Archive for March, 2011

Some people live and die and probably never realize the impact they had on another person’s life.

Deedy Wolston, who died back on March 17, played a major role in who I am today.

When I was a little kid growing up in Wichita Falls, I read the sports page of this newspaper every day.

Deedy was the main local sports columnist.

And I read every word he wrote, clipped the stories and photos from the paper and kept them all in a shoebox.

Although Deedy left the newspaper business at an early age, he still left his fingerprints on the Times Record News through that little boy who followed after him.

But it wasn’t just Deedy the sports writer than impacted my life.

After leaving the newspaper business, Deedy went to work for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission.

While there, he helped a young man, who had his right hand mangled in a car wreck, get help financial aid from the state to pay his way through college at Midwestern State.

That young man was me.

Deedy helped me get my journalism degree than turned into what is now a 39-year career as a sports writer.

Rest in peace, my friend.

And thank you so much.

There was a rumor swirling around last week that Oklahoma was holding off on naming a new men’s head basketball coach until this season is over.

This women’s season.

People were telling me that once the UConn women were done for the year — most likely after next week’s championship game — OU was going to make an offer to Geno Auriemma.

Auriemma’s name popped up in some media reports probably because when OU was searching for a new coach five years ago, AD Joe Castiglione supposedly wanted to hire the UConn coach, but Auriemma said no.

Then Castiglione hired Jeff Capel out of Virginia Commonwealth.

Five years ago, the only thing we all knew about Virginia Commonwealth was that it’s somewhere in Virginia.

Today, VCU is the Cinderella at the Final Four.

Capel was 96-69 with the Sooners the last five years, so you really can’t say this was a bad hire.

But I will always wonder what Geno would have done with the OU men if he had been the coach.

OU lost 18 games this year and got Capel fired.

The UConn women have lost just 18 games in the last seven years.

It has been 18 years since an Auriemma-coached UConn team did not at least reach the Sweet 16.

Geno is responsible for hanging seven national championship banners up in the Gampel Pavilion.

But how good do you think this guy would be coaching the men’s game?

If you answered “pretty damn good,” then you and I agree on one thing.

My friend Berry Tramel, columnist for the Daily Oklahoman,  and I agree on another thing.

He probably wouldn’t be a good fit for OU.

This campus is just not big enough for two super egos like Geno Auriemma  and Bob Stoops.

This is the second year that I have covered basketball at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.

Both times I have been there, I have thought the same thing.

This is exactly what Kay Yeager Coliseum was supposed to be.

If the people who run our town had taken the time to go out and see what a coliseum is supposed to look like, we could have had a nice place like this.

Instead, we went in blind and now Hooterville Falls has a $20 million POS.

Every time I walk into the KYC, I feel like I am entering a maximum security prison.

The “press box” is an embarrassing tree house/kitty litter box.

The MassMutual Center is a beautiful modern 6,663-seat facility that is the home of  an NBA Developmental League basketball team and an American Hockey League franchise.

The facility also hosted the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men’s and women’s basketball championships this year, as well as the NCAA Division II men’s Elite Eight basketball tournament.

The KYC now has a basketball court but no teams wanting to play there.

What will happen if we ever lose our junior hockey team?

Can you say “giant flea market?”

Got a better idea? Let me hear it.

“Outdoors, Finally”

Richard Carter

Everything moved outdoors last week and it was pretty amazing.

It was my first time to be in the Neon Spur for a while, and there are many many many changes going on there. You will notice some major renovations right off the bat when you enter the place. But hey, we’re writing about the outdoors, so what’s inside may be cool but not that relevant to the blog. (It’s nice, though).

Anywho, I went to see some hard rock/metal bands and that’s not something we’ve been hearing a lot of recently at the Spur. The first band I saw was Twicebroken, who closed with a cover version of Motley Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood,” which let’s face it is the band’s best song. The sound was very good and so was the stage lights. The club has the same cool atmosphere with different fans—most of whom were wearing black and stuff and into harder music than past crowds.

The next band was Minor Prophets, and their sound was also good. They have been recording lately and I recently got to hear a small snippet of the recording on someone’s car CD player and it sounded solid. It will be interesting what they are going to do this summer, but word is they will be playing all over Texas, and I think that will be good for them.

It’s a shame that the Spur is limited to outdoor shows, but then that’s also a major part of their charm, you know. Supposedly they’ve booked Drowning Pool upcoming and that should be loud show.

