Pitch-perfect from the very start! Mike Klingaman in the Baltimore Sun on one of Baltimore's most-beloved icons: "Art Donovan played pro football for 12 years. The rest of his life, he spent telling everyone about it."; For the people of Baltimore, he was a true Hall-of-Famer in every way that really counts in life; Excellent ‏@thomloverro piece on Donovan family tradition of service in U.S. military in The Telegraph!

We’re saddened by the loss of one of the true legends of the game and Class of 1968 enshrinee Art Donovan. http://t.co/43XzpVMbjQ
— Pro Football HOF (@ProFootballHOF) August 5, 2013

So very much I could say here.
Stories I could share that made me laugh over the years no matter how many times I'd heard them before. That is when you really know you like someone -you laugh at the jokes and anecdotes they tell just as hard as the first time you heard them, decades ago.

Here's the thing you need to know and appreciate: in a country of over 312 million people with different opinions and views on every subject under the sun, there's only a handful of living former athletes in this country who were or are as important, as closely-identified and as genuinely beloved in their cities or regions as Art Donovan was to the Baltimore area.

Baltimore Colts legend Art Donovan, who died Sunday at 89, played and talked a great game. http://t.co/iZ7FWLAFjV
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) August 5, 2013

Baltimore Sun

Art Donovan, vocal ex-Colts defensive tackle, dies at 89

By Mike Klingaman The Baltimore Sun

9:52 p.m. EDT, August 4, 2013

Art Donovan played pro football for 12 years. The rest of his life, he spent telling everyone about it.

Donovan, 89, who died Sunday of a respiratory ailment at Stella Maris Hospice, played and talked a great game. He was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts and an engaging raconteur at banquets and on TV talk shows. His cherublike face, adenoidal voice and side-splitting tales of yore captivated generations of viewers who never saw Donovan collar a quarterback or take down a runner.

"Artie made a career out of telling people everything that he'd done right — and wrong — in football," said Ordell Braase, his teammate on the field and in the broadcast studio. "The diversity of his appeal was amazing. Everyone wanted to hug 'Fatso,' from young girls to little old ladies."

Read the rest of the article and see the great photo gallery at:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-donovan-advanceobit-20130804,0,2235243.story

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RT: The great American story of Art Donovan and family. My Guardian story http://t.co/QlsgzoKj0l
— thom loverro (@thomloverro) August 7, 2013

"The world is not as bright tonight because we lost someone who could make us all smile.” We'll miss you Art. http://t.co/3MDGStd0uv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2013

Remembering Baltimore Colts legend Art Donovan. VIDEO | http://t.co/pK7g8zDHhq
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 5, 2013

Here is a tribute to the late Art Donovan, a truly unique professional athlete is there ever was one. http://t.co/60kLWVFTpe
— Elliot Harrison (@Harrison_NFL) August 5, 2013

Mike Webb YouTube Channel video: Art Donovan on NBC-TV's "Tonight Show" with host Johnny Carson, circa 1987. Uploaded August 15, 2010. http://youtu.be/7HDRLnoAY9E




WMAR-TV 2, Baltimore
Hall of Fame Colt Art Donovan a friend to all
By Jeff Hager
August 5, 2013

BALTIMORE -
He first met Art Donovan as a rookie safety out of the state of Alabama, and the towering tackle took Andy Nelson under his wing in what became a lifetime friendship that only came up short when it came to tasting his former teammate's barbecue.

"He likes Spam and he like hotdogs and pizza, but he wasn't a big pit beef man, pork man," recalled Nelson.

Over the years, Nelson says he did know enough about the gentle giant to keep a Schlitz beer on hand to help that pit beef go down.


Read the rest of the article at: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/baltimore_city/hall-of-fame-colt-a-friend-to-all

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-artdonovan,0,280730.storygallery

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/08/looking-back-at-art-donovans-best-late-night-appearances/

Baltimore Ravens victory parade delayed by traffic gridlock as fans throng to downtown Baltimore and M&T Stadium, but is now proceeding; watch the parade LIVE!; @ravens, #BaltimorePride, #ravens, #nfl, #superbowl47

Maryland National Guard Humvee outside Baltimore City Hall waiting for the Ravens police-escorted buses to navigate the traffic gridlock from training camp and arrive for Head Coach John Harbaugh to stand in the turret for parade.

Baltimore Ravens victory parade delayed by traffic gridlock as fans throng to downtown Baltimore and M&T Bank Stadium; watch the parade LIVE; 

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/live-video/

12:02 p.m. Floats now leaving Baltimore City Hall 
12:07 p.m. Ed Reed carrying Lombardi Trophy and letting fans along parade route touch it...

