looked over at him. He stopped the fight. I'm not sure, but I am guessing he still gets ribbed about that a little.

Anyway, my other job may not be glamourous. It may not be popular. It may even be funny to some people. But, I love it.

Plus, you never know, someday I may stop a fight or get to be mayor.

'Tis the Season

As Phil Collins and Genesis once sang: "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"...

Tonight marks one of the best events of the entire year. As both of you know, I am a huge sports fan. Last Saturday saw the kickoff of the College Football season (which I enjoy immensly). But, tonight...

That's right. Patriots-Raiduhs. The NFL is back. I can breathe again.

Don't get me wrong. I like baseball a lot. Even enjoy a good Mavs game every once in a while. But for my money, football is the one sport I would take to a desert island.

So, in honor of the greatest sports season around. I give you my fearless NFL predictions for 2005. (If you remember, and I know you don't, I'm terrible at this. I picked the Twins to go to the World Series for crying out loud.) Here we go:

NFC East - Eagles
NFC North - Vikings
NFC South - Panthers
NFC West - Rams
NFC Wildcards - Seahawks, Cowboys

AFC East - Patriots
AFC North - Ravens
AFC South - Colts
AFC West - Chiefs
AFC Wildcards - Jets, Steelers

NFC Championship - Vikings over Rams
AFC Championship - Patriots over Colts

Super Bowl XL - Patriots over Vikings (by three of course)

Everyone on the planet (that cares) is picking the Eagles or Colts. You keep doing that...Belichick will just keep winning Super Bowls.

Let the season begin.

--------------------------------

On a sadder note. I found the following story on the internet and I learned that Monday's retirement of Jerry Rice really only means one thing to my college buddies and I...

We have reached the end of an era. There is no longer anyone on an NFL roster was on Nintendo's Super Tecmo Bowl.

Here is that clip...

It looked like Jerry Rice would be the one, and perhaps he still will be, but as of Monday he officially relinquished control of deciding the age-old question: "Who will be the last Tecmo Bowl player remaining in the National Football League?" There had been only a handful of candidates on the table for a number of years, including such notable mainstays as Lee Johnson, former punter for the Cleveland Browns, and Rice's one-time teammate, Tim Brown. But in the end, it all happened rather quickly:

• July 18, 2005 - Tim Brown signs a one-day contract to retire as an Oakland Raider
• August 23, 2005 - Sean Landeta, seemingly out of the running, is signed by the Eagles
• September 3, 2005 - Eagles activate Dirk Johnson and release Landeta
• September 6, 2005 - Jerry Rice announces his retirement from the NFL

So Jerry wins right? Not so fast. The Eagles picked up Landeta because their starting punter, Dirk Johnson, had undergone surgery for a hernia and was a question mark for the regular season. When it became clear that Johnson would be able to play, Landeta was released. However, might another NFL team find themselves in a situation this year (or next...) where they could use the services of the NFL's all-time leading punter? A roughing the kicker here or a strained hamstring there could strip Mr. Rice of the one record Randy Moss can't audaciously claim he will take. Jerry will undoubtedly suffer through many a sleepless night until his claim to the title can finally be sealed, but...at least for now...he is offically pencilled in the books as The Last Tecmo Bowl Player in the NFL.

So here's to you Mike and Chris Shanks. Here's to you Steve Crockett, Jim Brown and Jim Newhouse. Here's to you David Hancock and Scott Hinshaw. Our tributes to players like Bo Jackson, Bernie Kosar and Gil Fenerty have come to a close. The era has ended. Yes, we were addicted and sad in college...but the memories were greatness. It is time to put this portion of our lives behind us forever...there is nothing on Sundays to harken us back to wasting many, many hours in front of a stupid video game.

Now...if only they would put Christian Okoye in Madden '06.