Chris Schenkel 1923-2005

Saturday afternoons in the winters of my youth meant a 90-minute excursion into the world of professional bowling, courtesy ABC Sports. And the voice who brought that excitement into our living rooms for years has been stilled with the death today of sportscasting legend Chris Schenkel.

The mellifluous, smooth-as-silk voice seemed as if it was made for bowling, with its hush-hush concentration attitude (though fans today are encouraged to whoop it up as if they were at an NBA game). His voice helped illuminate the exploits of guys like Dick Weber, Carmen Salvino, Mark Roth, Marshall Holman and many others who put on the short-sleeved shirts and funny shoes, and threw that ball down the lane.

Schenkel called many other sporting events, including Olympic games (he was there when Nadia Comaneci scored her 10's), Indianapolis 500's, college and pro football games (he was one of the first to call New York Giants games on TV) and Masters golf.

DUH! Of The Week

I rarely broach Presidential politics in this blog, and I prefer that this blog doesn't get too political, but....

President Bush's approval rating in the wake of handling the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina is now 39%.

Seven of ten respondents in the survey say they disapprove of his handling of gasoline prices.

HELLO?

Mr. Bush is a Texan. He has plenty of rich oilman friends that he'd prefer become richer. That's why you're paying upwards of $3.00 a gallon for gas (although it has gone down - the station closest to my home slashed the price by A WHOLE DIME this morning!), and not $1.00 like you should.

#6968 - Benson Perfect, Until.....

A questionable double and a clean home run.

I would hate to see the Mets early next season play their 7000th game without once throwing a no hitter.

Trading Post Goes Bye Bye

Think of it as the old-style "Trading Spaces" with the sped-up footage of the room being cleared...and the episode stops right there.

After two years and one day - the site went live on September 1, 2003 - the Trading Post site hosted here has now been discontinued, due to a sea change in the way "Trading Spaces" and other shows of its ilk are now being perceived by the public and staged by the TV networks eager to suck up to corporate sponsors' wishes. We thank you for your interest and kind words over the years (yes, even you, Discovery lawyers)... but it is time for the Mackey Bros. to move on to other projects.

Sometime in the next month, the various bus sites hosted here will go back on line... watch here for more details.