Skychopper 13's view looking southwest towards Oriole Park at Camden Yards in foreground and purple-colored M&T Bank Stadium across the expressway as crowds begin to fill the stadium.

By 11:20 a.m., the entire top deck of the stadium was full and fans, allowed on the field for the first time, was nearing the safety capacity.

At 11:30 a.m., Coach John Harbaugh along with team owner Steve Bisciotti, arrived at the stadium, where Harbaugh addressed the crowd and apologized for being late but told them that he and the entire team and organization would be back in an hour after a tour of the downtown area, and for them NOT to leave.

The last point is important as Baltimore Police are concerned that throngs of fans will try to follow team buses back from City Hall to M&T and put it over capacity.

Rumors are also circulating that there may be some 'surprise' entertainers arriving for the ceremony at the stadium.

Above, the Baltimore Ravens t-shirt I wore during Sunday's Super Bowl win over the 49ers, and back on January 12th for the Ravens at Texans playoff game that I watched in Stockholm.

I had to watch that game and the other divisional playoff games online via nfl.com from the B&B I was staying at in Stockholm, after paying the bargain price of $40 to watch all the playoff games and the Super Bowl outside of the U.S., because the Stockholm sports bars wouldn't be staying open late enough for me and other fans to see all of the the games.
One place that I was told was among the best sports bars was going to close at Midnight, roughly the start of the fourth quarter of the Ravens at Texans game, and because the Packers at 49ers Saturday night game started at 2:30 am Stockholm time, well, you can imagine.
I didn't go to sleep until about 6:30 a.m.

More on that watching football on a computer from thousands of miles away in the coming days, which I'd originally hoped to LIVE blog but couldn't due to technical reasons.

Naturally, since the Ravens won, I couldn't wash it during the intervening weeks, so I kept it in a zip-lock bag during the intervening weeks to keep the magic "fresh."
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/

Forbes.com
Value Of Super Bowl Champ Ravens Soars Under Owner Steve Bisciotti
Kurt Badenhausen
2/04/2013 @ 12:21PM 
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/02/04/value-of-the-ravens-soars-under-owner-steve-bisciotti/

As Super Bowl 47 draws near, I recall "Cool American" chips in Stockholm and the only sign I've seen in two weeks back in Hallandale Beach that someone else here pays attention to detail; #superbowl47

Saw this attention to detail at the joint Pepsi and Tostitos display almost immediately after taking a few steps into the Publix grocery store in Hallandale Beach earlier this week.
So, do you see it?
The Roman numerals?
Correct, XLVII.
As in Super Bowl 47.

When I saw it, it was almost like it was a message that intended just for me, given how much I appreciate attention to detail and context.

If you think most kids at Hallandale High and other area high schools would recognize it, you obviously aren't paying attention. Kids in this area are woefully ignorant, which explains a lot, but that's a subject for another time.


http://youtu.be/OrYTsVw53iA
For about the 15th year in a row, I will skip the Super Bowl halftime show tomorrow and either take a short walk outside, or check online for any interesting Super Bowl-related news stories, especially anecdotal ones that will either later prove to be untrue, or be so asinine that I'll wonder why they're even being mentioned. 

While I was in Sweden for about 8 days in January, I noticed many interesting things that I'll be dropping on you readers of the blog in the weeks and months to come as they seem particularly germane.
Today, though, as it concerns Tostitos, I noticed one amusing thing worth mentioning here while twice stopping at the Subway restaurant at Kungsgatan 61, next to the always-busy 7/11 at the corner of Vasagatan in downtown Stockholm -a few blocks from my hotel- where I was waited upon by the very friendly owner/general manager.
(It's opposite the Kebab House; tell the manager at Subway that the guy from South Florida with the Dolphins cap he spoke to sent you.)


View Larger Map

Instead of calling their Cool Ranch chips just that, in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, Tostitos markets them as "Cool American," as the photos below makes clear. 

See also http://metrobloggen.se/americaninsweden/i_miss_doritos_but_olw_chips_will_do/

By the way, for whatever it's worth, Google Maps and Pepsi in South Florida might want to get on the same page because as I found out today, their entry seem to be run by the same folks that gave me such bad directions in Stockholm a few times last month, as the following makes clear.


