John Madden Retires

NEW YORK - John Madden’s last game as a football announcer was a thrilling Super Bowl decided in the final seconds.

The perfect ending to a run as one of sports’ most popular broadcasters, now that Madden called it a career Thursday. Yet it didn’t fit Madden’s style to think about his retirement that way.

“I’m a grinder,” he said on his Bay Area radio show. “You just grind and get through it and when it’s all over, you think about it. You don’t rush into any decisions.”

Madden’s exuberance for football and blue-collar persona endeared him to TV viewers for three decades. Boom! As sudden as his signature call, he’s leaving midway through a six-year contract with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”

“I think his work ethic and passion and love for the game made him apart from everybody else,” said longtime broadcast partner Pat Summerall.

Madden said his health is fine, but at the age of 73, he wanted to spend more time with his family. His 50th wedding anniversary is this fall, and his five grandchildren are old enough to notice when he’s gone.

“The thing that made it hard is not because I’m second guessing: ‘Is it the right decision?’ But I enjoyed it so damn much,” Madden said. “I enjoyed the game and the players and the coaches and the film and the travel and everything.”

Cris Collinsworth will replace Madden, moving over from the network’s studio show, NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol said. Collinsworth filled in when Madden took a game off last October.

Ebersol called Madden “the absolute best sports broadcaster who ever lived.”

Madden traveled by bus because of a fear of flying, and with the two Bay Area teams struggling and not hosting any Sunday night games, he would be on the road and away from his family the entire season.

Not that Madden expects to sit at home all the time. He’ll keep using the bus and stay busy with his many endorsements. His “Madden NFL Football” is the top-selling sports video game of all time.

Still, he noted this will be his first season away from the sport since he was a freshman in high school.

Madden was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He began his pro career as a linebacker coach at Oakland in 1967 and was made head coach two years later, at 33 the youngest coach in what was then the American Football League.

Party On!!!

I could not make it to a TEA Party today. I got a call at work from my daughter's school saying that she was in the nurse's office and needed picked up from school. I got permission to leave work and went and picked her up and spent the day caring for her. My spirit was certainly with those who were attending one of the hundreds of parties around the nation though. But as always, family first.

Practical and Powerful Bravery

Thank you very much to the good men who are fortunate enough to be called Navy Seals. We are glad that you are protecting the American people and we thank you for your bravery and expertise. Somali pirates - you are now put on notice. The MEN have arrived. America does not pay ransom in gold -- we pay it in lead!!!

The Old Rugged Cross

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

2. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

Shuttin' Detroit Down

John Rich (country)   More CMT Music   More CMT Music Videos

OK -- So I'm a Muppet Geek

A Little Good Among the Dismal

Jack Windolf, the CEO of Bollinger Insurance, recently gave his 434 employees a surprise gift: out of his own pocket, he paid each of them $1000. The bonuses, which Windolf called "a mini economic stimulus package," came from $500,000 in deferred compensation that he received when he sold 51 percent of the company last year. Rather than spend the money on himself, he chose to share it with his workers.

Disgusting!!!

Is this our America?


Or is THIS our America?

I know which of these is the land that I LOVE. And I know which of these is the land of the free and the home of the brave. America bows to nobody. Especially not a Saudi king.

White House Endorses Phone Sex?

This is going to be 4 years of comedy and sophomoric stunts. The amateur idiot administration now inhabiting the White House has done it again. As if nominating half a dozen people who haven't paid their taxes wasn't bad enough now we have this:

(CNN) – Journalists who dialed in to a White House conference call Thursday hoping for a media-friendly reception got a far friendlier response than they were counting on.

Instead of hearing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Jim Jones on the other end laying out foreign policy and security threats, reporters were greeted by a recording on a phone sex line.

"Do you have any hidden desires? If you feel like getting nasty, then you came to the right place," said a suggestive-sounding woman.

The White House says an aide merely mistyped the 800-dial in number — a mistake not likely to happen again.

A Gift for the Queen

What would be the best gift for the American President to give the Queen of England upon meeting her for the first time and knowing the bond our countries have shared? You guessed it:

Does Anyone Else Feel this is Overreaching for a President?

The Obama administration asked Rick Wagoner, the chairman and CEO of General Motors, to step down and he agreed, a White House official said.

On Monday, President Barack Obama is to unveil his plans for the auto industry, including a response to a request for additional funds by GM and Chrysler. The plan is based on recommendations from the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, headed by the Treasury Department.

The White House confirmed Wagoner was leaving at the government's behest after The Associated Press reported his immediate departure, without giving a reason.

General Motors issued a vague statement Sunday night that did not officially confirm Wagoner's departure.

"We are anticipating an announcement soon from the Administration regarding the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. We continue to work closely with members of the Task Force and it would not be appropriate for us to speculate on the content of any announcement," the company said.

The surprise announcement about the classically iconic American corporation is perhaps the most vivid sign yet of the tectonic change in the relationship between business and government in this era of subsidies and bailouts.

Wagoner has been CEO for 8 years and at GM for more than 30. It is not yet clear who would replace him, or what role the administration would play in that process.

Snow Time Baby!!! WOOHOO!!!

Spring Has Forsaken Us

Spring has forsaken the Frank Family today and has confused our already budding trees. You've gotta love it!!!

We The People

This video here is spot on!!! PLEASE take the time to view it. You won't be sorry.

The Colt Police Positive Special in .32-20

I came across one of these at a gun store today. It caught my eye as I am a fan of older guns and guns that are chambered for an unusual caliber. This particular gun was in really great shape and I did a little research tonight on the history of it. Many people, like myself, who love guns are also very interested in history. Here's a little of what I found.

The Police Positive Special was an iterative improvement of Colt's earlier Police Positive model, the only differences being a slightly lengthened cylinder and elongated and strengthened frame to allow the chambering of the longer, more powerful .32-20 Winchester and .38 Special cartridges.[2] In the early 20th century the Colt Positive and Positive Special teamed with Colt's other admired model, the Official Police, to capture the lion's share of the law enforcement firearms market.[3] Very popular with law enforcement officers due to its light weight, the Positive Special went through a number of series or “issues”. The first issue ran from introduction to 1927 and had the early 1900-era distinctive Colt black hard rubber grips. The second issue introduced wooden grips which were smooth in the early years, later giving way to a checkered style, also the smooth topstrap was replaced with a serrated one. The Third issue began in 1947, and the Fourth issue in 1977 introduced a Colt Python-style shrouded ejector-rod housing. Production of the Police Positive Special ended in 1995.


The .32-20 Winchester, also known as the .32 WCF, was the first small-game lever-action cartridge that Winchester produced. It was initially introduced as a blackpowder cartridge in 1882 for small-game, varmint hunting, and deer. Colt produced a single-action pistol chambered for this cartridge a few years later.