Auction of Rare Honus Wagner Baseball Card

Like a lot of youngsters growing up, I bought plenty of baseball and other sports cards — especially during a stretch of about three years from 1970-72 when I simply couldn’t get enough of them.  I still have all those cards too, though I pretty much lost interest in them as a teenager. But baseball card collectors of all stripes probably [...]

George Blanda Dead at 83

The death of George Blanda Monday brings back another one of those sports memories that I’ve always cherished. Perhaps the old AFL’s greatest rivalry (a rivalry which remained heated long after the upstart league merged with the older NFL in 1970) was that between the Kansas City Chiefs and Blanda’s Oakland Raiders.   And likely their most hard-fought meeting ever was a contest which [...]

Passing of George Steinbrenner

Just a brief notice here on the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, reported today. I don’t really follow baseball anymore, but I well remember the days of Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson.  Steinbrenner always seemed to be a magnet for controversy, but he was a winner — his Yanks won seven championships in all. [...]

A Personal Reminiscence About the Shot (Swish?) Heard Round the World — Or, At Least It Seemed That Way in Chapel Hill on the Night of 29 March 1982

I know some folks are complaining that Michael Jordan’s induction speech at the Naismith Hall of Fame Friday night turned petty and vindictive.  I even heard some Carolina fans talking about it at Ed McKay’s bookstore here in Greensboro on Saturday — and being very disparaging of MJ.  And maybe they’re right — he is pretty [...]

Brett Favre, a Minnesota Viking — Finally!

Well, ever since former standout Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre “retired,” there has been talk about him joining his arch-rival.  It’s been an on again, off again courtship, to say the least.  But last week Favre finally became a Minnesota Viking. I must admit, I’m skeptical that Favre has still got it and can help [...]

Oh, How My Heart Bleeds for Duke, State, and Wake Fans

Unless you reside on another planet or something, I suppose you’ve heard by now that the University of North Carolina Tar Heels won the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.  I’ve been a Carolina basketball fan for nearly forty years, and I’ve never seen a Tar Heel team this dominant in the NCAAs.  None of their games [...]