Casey Kasem's Christmas Countdown from 1971

In December 1971, Casey Kasem hosted a special AT 40 Christmas Countdown.  This thread will cover the countdown.

Christmas North of Nashville

If you get a chance, watch Christmas North of Nashville on the Great American Family network.  It has the typical plot of the big-city woman who comes home for Christmas -- but in this case, the hometown is Owensboro, Kentucky -- I mean, Madisonville.

Power Eleven for 2025

The MaxPreps ratings still have Boyle County too low, but I don't think that will matter for the Power Eleven, which includes the eleven highest-rated football teams in Western Kentucky.  We didn't get a State Champion this year, but Murray did reach the 3A Final:

10.  Paducah Tilghman:  12-2

23.  Murray:  14-1

31.  Mayfield:  10-2

32.  Logan Co:  10-3

40.  Madisonville-N. Hopkins:  8-3

54.  Hopkinsville:  7-5

63.  Union Co:  7-6

67.  McCracken Co:  6-6

71.  Henderson Co:  6-7

80.  Graves Co:  4-7

108.  Crittenden Co:  8-4

Steelers v. Dolphins

That's the Monday Night Game.  Feels very 1978.

The Steelers are 13-12 against Miami in the regular season, and they are 2-2 in the playoffs.

Here are the four playoff matchups:

12/31/1972:  In one of the best AFC Title games ever played, the Dolphins beat the Steelers 21-17 in Pittsburgh to win the trip to Super Bowl VII.  This game featured what is probably the most famous fake punt in NFL history.

12/30/1979:  The Steelers buried the Dolphins 34-14 in Pittsburgh in the Divisional Playoffs on their way to winning Super Bowl XIV.

01/06/1985:  In Chuck Noll's last AFC Title game, the Dolphins crushed the Steelers 45-28 at the Orange Bowl in Dan Marino's national coming out party.

01/08/2017:  In Pittsburgh, the Steelers rolled 30-12 over the Dolphins in a Wild Card Game.

NFL Week 15

The byes are done, the European games are finished, high school football tournaments are over, the college basketball teams will be taking their exams, and it's time to return our attention to the NFL.  We appear to be in a transition season, with long-time powers in the AFC -- the Chiefs, Ravens, and Bills -- yielding to more traditional powers -- Denver and New England.  As for the NFC, the Eagles could be going into the type of mysterious swoon that sank their season in 2023, while the Rams look very strong.  Here's ESPN's top ten:

1.  Los Angeles;  10-3

2.  New England:  11-2

3.  Seattle:  10-3

4.  Denver:  11-2

5.  Green Bay:  9-3-1

6.  Buffalo:  9-4

7.  San Francisco:  9-4

8.  Jacksonville:  9-4

9.  Philadelphia:  8-5

10.  Chicago:  9-4

Miami (6-7) is Number 21.  Washington (3-10) is Number 25.

The Game of the Week is in Foxboro, where the Patriots have the chance to virtually clinch the AFC East by beating the Bills.  That's a noon Central game.  In the afternoon, we have another great matchup:  the Number 4 Broncos hosting the Number 5 Packers in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXII.  Those are our only top ten matchups, but the afternoon also features what should be an entertaining game between the Number-1 Rams and the Number-11 Lions.  So you really should stay inside on Sunday and watch the NFL.