Here are my updated NFL77 power rankings going into Week 2 action:
1. Steelers 2442. Patriots 2353. Cowboys 2314. Colts 2255. Bears 2226. Raiders 2217. Broncos 2178. Rams 2149. Vikings 208T10. 49ers 204T10. Bengals 20412. Dolphins 18713. Chargers 18614. Browns 17515. Washington 173T16. Chiefs 170T16. Oilers 17018. Giants 16619. Cardinals 16320. Lions 15521. Packers 14822. Eagles 14323. Saints 13324. Bills 12825. Falcons 12626. Jets 11627. Seahawks 11528. Buccaneers 99
I've been pretending all week that I've been traveling from Atlanta, where I watched the Falcons shock the Rams last Sunday, to Dallas, to see the 1-0 Giants at the 1-0 Cowboys this ...
These five songs were each among the debut entries on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles list for the week ending today in 1977:
ReplyDelete-- "How Deep Is Your Love," Bee Gees
-- "Send in the Clowns," Judy Collins
-- "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," Carpenters
-- "Love Gun," KISS
-- "Baby, What a Big Surprise," Chicago
Any guesses as to which charted highest? Lowest?
We watched Race For Your Life Charlie Brown this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThose shows are so good.
DeleteThe Carpenters song came in at No. 88, right between "C'est La Vie" by Greg Lake and "Some Enchanted Evening" by Jane Olivor.
ReplyDelete"Love Gun" and "Send in the Clowns" came in at 79 and 80, respectively, between "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" by Jimmy Buffett and "Come Sail Away" by Styx.
ReplyDeleteThe Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love" was No. 74, right between "Dusic" by Brick and "Good Morning, Judge" by 10cc.
ReplyDeleteAnd "Baby, What a Big Surprise" by Chicago, at No. 69 and between Glen Campbell's "Sunflower" and Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See," was the top debut in this week's Top 100.
No. 1 in this week's Cash Box is the Star Wars theme by Meco. Star Wars, by the way, figured prominently in last night's Donny & Marie.
ReplyDeleteMy Week 2 predictions:
ReplyDelete-- Vikings 21 at Buccaneers 10 at 7 p.m. Central Saturday, Sept. 24
-- Falcons 10 at Washington 17 at noon Sunday
-- Seahawks 10 at Bengals 21 at noon Sunday
-- Saints 13 at Lions 18 at noon Sunday
-- Colts 24 at Jets 14 at noon Sunday
-- Chargers 18 at Chiefs 20 at 1 p.m. Sunday
-- Bears 18 at Cardinals 16 at 1 p.m. Sunday
-- Oilers 13 at Packers 14 at 1 p.m. Sunday
-- Giants 10 at Cowboys 21 at 1 p.m. Sunday
-- Bills 9 at Broncos 20 at 3 p.m. Sunday
-- Dolphins 14 at 49ers 17 at 3 p.m. Sunday
-- Raiders 14 at Steelers 20 at 3 p.m. Sunday
-- Eagles 10 at Rams 20 at 3 p.m. Sunday
-- Patriots 17 at Browns 17 at 8 p.m. Monday
According to the Sun-Democrat "Channel Selector" Friday insert, we're getting Colts-Jets at noon on Channel 6, Oilers-Packers at 1 on Channel 12 and then Bills-Broncos at 3 p.m. back on Channel 6 Sunday. If we're not at least getting Raiders-Steelers in the late game, and we're still not getting Dolphins-49ers, I'm going to be hacked.
It doesn't appear the Saturday Vikings-Bucs game is being nationally televised at all.
Wow. The Vikings won at Tampa Bay, but only by 9-3.
ReplyDeleteThis link is to an illustrated essay about the time a guy's father took him and his brother to see the Star Wars characters appear at a Toys "R" Us in Torrance, California, on Sunday, Sept. 25, 1977. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteLike last week’s Nebraska-Alabama showdown, the big Channel 3 Saturday football game this week was another clash of Big 10 and SEC heavyweights—this time, No. 4 Ohio State hosting No. 3 Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 11 years old, I believed that this was one of the greatest games ever played.
DeleteIt was exciting.
DeleteIt was 28-20, Buckeyes, late when Oklahoma scored a touchdown, failed on the two-point conversion, recovered an onside kick and then turned to future Dolphin Uwe von Schamann:
ReplyDeleteDuring his college football career, he was a member of the 1975 National Championship team, and was later voted the all-time, All-Big 8 kicker. He was most noted for making a clutch game-winning kick in the final seconds of the 1977 game at Ohio State, after leading the crowd in a "block that kick" chant. In Sooner lore, this play came to be known simply as "The Kick." In 1999, von Schamann was named the All-Century Oklahoma kicker.
