First things first. My personal favorite show of the year is upon us. Myself and The League Bowlers will be performing Monday Dec 23 at Woodlands Tavern. Showtime is 7:30 and admission is free. 2024 was certainly a very productive year musically with a new Watershed record and tour.  I look forward to spreading one final blast of electric guitars and holiday cheer to wrap it up with a bow before X-mas. And yes, we will be playing this tune. 

Thoughts on Ohio State Coach Ryan Day and The Collage Football Playoff

As this is posted, I will be sitting in front of the TV watching Ohio State square off against Tennessee in the first college football playoff game in Ohio Stadium history. Years of completely incompetent leadership from the NCAA has resulted in a completely new model for college football. How incompetent? The NCAA took their case against paying players a single penny all the way to the Supreme Court and lost…. 9-0. When you can get Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas to agree your case sucks, your case really sucks. 

Anyway, college football players now get paid and they can move from team to team with no restrictions. Basically, they now get treated like every other person who makes their living off college football. That seems more fair than the old system where the players got zero pay and zero rights. 

So onto Ohio State, Coach Ryan Day is on a serious hot seat after losing at home to Michigan for the 4th straight time. But this was no regular Michigan loss. This was a bad Michigan team. And this was no Rudy story. Michigan was as bad as advertised and still upset the Buckeyes as 20 point underdogs. Or put another way: The Michigan QB (a former walk-on) threw for 62 yards, 2 INT, and O TD. They only had three runs longer than 10 yards in the entire game But inexplicably, the Buckeyes, with their best two offensive linemen lost for the season, ran 14 times off tackle directly into Michigan’s best two defenders and lost 13-10. Oof. 

Most of my Buckeye friends are calling for Day to be fired. And I understand. That was coaching malpractice. The most embarrassing and humiliating loss to Michigan in my lifetime and we have had plenty. 

But here is the thing…as much as it pains me to admit… it doesn’t matter. The Game doesn’t matter anymore. Sure, it stings to lose but if you aren’t in the playoff your program is irrelevant. In fact, OSU got a break not having to face Oregon in the meaningless Big Ten title game a week later. Take a couple weeks off, beat Tennessee and guess who you end up playing anyway? Yup. Oregon. 

See, it doesn’t matter. The playoff wins are all that counts. That is all that will be remembered by everyone outside of Columbus and Ann Arbor. Woody and Bo are rolling in their graves. Their 10-year war would now become the 10-year conflict.

As for Coach Day, in the modern NIL era, when your coach gets fired, you lose all your good players. The Buckeyes had two first team all-Americans this year. They both came from Alabama when Nick Saban retired.  So if Ohio State cans a coach with the 2nd best record over the past 6 years, fans better prepare to join Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma and other blue blood programs who will not be back in the playoffs for 3 years minimum. And probably longer. Irrelevant. Even if the new coach beats Michigan.

As Timothee Chalamet once sang, “Things Have Changed.”

RIP Slim Dunlap - The Songwriter Click Here To Listen While You Read

We lost one of the great ones last week as Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap passed away at the age of 73. While the internet was rightly ablaze with stories of what a kind and generous person Slim was, not as many folks mentioned his songwriting talents. (Well, except Bruce Springsteen.)

In fact, if I had to choose just one record of the four post Mats’ solo efforts, The Old New Me by Slim Dunlap would be my pick and it wouldn’t be a particularly difficult decision. And I really love 14 Songs, Friday Night Is Killing Me and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. 

I remember exactly where I was when I first heard The Old New Me. I was sleeping in the back of the van surrounded by drum gear as we were rolling east on I-70 somewhere in Pennsylvania. Biggie was driving and the opening cut “Rockin’ Here Tonight” woke me from my slumber with its understated rockingness. By the time the 3rd track "Isn't It" was playing I screamed to Biggie over all the noise, “What is this?” (Dip-cup spitting sound) “New Slim Dunlap.”

I love every song on this record. And the closing song, “The Ballad Of The Opening Band” is one of the finest songs about playing in the minor leagues of rock n roll ever written. And I should know. 

And don’t sleep on his second (and final) record Times Like This. The title cut and “Hate This Town” stand alongside with the best Mats’ tunes ever recorded. 

RIP my friend. Thanks for the laughs, advice and great music.