The next outdoor/indoor show I got to see was the open mic at the Spot last Thursday, which had a lot of late arriving cool people. David Thompson, who puts it on, played some cool things with Willa Goldberg who was asking people for a word, so she could vibe off it. The two really should sit down and write some stuff. I love the live music thing in the springtime and it shouldn’t be long before as many people are playing outside there and they are playing inside.

Is the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University going to have their live music Thursday evenings this summer? I have yet to hear a word but considering the crowds that the music brought in over the last two summers they should do it.

I also got to go to the outdoor Wild Bird Rescue event on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. where some great area bands volunteered their time to play to help a  very cool non-profit. Three members of Shantell played, and they were awesome. Guy and Myka McDonald both sing really well and Bobby Faulkner does very good harmonies and a lead vocal. I think they’re one of the best kept secrets in the area but you can usually see them play at the P2 once a month. Also playing was Chris Caruvana who has one of the smoothest voices and one of the best attitudes. He also played at the Spot that night as well as the Alley Cat Collective that afternoon.

According to Julie Ressell who runs the Collective they had about 15 musicians signed up to play on a Saturday afternoon.

Also to watch out for is the Culture Crawl downtown this Thursday March 31 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be lots of bands playing in front of stores during the time plus other events. I was at the last one and Dr. Philgood and the Let’s Get It On’s played along with solo artists like Courtney Nichole Jenkins and Chris Caruvana.

If you think a sports writer’s life is only filled with World Series and Super Bowls, think again.

Here is my schedule today.

I woke up at 5:15 (EDT) here in Springfield, Massachusetts.

I get on a bus at 6:30 and head to Providence, Rhode Island.

Sometime after 10, I will fly to Philadelphia.

After a few hours of airport “entertainment,” I get on another plane and head to Dallas.

Arrival time is 6 p.m. CDT.

Then I hope on a bus that will probably stop at a McDonald’s somewhere.

These basketball players have to eat, you know.

The bus is due to arrive back in Wichita Falls around 9:30.

That’s a 16-hour travel day.

But you know what?

I still love my job.

Watching MSU and one of my favorite guys Charlie Logan play well on a national stage was fun on Wednesday. Got a chance for some father-son time as I hooked up the computer to my TV.

But too many turnovers kept it from being a great day in MSU history as the team is still hoping for its first national title.

Maybe next year.

Elizabeth Taylor is dead.

I wonder if Debbie Reynolds will go to the funeral.

Seriously doubt it.

There will be a lot of nice things said about Liz now that she is gone, but I will always remember her for being the bitch who stole Eddie Fisher from sweet Debbie.

Eddie and Debbie were America’s sweethearts when I was a kid.

They had a baby together and then made a movie about it — Bundle of Joy.

Then that bitch Liz came alone and tore down Camelot.

I guess my favorite Liz Taylor movie was “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” but probably because of Paul Newman rather than her.

My best Liz Taylor memory — other than the Eddie-Debbie deal — was John Belushi ‘s impersonation of her on Saturday Night Live.

There was Belushi — the spitting image of Liz –  in a fat girl’s nightgown lying in bed and chomping down on fried chicken.

You live 79 years, make tons of movies, marry a bunch of famous men, win an Oscar and how are you remembered?

As a fat vixen bitch twin of John Belushi.

A confused Grant McCasland glanced over at the guy sitting next to me on the bus and gave me one of those “Who’s he?” looks.

This guy hadn’t been on the plane with the Midwestern State basketball group that flew from DFW to Boston on Monday.

Nor was he with us on the bus ride from Boston to Springfield, Mass.

The MSU coach knew what he was — the clerical collar was a dead giveaway.

But he was puzzled as to why this priest was on the bus with the MSU basketball team.

Tobin McDuff from Channel 3 and I had invited the priest to ride with us and the team to the Elite Eight banquet Monday night at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

His group had already headed out to the banquet on their own bus and left the priest waiting for them in the hotel lobby.

We had extra seats on our bus, so we invited him to come along.

The funny thing was this priest was from Bellarmine University — the team that the Mustangs are going to play in the opening round of the Elite Eight on Wednesday.

“Let’s kidnap him,” I joked.

“Tell Bellarmine to forfeit and we will give him back to them unharmed.”

I got a few laughs but no takers.

“Well, couldn’t we at least make a deal and trade him to them for their leading scorer?”