Final from Columbus: Oklahoma 29, Ohio State 28.
Other college-football finals of note (to me) yesterday:
ReplyDelete— No. 10 Alabama 24 at Vanderbilt 12
— No. 13 Florida 24 at No. 12 Mississippi State 22
— No. 15 Washington 12 at Kansas 14
— No. 17 West Virginia 13 at Kentucky 28
— Miami (Fla.) 23 at Florida State 17
— Navy 7 at No. 1 Michigan 14
— No. 18 UCLA 13 at Minnesota 27
— No. 11 Notre Dame 31 at Purdue 24
— No. 6 Texas A&M 33 at No. 7 Texas Tech 17
— Western Kentucky 3 at Austin Peay State 21
Oh, yes, the A.L. East ... Yankees have nine to play and lead the Orioles by two games and the Red Sox by two and a half.
ReplyDeleteThe Royals and Dodgers have clinched their divisions, and the Phillies lead the Pirates by six and a half.
Here's the new AP Poll for September 26, 1977:
ReplyDelete1. Oklahoma: 3-0
2. U.S.C.: 3-0
3. Michigan: 3-0
4. Penn St: 3-0
5. Texas A & M: 3-0
6. Ohio St: 2-1
7. Colorado: 3-0
8. Texas: 2-0
9. Florida: 2-0
10. Alabama: 2-1
11. Nebraska: 2-1
12. Arkansas: 3-0
13. Texas Tech: 2-1
14. Notre Dame: 2-1
15. B.Y.U: 2-0
16. Pittsburgh: 2-1
17. California: 3-0
18. Mississippi St: 2-1
19. Houston: 2-1
20. Arizona St: 2-0
Halftime in the noon Week 2 kickoffs:
ReplyDelete-- Washington (0-1) leads Atlanta (1-0), 3-0
-- New Orleans (0-1) leads Detroit (0-1), 14-7
-- Baltimore (1-0) leads the Jets (0-1), 14-3
-- Cincinnati (0-1) leads Seattle (0-1), 28-7
And now here are Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier in hot Irving, Texas, for 1-0 Giants at 1-0 Cowboys.
ReplyDeleteIn every way--the shadow across the Texas Stadium field, the New York's helmet, the presence of Tony Dorsett and Harry Carson, Summerall's play by play--this game is starting to look, sound and feel like so many Cowboys-Giants games of the 1980s.
ReplyDeleteBut one way this game isn't there yet is that Phil Simms is still at Morehead State and the Giants' quarterback is Jerry Golsteyn. D.D. Lewis steps in front of Golsteyn's pass for tight end Bob Tucker and returns it to the New York 10, and the home team is threatening early in the first quarter ...
ReplyDeleteRoger Staubach ... keeper ... touchdown.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Doug Kotar fumbles for the Giants and Cliff Harris recovers inside the New York 30. Everybody's been talking about how great the Cowboys have been looking throughout the preseason--Tom Landry is said to have run the most taxing training camp of his career--and they do look great.
ReplyDeleteBut the score remains 7-0 as the running back who is keeping Dorsett out of Landry's starting lineup for now, veteran Preston Pearson, fumbles back to the Giants inside the 5.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great that the automotive commercials of this time featured actual cars and emphasized the importance of safe tires, regular oil changes, good brakes and a functional muffler, as opposed to today's promotions of Army trucks that indicate the operator's manhood. There's zero question that the vehicles are better today; I'm planning to get at least 300,000 miles out of both of the automobiles we own. But, man, oh, man, do I ever get sick of them in the gaps of football games now.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants fail to get anything going; the Cowboys take over after a punt, and then Preston Pearson redeems himself with a rolling catch of a Staubach touchdown pass. It's 14-0, Dallas, with 1:11 to play in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteBut when the Cowboys get the ball back after another Giants punt, Dorsett is in the backfield next to Robert Newhouse. The rookie quickly picks up one first down running and a second on an outlet pass from Staubach. On the second, two Giant linebackers are injured on a collision with each other at Dorsett's ankles on a cut. Brookshier: "The thing is that Dorsett is so darn quick that you don't get the body you shoot at and you end up getting someone else who is trying to do the same thing."
ReplyDeleteIt's now 31-7 late in the first half, so we've got plenty of time for off-ball observations and recollections from clear-friends Brookshier and Summerall. Of course, there's a lot of ribbing about the Cowboys' cheerleaders. Of course, there's some attention paid to "Crazy Ray." And, of course, there's a lot of talking about Tom Landry ...
