Running off at the typewriter …
After Bobby Bowden passed away a few days ago, somebody asked me: What will I miss most about the Florida State legend?
My answer was simple:
I will miss his stories.
Nobody could tell a story like Bobby could.
Probably my favorite one is the time Bobby solicited the help of his good friend Burt Reynolds, the late, great former FSU football player and booster who was once Hollywood’s biggest male sex symbol.
As Bobby told the Orlando Touchdown Club a few years ago, when he first arrived as FSU’s head coach in 1976, NCAA rules allowed famous alumni to have personal contact with recruits on behalf of the school. And so Bowden asked Reynolds if he would fly up to Ohio and help recruit a blue-chip running back.
Recalled Bobby: “I told Burt, ‘This recruit doesn’t have a daddy; it’s only him and his mama. So we’re gonna go up to Ohio and I’ll work on the kid and you work on his mama. Burt agreed, and we flew up to Ohio to go see the kid. Well, we take the boy and his mama out to supper and I’m sitting there talking to the boy while Burt and mama go out on the floor and start dancing. Anyway, that’s the way it went, but the story ends with the kid ending up going to Notre Dame.”
Bobby paused and smiled.
“But the mama ended up coming to Florida State.”
Short stuff: Did you see where the Pac-12, Big Ten and ACC are thinking about forming an alliance to thwart the SEC/ESPN takeover of college football? Who would have ever thought college football would turn into NATO vs. the Warsaw Pact? … I just saw where “The NBA Experience” at Walt Disney World is going out of business. My question: Is it actually shutting down or just tanking for a couple of years? … OK, I’ve seen enough: Jalen Suggs is already the best player on the Orlando Magic’s roster. Or, at least, he will be. … I’m starting to wonder how healthy this low-carb diet really is when I can eat all of the fried pork rinds I want, but I can’t have an apple. Just sayin’ …
According to SI.com, at least 60 FSU football players, including quarterback McKenzie Milton, have agreed to an NIL deal with Yummy Crypto that will pay each player $500 during the first month of the season to endorse the company’s cryptocurrency. I think the entire team should do a remake of the infamously awful “Seminole Rap” video of three decades ago except with this as the kicker: “We tellin’ you not to be a big dummy; if you’re gonna buy crypto, make it dad-gum Yummy!” …
Not saying Gator fans should be nervous about being ranked unlucky No. 13 in the Associated Press preseason poll, but my former Sentinel colleague David Whitley of the Gainesville Sun has figured out that of 13 teams ranked No. 13 in the past 13 preseason polls, only one finished the season with a higher ranking. That came last year when Texas A&M went 9-1 and finished No. 4. … Best Twitter response to one of my columns came earlier this week when I wrote about Tim Tebow perhaps becoming president of the United States someday. Replied one of my tweeps: “The Commander-In-Beef.” …
Sorry, but I’m not buying the claim by former U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo, who recently said star forward Megan Rapinoe “bullied” other USWNT players into kneeling before the national anthem. Puh-leeze. These are grown, independent women who can think and decide for themselves. To suggest they were bullied to take a knee is a real, ahem, knee-slapper!!! …
And speaking of soccer, I’m not saying unequivocally that its fans are more rabid than fans from other sports, but a case could certainly be made. For instance, London’s Daily Mirror newspaper recently quoted an Australian woman named Claire as saying: “We chose our daughter’s name, Lanesra, because it was unique and romantic. It wasn’t until she was 2 that my husband told me it was actually his favorite soccer team, Arsenal, spelled backward!” Hey, at least hubby wasn’t an Orlando City fan or the poor kid would have to go through life being called Yticodnalro … Phil Mickelson in a tweet to Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele: “Can’t wait for you to mark your ball with the Gold Medal in one of our matches! I’ll totally respect it cuz that’s something I would do.” Me, too, Phil. Me, too!!! … Headline at TheOnion.com: “Loyal Russell Westbrook fan tired of buying new jersey, relocating whole family every year.”… Stat of the Week: Bob Gibson pitched more complete games in the 1967 World Series (3) than 23 teams have this entire baseball season. …
Last word: There are some Garth Brooks fans who are actually angry because the country music superstar canceled the last five stops of his concert tour because of COVID spikes across the country. I guess you could say Garth has lost friends in slow places.
Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and HD 101.1-2