Everybody just sat there and waited for a big bolt of lightning to flash from the sky and turn our bus into a pile of dust.

It may sound crazy, but what would have happened last year if we had kidnapped Taylor Witt the night before the game?

Witt wouldn’t have been around to score 43 points against MSU in the first game of the tournament.

One good kidnapping and Midwestern could be the defending national champion this year.

Newness and sameness and stuff

Richard Carter

Last week I had the opportunity to hear two new bands early in their practicing, and both seem like they have a lot of possibilities. I am not sure where they may end up playing, but interesting music finds its venues—even if it has to come down to going to Rubber Gloves and other clubs in Denton, Fort Worth, Dallas and other Metroplex cities and stuff.

The first band is a hard rock, metal project featuring Ryan Hager and Jason Cooper of the Enthusiast and also Cody Tucker and Dustin Bowen of the Fairchild Clan. Hager and Tucker play guitar, while Cooper plays bass and Bowen is on drums. The band really rocks, and they will share vocals. Cannot wait to hear them in about a month or so.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the band is they all can write, and that surely does separate the pretenders from the contenders.

The other band was a sort of jam instrumental band with Tucker and John Richerson on guitar, Dusty Potter on bass, Louis on drums and Bowen on Keyboards. Richerson is from Fairchild, Potter is from the blues band and Louis is an independent. Another band playing worthy good guitar music that people can jam to. Sounds like a good band to play with Jason Brown’s trio, thought it might make you want to hear a vocal every once in a while.

I also had the opportunity to go by and see White Knuckle practice the other day, and I really like their band dynamic. At one point their drummer Michael Christmas was bouncing a drum stick off one of his floor toms while the guitarists were trying to figure out an intro. He was bouncing it higher and higher and then catching it and then bounced it where it hit the wall behind him and made that part of the routine. The singer was laughing while that was happening and I was rolling, because it was so funny. Band practices can get really stressful when a part isn’t working, and I thought that was an inventive way to undercut the stress.

There are all sorts of live shows coming up including a small acoustic sort of show at Wild Bird Rescue between the two DFW places on Lake Wichita. The show happens from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday March 26 and will feature the two McDonalds from Shantell, and boy can Myka sing and Guy play the guitar. Chris Caruvana will play along with some other area talent. Go check it out and help support some local guys who help out birds who need it.

There will also be the first official open mic at the Alley Cat Collective on March 26 at 908 Indiana from 2 to 6 p.m.

Finally, word on the street was that the 35 Conferette in Denton really went well and that it should even be larger next year. The other thing was that they continue to draw bigger name bands and that should continue to continue, if you know what I mean.

Would it be a terrible thing for some local people to think outside the box and do something like that? Area people are dying for something huge, and this would be kinda big time.

I had planned on going to SXSW sometime this week, but the band I wanted to see was actually playing Saturday at the Perez Hilton thing, and wow that’s kind of frightening. Let’s just say that if someone locally does put together a really fab music event that brings people from all over the world, could they possibly not invite Hilton?

Just saying…

Music festivals

Richard Carter

Last Thursday, the 35 Conferette four-day music festival began in Denton, Texas, and numerous bands from all over the place played a city with a population about the same size as Wichita Falls.

Already in its third year, the festival continues to grow and this year features bands and such diverse music as Big Boi, !!!, Mavis Staples, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dr. Dog and so on.

170 bands played Denton, and people from all over the state came and visited and enjoyed the city square, the numerous clubs, the great coffee shops and all the cool things to do in the city.

Comparatively speaking, Wichita Falls generally gets a few people here and there driving through the city to stop for gas and maybe a 10 ounce bottle of Mexican Coke at the Shell Station.

The following Wednesday, people were coming from all over the world to go to SXSW music festival in Austin—the live music capitol of the world.Sure, I get that people are congregating to Austin for 6^th street and all the clubs and all the area musicians who can be pretty world famous. But this whole us being the same size as Denton thing is a little more complicated for me.

Sure, they have a great music school with lots of great jazz musicians and stuff. But why can’t Wichita Falls put together its own version of a live music festival, invite people from all over the world and bring in some much needed tourist bucks.

This is not to say there was no music in Wichita Falls last weekend, because Ireland’s Call, Tejas Brothers, AA Bottom and Roberta Rast and the Killdares played Saturday night, and Beppe Gambetta played the Forum on next Thursday. Chris Caruvana played the Spot last Friday and there have been other live shows as well. And, we should appreciate the live music that comes to town.

