And Bobby O’Day is still dead.
You can’t get past that. You think about it now, almost four years later, how it happened, in a high school hallway, where O’Day, one of the most popular kids, tried to break up a fight and got stabbed in the chest and died, slowly, in front of children. And now you hear that his killer is out of jail, free on probation. And Bobby O’Day is still dead.
Those of us who predict the NFL are very superstitious. The slightest little thing can upset our whole routine. And what does this newspaper do?
They move us from Sunday to Saturday.
In the middle of the season!
I’m sorry. I can no longer be held responsible for my picks. If I get every game wrong, you can blame my boss, and I will be happy to provide you with his home phone number. On the other hand, if I get them all right . . .
Thank you very much.
And now this week’s picks . . .
I get a lot of letters asking how I will vote for this year’s Heisman Trophy. And since the award is being given Saturday, I guess I better decide.
Before I fill in the names, however, I want to modify the ballot, just a bit . . .
THE HEISMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY1989 OFFICIAL BALLOT — PLEASE PRINT
I hereby designate (name & college) as My First Choice to receive the HEISMAN MEMORIAL TROPHY awarded to the Outstanding College Football Player of the United States for 1989. To the best of my knowledge he conforms to the rules governing the vote.
MINNEAPOLIS — Four years ago, Greg McMurtry sat at the family kitchen table in Brockton, Mass., across from a football coach named Bo Schembechler.
“Would you like to wear No. 1?” Bo asked. “If you come to Michigan, I’m gonna give you that number.”
“OK,” said McMurtry. “Great. Sure.”
The locker room was noisy and they were slapping Wayne Fontes on the back and someone said to him: “Hey, Wayne. The governor’s on the phone.”
Fontes looked up. Really? The governor? He jogged to the office and someone handed him the receiver and whispered in his ear, “I think he’s gonna commute your sentence.”
Fontes smirked.
“Hello, governor! How are you!”
Something about congratulations.
“Thank you, sir . . . uh-huh . . . “
Something about the offense.
“Improving, governor . . . that’s right . . .”
Let me get this straight. Jerry Ball is complaining about his salary. Again. After he renegotiated a few months ago.
And let me get this straight. Bennie Blades, who does more fist-waving than intercepting, and Lomas Brown, who is a member of Detroit’s internationally famous offensive line, figure, hey, if Jerry can do it, we can, too. So they’re complaining about their salaries and talking about renegotiating.
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