View Larger Map
  

Once again, Jimmy Kimmel Live Show adroitly skewers puffery, smugness and pomposity, this time, average people talking about having watched the Ravens-49ers Super Bowl Game that's still days from being played; #nfl, #superbowl47, @nfl, @superbowl47

The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Lie Witness News - Did You Watch the Super Bowl, JimmyKimmelLive. Uploaded January 30, 2013. http://youtu.be/zR9NV7D4FVY

Once again, Jimmy Kimmel Live Show adroitly skewers puffery, smugness and pomposity, this time, average people talking about having watched the Ravens-49ers Super Bowl Game that's still days from being played; #nfl, #superbowl47

This humorous effort of Jimmy and his writers to really skewer average people's pomposity, with humorous results, actually reminds me most of the uninformed comments I've heard stated the past nine years on Miami-area TV newscasts as elected officials pontificated about things after-the-fact that they were clearly only dimly familiar with after having actually voted.

Or, just like attending and carefully watching a Hallandale Beach City Commission.

Everyone's afraid to say that they didn't know, don't know or are unfamiliar with a topic, so they try to "wing it."

Hallandale Beach looks the way that it does and is run as poorly as it is because too many highly-paid people in responsible positions have been "winging it" for years.

But Hallandale Beach is not alone on that score in South Florida, just where I happen to live and a place that I'm most highly observant of.

In the new year, you will hear more on this blog about other cities and agencies that have been run similarly, with little concern for actually delivering a dollar's worth of service for a dollar's worth of taxes, and a refusal to face reality when presented with the true facts by citizens and activists.

NFL's East Coast/Cowboys Bias may be crushed Sunday night, which would be sweet justice for NFL fans! If Redskins beat Cowboys, strong chance no team from 5 of U.S.'s Top 6 TV markets will make NFL playoffs: No NY, no LA (not even Chargers!), no Chicago, no Philly, no Dallas. Plus, we'll finally be free of analysis of Romo & Roethlisberger's angst! Hooray!!!

NFL's East Coast/Cowboys Bias may be crushed Sunday night, which would be sweet justice for NFL fans! If Redskins beat Cowboys, strong chance no team from 5 of U.S.'s Top 6 TV markets will make NFL playoffs: No NY, no LA (not even Chargers!), no Chicago, no Philly, no Dallas. Plus, we'll finally be free of analysis of Romo & Roethlisberger's angst! Hooray!!!

It's all up to the Redskins to make this reality come true Sunday night when they host the Cowboys in a battle for the NFC Eastern Division title that I believe may well be a Redskin rout by the middle of the third quarter, a result that should lead to the Cowboys making major changes that are long overdue, including a change at head coach.

If the Redskins win Sunday night, the only team from a Top 6 U.S. TV market will be the San Francisco 49ers, at number six.
http://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

That will mean that what seems like the majority of the teams that the NFL and Madison Avenue have foisted upon us this past season via nationally-televised Sunday Night, Monday Night and Thursday Night football ballgames will be completely absent from the playoffs: Cowboys, Giants and Jets. Buh-bye!

For the Cowboys, this absence will mean that the following is now true: the Cowboys have won one playoff game in the past 16 years.

Now say it over to yourself and ask yourself whether this self-evident fact will prevent the NFL and Madison Avenue from force-feeding the Cowboys down America's throat next year on the tube?
No, more likely, they will front-load many of those Cowboys games at the beginning of the season and cross their fingers to get some games at the end of the season on the flex schedule.

As I've written here before, one of the few conspiracy theories in America that is actually TRUE is that the NFL props-up the Cowboys in ways that it doesn't seem to for any other team.

At one point in this past season I had figured out that over half of the Cowboy 16 regular season games had been on national TV broadcasts, and with the flex schedule going into effect for Sunday night's Redskins, I believe that makes either 8 or 9 Cowboys games out of 16 that will have been nationally-televised.
Why so much pushing for such a mediocre team?

A few years ago, ESPN commentator and NFL Hall of Fame QB Steve Young succinctly tore into the Dolphins and the Vikings organizations as THE most over-rated NFL teams of the past 10 -or 15?- years.
To that he could have added the Jerry Jones Cowboys of the 21st Century.

No, contrary to what is said perpetually on ESPN, especially by Jon Gruden, the Cowboys are NOT one of the most-talented teams in the league, they are one of the most under-performing.

As a matter of fact, as far as most NFL fans are concerned, the Cowboys and Giants don't need to always have one of their two games be a nationally-televised game, or even rate a 4:15 p.m. Sunday kickoff.
It's not the 1990's anymore, capisce?

An exciting team on the rise like the Seattle Seahawks needs to be on national TV more and I don't mean 1 p.m. Eastern kickoffs against the Dolphins, either.