I will interview Lzzy Hale of Halestorm sometime next week for when her band and Stone Sour play the Kay Yeager Coliseum in the next month or so. So, it’s not like there is no live music in Wichita Falls.

It’s just that not enough people get together to bring something huge enough to bring people from out of town to see music. I suspect that when Elvis Presley played here in the ‘50s, some people came from out of town to watch him perform. The same was true of when The Clash played here in the ‘80s.

But Denton and Austin annually experience a massive influx of people going to see live music, and that’s something we don’t seem to value, or to have any real desire to put together.

I still remember the huge shows in Dallas and in Seattle and places like that that would bring people from all over. I think it’s time for people around here to quit spending a lot of money on gas and let everyone else from all over the region come to see bands playing here.

If some smart well-organized people in Denton can do this, we can probably do it as well. And if we cannot, then more and more of the youth will continue to move to places that consider what they want, or at least can deliver things that matter to them.

It is a bad habit of mine to start bitching about something before ever trying it.

So all week I hissed and moaned about the new TV format for March Madness.

Tru-tv?

I didn’t even know I was buying this network.

I had to search to find it at Channel 204 on DISH.

Where are they going to show the championship game — Lifetime?

CBS has done a great job with the NCAA Tournament. Why fix something that’s not broke?

But when I finally got settled down in my La-z-boy on Thursday evening, I got quite a surprise.

I liked it.

Having all of the games shown in full to all parts of the country is better than the old method of giving us just certain games and then breaking in for parts of others.

There was one game on TBS, one game on TNT, one game on Tru-tv and one on CBS.

They put updated scores and clock times for every game at the top of the screen, so you can switch back and forth to watch the more interesting games.

We also get the TNT announcers who normally do NBA games.

I like hearing Charles Barkley’s opinion.

He hates the Big East basketball hype as much as I do.

The new TV agreement for the NCAA Tournament is 14 years.

I’m anxious to see what these networks will do next to make it even better.

I’m blogging live from the 3A state tournament, giving you the latest updates on the Burkburnett basketball team.

* We’re almost at halftime of the first semifinal involving CC West Oso and Dallas Smith. So far, pretty good game. West Oso leads 25-22 with 4:29 left in the second quarter.

* It’s halftime in the first 3A semifinal, and Oso has a 34-29 lead. Oso’s LaDaniel Marshall just missed on a 3-pointer from nearly halfcourt. Oso’s Robert Watson has a game-high 13 points at the half.

* Both teams play a 2-3 zone, which the Bulldogs saw in the regional final against Pampa. Mexia also plays some zone, so it’ll be interesting to see how fast Burk can push it.

* Also, a little bit of controversy here in the 1A semifinals. Sounds like Clyde Eula won a 3-pointer at the buzzer over Evadale. Only problem was the 3-pointer (based on media who saw video of it) was taken just after the buzzer but was ruled good. Crazy deal.

* And a little bit of a personal note. I’m a little scrambled right now. My cell phone is working — and you can hear me if you call me — but I can’t hear you. Plus, after I picked up my media paperwork but before I got in the doors, I lost my UIL media credential.

* But at least I didn’t lose a state semifinal after the buzzer sounded.

* Back to hoops. Oso continues to hold a slim lead. Up 39-37 with 4:27 left in the third quarter. Corpus Christi sports editor Matthew Young says Oso is playing really well  right now.

* Oso’s Watson makes a quick dunk and layup off back-to-back turnovers. Oso now up 43-37 with 3:52 left in third.

* Seems like Oso doesn’t like to go inside a lot. Forward William Enriquez has yet to score. But the way their guards are playing, they really don’t need to.

* Right after I type that, Enriquez makes a basket and is fouled but misses the FT. Oso’s getting it done in transition. Up 49-39 with 1:36 left in third now.

* We’ve got one more quarter to play in the first 3A semifinal. Oso played a great third quarter and is up 54-43 with one quarter to go.

* Hard to see Dallas Smith coming back now. Oso scores first 5 points in the 4th quarter and now are up by 16 with 6:46 left. Will take a crazy ending to keep Corpus Christi out of the final.

* Oso now in double bonus, which bodes well if the Bears can hit free throws. Up 64-50 with 4:50 to go.

