Random Sports Reference

  Tank McNamara from the brilliant adroit pen of Bill Hinds Remember comicstrips?  Remember newspapers? Well, for those too young ➖ or too old ➖ to remember either of the above mentioned items, they used to run hand-in-hand.  Legend has it they still do.  Back in the day when handheld newspapers were all the rage (no, seriously, they used to be bigger than social media), countless numbers of people read the comics page before anything else. Comics pages were populated by comicstrips, essentially humorously drawn panels that told a clever story, joke or gag. These strips were produced by artists who generally worked for outfits who syndicated them to newspapers that subscribed to their content.  If by chance you still subscribe to a handheld newspaper, don't forget to take all your daily medication and check the calendar to see if you're forgetting one of your grandchildren's birthday, because chances are you're, uh, old.  And while you're at it, make a note...

Go ahead and take a nice long look at this photo of legendary Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson taken by photographer Bill Ray for Life Magazine. Ray got the shot at halftime of Super Bowl I held Jan. 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Coliseum.  What stands out? Well, likely for starters it's the cigarette Dawson's dragging on. Most athletes don't smoke today (not cigarettes, at least), and if they don't do it around photographers.  But what else do you see?  There's a bottle of something resting between Dawson's feet. My first thought was, "Is that a beer?" Nope. Turns out it's even more shocking. It's a Fresca.  What's a Fresca, you ask. Folks of a certain age (me, for example) know that a Fresca is a lightly carbonated grapefruit soda that, depending on your tastebuds, is either a pretty smooth beverage or something that goes spewing back out the moment it hits your mouth.  Anything else jump out?  How about the folding metal chairs or...