Mark’s Musings – January 8, 2014

Mark Fortune

Extreme, extreme, extreme. An extreme weekend of football followed by extreme cold temperatures and wind.

I thought the Buckeyes had the game in hand – and did – and should have put in Kenny Guiton. It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback of course – but it was clear to everyone that something was amiss with Braxton Miller. I imagine head coach Urban Meyer thought – Braxton is our guy and deserves to go out with a bang. Hard to know at this point of course and maybe this was discussed in the post-game interviews or in the big city paper over there in Columbus. I did not see either so some of you may know the answer already. I guess the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter now.

Let’s turn to the NFL. I tend to watch pro football at playoff time – honestly, I find the regular season somewhat tedious. I think that the players ratchet up their game at playoff time knowing of course, that you either win or go to Disney. Or maybe the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, I’m not sure. You did hear about the new format for the Pro Bowl? There is no kick return – a coin toss will determine the first receiving team. The conference designation is also gone – with players being “recruited” for the big game in Hawaii on Jan. 26. Doesn’t matter – not sure if anyone watches it anyway.

We still have OSU basketball and the men are rolling. The Big Ten schedule will be a challenge with Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Badgers are impressive thus far as well so that match-up will be fun indeed.

The bitter cold temperatures remind me of the days on the farm – and the winter when a blizzard struck in February. Not sure of the year – not important. One of our cows had a calf and did not seem to want to nurse it. So, the calf came in the house after Dad found it half frozen – or more. We rubbed that black calf until it warmed up and then bottle fed it. It slept behind the recliner on an old blanket until it was strong enough to stand on its own. We kids took turns with the feeding of course. Those really were the days. These sorts of adventures happened regularly on the farm – as most farm folks will tell you – things happen that you really can’t explain. But they happen and then they become stories that you pass down and discuss around the dinner table for years. We still talk about that one. And the calf? Got healthy, stayed healthy, went back to its mom and was none the wiser. Good times.

And all this talk about bitter cold and global warming has me wondering – what is “up” with gas prices? It’s all good – in 2025 new fuel economy regulations take effect, with miles per gallon at 54.5 for some models. Yep. Research it. New pick-up trucks now get over 20 miles per gallon versus their decade old cousins that get half of that. But I’m not sure that will help – as demand will increase. More later.

Category: Mark's Musings