* Oso is hitting enough free throws (9-of-16 for the game) but Smith isn’t making enough shots to make a dramatic comeback. Oso 67-52 with 3:06 to play.

* A head’s up to those who might think the Burkburnett game will start on time. It’s 10 minutes until 3:30 now and there’s 2:26 left and a lot more desperate fouling by Dallas Smith to go. If I had to guess, I’d say a 3:50 p.m. start time is more likely.

* West Oso is just the more athletic, better distributing, better shooting team. Not surprised they are winning, but a little that they will win by 20+ points. If Burkburnett can advance past Mexia, the championship game should be a great one.

* Oso is clearing the bench out. With a 21-point lead and 44 seconds to go, I’d say that’s the safe call. According to the stats here, all five West Oso starters scored in double digits.

* I will say Oso won’t be as deep as Burkburnett (but who is?) The five guys who just came in had scored a total 2 points before now.

* We’ve got a final from the first 3A semifinal: Corpus Christi West Oso 80, Dallas Smith 60.

* A 3:50 start time seems a bit premature. They’re giving Smith a nice send-off now. For those who don’t know, the school is being reorganized into a smaller magnet/tech school. A lot of kids will be sent to Wilmer-Hutchins, the next district over. So this was really Smith’s last game.

* 9 minutes and counting until Burk’s tip (3:58ish).

* Went down for the Dallas Smith press conference (didn’t have time to stay for the Oso one). Among the things said from Smith’s John Burley: “probably one of our worst games of the year;” “we eventually ran out of gas” — talking about long playoff run and “they shot the ball better than we anticipated. They were the better team today, and that’s all that matters.”

* Also was told it’s the first Region IV-3A win at state in 10 years. And it wasn’t a fluke either.

* We’ve got a Ricardo LeCompte (former KFDX sports guy) sighting at the Erwin Center. He’s at the Waco TV station now, and I’m betting he is covering Mexia. Good to see him.

* Bulldogs’ starting five is: Mario Garcia, Temi Ogunleye, Derrell Gibbs, Jerard Graham and Michael Elphick. We’ll be tipping in just a couple minutes.

* Burk hits first two 3-pointers (Gibbs and Garcia) in 15 seconds, now up 10-4 with 5:36 left. Four different Bulldogs have scored.

* Mexia cuts it to 10-9, and Burk makes its first line change. 4:07 left in first.

* Mexia ties it at 12-12 after D.J. Weather 3-pointer. 3:25 left in first.

* Mexia hits a big 3-pointer and has ball up 17-12 with 2:25 to go. Burk has missed 6 straight 3-pointers after making first two.

* Uncharacteristic Burk turnovers — another one that wasn’t forced.

* After two missed Burk FT’s, they are down 19-14 with 1:07 to go. Mexia just traveled.

* After one quarter, Bur down 19-14. Missed its last 9 3-pointers in 1st. 13 turnovers combined.

* Mexia now has nine turnovers. If Burk could make some shots….

* Mexia hits a 3, but Burk answers with a Garcia lay-up, followed by a Graham steal and bucket. Burl trails 22-20 with 6:39 left in second quarter.

* A Graham lay-up ties it at 22-22 all. 5:21 left in 2Q. Burk is going to the hole more and having success.

* Tied at 26-26 now, game is real fast-paced. Garcia leads Burk with 7 points, followed with 6 by Graham.

* Mexia’s Mister Carroll (yep, that’s really his first name) hits a lay-up to make it 28-26 with 3:14 to go, and Coach Nix wants a timeout. Burk hasn’t tried a 3-pointer in this quarter yet.

* Garcia hits a 3-pointer, but Mexia answers and is up 30-29.

* Weathers nails a 3-pointer after a couple nice passes and has 12 points; Burk’s Gibbs answers with a FT to trim the deficit to 33-30 with 2:09 in the half.

* After trailing by 5, Burk goes off on 7-0 run to end the half, punctuated by a Andrew Runyon 3-pointer. At the half, it’s Burkburnett 37, Mexia 35.

* Team halftime totals for Burk: 16-37 from the field; 4-15 from 3-point range; 1-4 from the FT line; 21 boards, 6 assists; 9 turnovers; 2 blocks and eight steals.

* Gibbs and Graham have scored a team-best 8 points each.

* Mexia team stats: 14-31 from the field; 5-13 from 3-point range; 2-2 from the FT line; 19 rebounds, 7 assists, 12 turnovers, 0 blocks and 3 steals.