ReplyDelete-- Brookshier: "Composure personified ... Tom still has the coat on, and he looks like he's in an air-conditioned room, and I'm telling you it's 100 degrees where he's standing."
-- Summerall: "I'll tell you what, I played against him, with him and for him ... He's a delightful guy."
-- Brookshier: "What's amazing to me is that, every time we're around him at least, he has a big grin on his face. Most people don't see that because he concentrates so much."
-- Summerall: "He was a heck of a good football player ... He was the same kind of player as Cliff Harris."
Halftime in Irving …
ReplyDeleteBrent Musburger updates us on the sports news beyond the NFL … Yankees lead the Blue Jays, 11-0, in the eighth inning in first game of doubleheader; Red Sox lead and Orioles trail their games … U.S. Olympic Committee voted 55-39 in favor of Los Angeles over New York as the U.S. candidate to host the 1984 Summer Olympics …
NFL Week 2:
— Redskins lead the Falcons, 10-6, in the fourth quarter
— Lions lead the Saints, 23-14, in the third
— Colts lead the Jets, 20-11, in the fourth
— Bengals lead the Seahawks, 35-20, in the fourth
— Cardinals lead the Bears, 13-3, in the third
— Oilers and Packers are tied at 10 in the third
— Chargers lead the Chiefs, 16-7, at the half
Well, this isn't good at all for us Dolphins fans. Now we have Phyllis George introducing a montage of Bob Griese and Don Shula clips against Frank Sinatra's sentimental "Cycles:"
ReplyDeleteSo I'm down and so I'm out
But so are many others
So I feel like trying to hide
My head 'neath these covers
Life is like the seasons
After winter comes the spring
So I'll keep this smile awhile
And see what tomorrow brings ...
And so forth. I mean, come on! I know that Griese's wearing glasses and that Shula's having to rebuild both lines on the fly. But Miami did win last week. We're 1-0 going into the kickoff against the 49ers in about 20 minutes.
OK, back to action at Texas Stadium, and the Cowboys appear to still be staggered by Phyllis George and Frank Sinatra's Dolphins memorial. Preston Pearson drops a third-down pass, and Thomas Henderson misses a punt-return tackle, and the Giants' Bobby Hammond races 65 yards untouched. It's 31-14 ...
ReplyDeleteFinal: Bengals 42, Seahawks 20. Cincinnati is 1-1; Seattle, 0-2.
ReplyDeleteFinal: Colts 20, Jets 12. Baltimore is 2-0; New York, 0-2.
ReplyDeleteDanny White, the former World Football League star, is on at quarterback with the Cowboys leading, 34-14 ...
ReplyDeleteThe 0-1 Cardinals are leading the 1-0 Bears, 16-3, in the third quarter.
ReplyDeleteTom: "There's a shocker but not really. The Cardinals have too much offense to go around getting shut out like they did by Denver."
Pat: "Speaks well for Denver, doesn't it?"
Tom: "Boy, it sure does."
Terry Metcalf is back at halfback after playing sparingly in St. Louis's opener, while Chicago's Wally Chambers, by some considered the NFL's best interior defensive lineman, is out today with an injured knee.
Final: Washington 10, Falcons 6. Both teams are 1-1.
ReplyDeleteFinal: Lions 23, Saints 19. Detroit is 1-1; New Orleans, 0-2.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, with 4:42 to play in the third quarter in Irving, the Giants have closed within 34-21. Pat: "This might be turning into a different game."
ReplyDeleteChicago has closed within 16-13 of St. Louis in the fourth quarter.
ReplyDeleteStaubach is back at quarterback for the Cowboys. A lot of the starters have returned, in fact, but left tackle Ralph Neely is not one of them. His replacement, rookie Andy Frederick, commits an illegal-procedure penalty, and the Texas Stadium crowd grumbles in the heat.
ReplyDeleteThe 49ers lead the Dolphins, 7-0, and the Cowboys are punting.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants lost their starting quarterback, Golsteyn, early in the game, and he was replaced by Joe Pisarcik, a pickup from the Canadian Football League. Pisarcik reminded the Channel 12 boys a little of Y.A. Tittle in the Giants’ road blues and with his sidearm delivery, but that was before Pisarcik threw a couple of interceptions.
ReplyDeleteDorsett ended up with touchdown runs of 11 (a straight dash through the middle of a gaping hole at scrimmage) and 34 yards (a start-left/dodge-right/go-fast/go-slow/then-go-really-fast-to-the-pylon affair), and Dallas looks deep and deadly.
Final: Cowboys 41, Giants 21. (Dallas is 2-0; New York, 1-1).