But don't kid yourself.
The Cowboys will be on more national TV broadcasts next year than the Seahawks even if Seattle gets to the Super Bowl. Even if they win it.
Rest assured, the powers-that-be at NFL HQ will see to it.

NFL Odds & Ends

When he was still head coach at Texas Tech, I used to wonder what a brilliant mind like offensive-minded coach Mike Leach would do if given the keys to the Cowboys, the Chargers, Jets, Bucs or the Ravens, five perpetually under-performing NFL teams, none of whom have made the Super Bowl despite having had numerous opportunities before collapsing. 

I still wonder about that now that Leach is at Washington State, but only re the Ravens.

My January 6, 2009 post on Leach going to the Bucs was titled, 
So THAT'S why newspapers are dying? BORING!; Jon Gruden must go!

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/so-thats-why-newspapers-are-dying.html

As someone with a few Ravens t-shirts and jackets in my bedroom closet and who's rooted for the Ravens since they moved to Baltimore -and who came this close to becoming a Ravens season ticket holder that first year when I lived in Arlington County, VA- while it might be heresy for some to hear, while I think he's a good coach, I believe John Harbaugh's era at Baltimore could and should come to an end if they lose in the playoffs against either the Colts or the Bengals. 
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bal-updated-ravens-nfl-playoff-scenarios-20121224,0,345461.story
At home. 
Mercifully.

They no longer have the number and caliber of defensive playmakers to mask his bad coaching decisions:

Ravens Have Underperformed During John Harbaugh’s Tenure
By Zach Wilt
ttp://baltimoresportsreport.com/ravens-overvalue-john-harbaugh-35505.html


Bloomberg News
Oakland Pays $17 Million for NFL Raiders as Cops Fired

By Darrell Preston & Aaron Kuriloff - Dec 20, 2012 5:58 PM ET

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-20/oakland-pays-17-million-for-nfl-raiders-as-cops-get-cut.html

NFL Films and The Travel Channel combine for new series premiering tonight: NFL Road Tested: The Cleveland Browns on The Travel Channel @ 10 p.m. Eastern/9 Central on DirecTV Channel 277; @NFLFilms

"See what it takes to travel with an entire professional football team from city to city and game to game during the regular season with our unprecedented access."
Tonight's episode is "NY Giants and Ravens"
http://www.travelchannel.com/video/let-the-games-begin

NFL Road Tested airs every Tuesday at 10 pm. Eastern/9 Central.

More information at:
http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/nfl-road-tested-the-cleveland-browns

After watching this, I'm convinced: singing & dancing flash mob across the U.S.A. during Super Bowl's halftime would be more fun than watching Madonna

Madcon - Glow - 2009 Eurovision Song Contest Flashmob Dance Finale (HD), Oslo, Norway. May 2009. http://youtu.be/32lpdFS7rPM

It starts a little slow, I'll grant you, but at 2:19, as the cameras leave the arena, then, serendipity...

After watching this, I'm convinced that a televised singing and dancing flash mob across the U.S.A., during the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show, would be MUCH MORE FUN to see than simply watching Madonna perform a medley of her well-known songs in Indy at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Or, perhaps more interesting than even that, would be to have it televised from the two cities which have teams playing, as people sing and dance wearing their -quite likely- Green Bay Packer cheeseheads and Baltimore Ravens purple jerseys and gear.

Me, I never watch the Super Bowl pre-game programming anymore, as there are far too many 'human interest' stories with female reporters trying to look empathetic as they interview some special-team player's sister's husband's barber with cancer, or the like.
I usually mute the TV during Super Bowl halftime anyway, and flip on the radio telecast to hear their analysis, so this would actually be more fun and amusing to watch and see how each city tries to top the other somehow.
And it would be easy to find a commercial sponsor, too!

Whatever happened to all the genuinely dangerous flash mobs, anyway?
Like the ones that terrorized Chicagoland and Philadelphia this spring and summer, which I wrote about here, along with some startling videos?
They seem to have stopped in their tracks once 'Occupy Wall Street' came on the scene.
Hmm-m...

Then again, maybe it's just a spring and summer phenomena...

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In case you forgot why the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest -above- was being held in the Oslo area in the first place, it was because Norway's Alexander Rybak had won the 2009 competition in Moscow with "Fairytale", and the next competition is always hosted by the winner's home country.



EUROVISION 2009 WINNER -NORWAY, ALEXANDER RYBAK, FAIRYTALE -HQ STEREO
http://youtu.be/uiH4BFTELME

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http://www.youtube.com/user/AlexanderRybakVideo/


http://www.alexanderrybak.com/