* Weathers has a game-high 12 points, and Carroll has 10.

* We’re about a minute from tipping the second half off. Let’s see how this goes.

* Mexia hits a couple of FTs, but Gibbs answers. 39-37 with 7 left.

* Mexia’s D.J. Robinson hits bucket and foul for 42-41 lead; Graham picks up third foul more importantly with 6:15 left in third.

* Burk fans not happy with a couple calls; the first one was right — Mexia had ball knocked out of bounds; don’t know if I agree with backcourt violation though.

* Robinson making a couple of big shots. Mexia up 48-41.

* Mexia up 48-43 with ball right at 4 minutes left after Graham bucket.

* Burk has all the momentum now. Graham drillsa 3-pointer, then after a Gibbs steal, Graham hits another 3-pointer.  Just like that, Burk can score in bunches. Mexia still up 51-49 with 3:04 left in third quarter.

* Graham has team-high 16 points, 8 of which came in this quarter.

* Graham has it going. Ties it at 51-51 with jumper.

* Gibbs bucket makes it 53-51.

* 54-54 with 52 seconds left in third. Burk has ball.

* Burk’s Tyler Clement hits a 3-pointer, draws a charge, then Gibbs nails a 3-pointer at buzzer. End of 3, Burk is up 60-54.

* Gibbs misses two FTs, but Burk gets ball back. Up 62-58 with 6:30 to go.

* Now 64-60.

* Burkburnett up 66-60 after a Michael Elphick basket. Only bad news was Graham picked up his fourth foul on a charge. There’s 4:31 left to go, and Mexia will get the ball after timeout.

* Same score with 3:36 left.

* Garcia with a big long jumper; Burk now up 68-60 with 2:46 remaining.

* Ogunleye with a huge putback with 1:58 left. 70-62 with 1:38 to go, and some non-partisian fans are starting to leave. Far from over, but only some Burk turnovers will keep them from winning.

* Graham jumper makes it 72-62.

* Mexia’s Robinson hits some free throws to tighten things up. Now Burk 72-66 with 1:12 left.

* Graham hits a pair of free throws, now up 8 with 44 seconds to go.

* I’m officially calling it over. Garcia hits a FT with 36 seconds left; Burk now up 75-66.

* Burk is going to the 3A state championship. Will play CC West Oso after a 77-68 victory over Mexia. Graham has a team-high 24 points, followed by 18 from Gibbs. Garcia added 14.

* Will be back to give some final thoughts after I go to the press conferences. Congratulations to the Bulldogs.

* Some quick thoughts from the press conference before we wrap this blog up:

— Both coaches thought rebounding was key. Burk finished with a 45-32 edge, had 6 more second-chance points.

– Coach Nix said he thought his team came out a little overwhelmed with the atmosphere. Said they took shots they normally don’t. Could explain why they missed 9 straight 3-pointers there.

– Burk’s big runs to end the second half and third quarter were huge.

– Graham and Gibbs combined to shoot 17-29. That happens on Saturday, and I bet Burk are 3A champs.

I have been blessed with good health for most of my life.

Because of that, I have a very low tolerance for pain.

When I limp into a doctor’s office, I expect to walk out healthy and pain free.

I only go to the doctor when I am really hurting.

And last week I was really, really hurting.

My back was out of whack. Why? I’m not sure.

All I know is after covering MSU’s opening win in the LSC tournament, it took me about five minutes just to get inside my car.

The next morning, it took much longer just to get out of bed.

And I was in Bartlesville, Okla. — 300 miles from home.

HELP!

Since I didn’t know one single doctor in Bartlesville, I called MSU trainer Gary Diehm and asked for help. He said to come by his hotel room and he would see what he could do.

When I got there, Gary said “pull your pants down.”

No movie. No dinner. No drinks. No foreplay.

But I yanked those suckers down. And Gary felt around on my backside.

“Now lie on the bed, on your stomach,” he said.

My first thought: Good thing Gary doesn’t work at BYU.

No, that was really my second thought.

My first thought was “get the hell out of here.”

Funny what a guy will do when he is really in pain.

Well, after doing all a trainer can do to help, Gary recommended I find a chiropractor.

I did, but he told me there was no “miracle cure” for my condition.

So baby Nick struggled through two more days in Bartlesville, drove home, whined to my wife and then went to my chiropractor buddy Mark Brown.

Here we are a week later and I am getting better.

On a 1-to-10 scale, most people would rank my pain about a “6.”

But it’s not their pain. It’s mine.

And on Nicky G’s sissy scale, I’m ranking it at least an “11.”

My opinion of ergonomics has also changed.

No longer do I consider it just a con job for crooked salesmen peddling office furniture.

“Close Your Eyes”

Richard Carter

Last Saturday was one of those absolutely gorgeous days to hit the road, see the world and then get back right in time to see a really good all-ages show and even sneak in a private party with live music.

And the best thing locally was the fact that everything was super high energy and there was absolutely no smoking. While the dust and the wind hit last Sunday night, and that was no fun, a clear rockshow or two Saturday was good for the soul… and also the lungs.

And just exactly how many cool things can you say are actually good for you?

Anywho, I got back in time to be able to see Close Your Eyes, a super high energy five piece band, and also the North Richland Hills band, Forever the Sickest Kids at the Lakeside Ballroom. Both bands are young, and both bands are on the road living the dream of playing rock and having audiences pretty much adore them.

Backwards in order, I was very impressed that the lead singer for Forever the Sickest Kids had the forethought to wear a Bowling for Soup shirt. They toured with the Denton-based band last October in the UK and said they had a blast. Both groups play power pop and have a great sense of humor, but the Kids also had a guitar player who had an ear for some more electronic oriented stuff.

Because Forever the Sickest Kids has such a reputation for horsing around on stage, I was wondering if the bass player took a back of the head stage dive on purpose. I think it was accidental because he looked a little shaky getting back up. Good thing he had a hard head.

The band played one really good song off of their album that was released last Tuesday and also played their bigger hits—considering the audience’s very high energy and enthusiastic reaction to them.

The band before them, Close Your Eyes, gathered the largest selection of stage dives and crazy kids on stage singing along and causing mayhem that I’ve seen in a while. Seriously, these guys had people going crazy in a very good way. It reminded me of what can be so fun about seeing all-ages shows. The security isn’t too overboard and what happens happens.

I chatted with their bassist for a while, and he said they were about to go overseas on tour and the band has been very happy about their success this year.

Parking was way down the off-ramp and it was a pretty well-attended show.

According to Third String Productions head Mike Ziemer the band Emery is set to play in town next on March 17. More info as that comes in.

I also understand that Fury, the recently reunited band from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, will be playing a show near PPG on March 26 with a new area band called Tantrum that features Tim McMillan. Fury has also been in the studio and they are set to drop an EP around the same time. Lots of metal by people who know the music pretty well.

The people tell me that the crowd at the first annual Alley Cat Collective talent show was large and the set longer until 9 p.m., or so. There were a ton of contestants and no one ended up losing or anything. I hear it’s set for the last Saturday of each month at the old TSO building downtown across from the Wichita Theatre.

I also had a chance to see Dr. Philgood at a private party, and they are now boasting lots more background vocals–at least they were at the party I went to see them play. The sound was good, the mood was relaxed and the band is still my favorite original group in town.

You will hear a lot of nice things said about Merle Anthony in the next few days.

And all are true and well deserved.

Mrs. Anthony was a truly great woman.

But, when as a kid, I had a different opinion of her.

You might, too, if she ever grabbed you by the ear, jerked you out of your chair and then out of the room. Right in front of all your friends.

I was a smart ass teenager who sometimes got attention by being the class clown.

One day at Wichita Falls High School, several American history classes were in the film room watching a documentary where Tex Ritter and some little boy rode a Greyhound bus around the country.

The bus would stop at several historical sites in the United States. Each time Tex would tell the boy why the place was so important in American history. Then he would sing a song about it.

For example, when they stopped at the Alamo, he might sing the ballad of Davy Crockett.

Well, after two or three stops and songs, I decided to have some fun.

I stared yodeling along with the music.

It was a dark room packed with about 60 kids.

I didn’t think any teacher would find me.

Then I felt this tug on my ear.

Next thing you know I am in the prinicpal’s office with Mrs. Anthony at my side.

She told the principal about my yodeling, and I was given two choices — licks or detention.

I took the licks and had a sore ass for about a week.

I wasn’t a big Merle Anthony fan back then.

But over the next 50 years I changed my tune (pardon the pun).

We need to name a school after this woman.

And maybe a street, too.

It is people like her that make me love my hometown.