The Sports Bucket List

I've discussed my sports bucket list briefly on different occasions but I'm going to try to narrow it to five. I'll leave the obvious 'go to super bowl or final four' off the list because I'm sure they make most sports fans' lists. So in no particular order here they are: Attend a night football game at LSU-I love SEC football, despite being raised on Miami Hurricane football most of my life and Baton Rouge at night may offer the best atmosphere in the SEC. One radio host has described the smell at an SEC game as "barbecue, bourbon, and Chanel Number 5". I've talked about my love of college athletics and this is one of the best environments in college sports. See a team hoist the Stanley Cup-Live I'll preface this by saying it'd be even more special if it happens to be the Boston Bruins celebrating. The cup can be seen at the Hockey Hall of Fame but to see the joy and culmination of a hockey season live, would be extra special. I'd never touch the cup of course, since I hadn't won it, much like I did with the Calder Cup a few years back-no touchy. Play St. Andrews Golf Course-It is the home of golf and one of the best courses in the world. I love links golf and the creative shot making it often requires. Not that I'm very good at it, but it's fun. Did you know St. Andrews is also a public golf course? Unlike Augusta National or some other famous courses in the US, any average Joe can play the course. Attend an Army-Navy game-along with Harvard-Yale, this is a great rivalry game that no one talks about anymore. The pageantry and spectacle of the cadets entering the stadium and the bands playing. Yes the game was more 'relevant' 50 or 60 years ago, but it still means a lot to a lot of people. Take a west coast baseball trip-My brother & some friends and I took a trip in the (lost) summer of '94, starting in Milwaukee and working back east. We did the Wrigley-Comiskey day night double header, Jacobs Field and Three Rivers Stadium. We also managed to squeeze in the Football Hall of Fame in our six games in eight day road trip. I think AT & T Park in San Fransisco is about the best 'new' baseball stadium there is. Going to Seattle, Oakland, both LA Stadiums and San Diego would be added bonuses, particularly the history at Dodger Stadium and the Oakland Coliseum. Yes it will be harder to drive than our Midwest excursion of 1994 but just as fun. I actually had one extra one for this list but I will be fulfilling it shortly, meeting Bob Knight. Besides my love of Hoosier basketball, Knight, along with John Wooden is one of the greatest teachers of the game of basketball. Teaching is something I tried to focus on in my three years of coaching. Say what you will about the man, he knows more basketball than almost anyone on the planet and to hear him speak will be an honor.

The Greatest Rock Band AMERICA has Ever Produced

This one has been kicking around in my head for awhile. While England has us beat in the rock department (See Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, The Who), the US essentially created the genre. You can ask ten people at a bar who the best American rock band is and get ten different answers. I myself have only ever received one answer without hesitation, the Beach Boys. I know at least one of my Twitter followers wouldn't have to think about her vote for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I love Springsteen as well as Aerosmith and Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) but my vote is cast for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They've undergone minor personnel changes in their 30+ years but they have been the best and most consistent rock band this country has ever produced. The release of the live anthology in November '09 confirms this. The one thing Petty was missing was a definitive live collection. Petty has few equals as a songwriter and Mike Campbell is as underrated as a sideman can be. Listen to the way Petty bashes the very industry he works for on "The Last DJ" cd. He also landed on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in the 70's for refusing to raise the price of his record, due to an increase in the cost of vinyl. He's always managed to put the fans first. His ticket prices have managed to avoid becoming outlandish as well. For my money he played the best Super Bowl halftime show as well, and yes I realize my favorite band, the Rolling Stones played the Super Bowl, previously. The tension between Petty and Simon Cowell on the Tonight Show was palpable. He wrote one of the best 'driving songs' ever, Runnin Down a Dream. It gets your foot tappin as you push down the accelerator. The list of classics is endless: American Girl, Breakdown, Refugee, Rebels, I Won't Back Down, Honey Bee, Saving Grace, etc. If you need further proof of the power of Tom Petty, ask Eddie Murphy. That's right Eddie Murphy. In 1987 Petty co-wrote a song with Bob Dylan called "Jammin Me"about commercialization and overexposure of personalities. The line "Take back, Eddie Murphy" prompted Murphy to respond "F**k, Tom Petty!" Murphy's career hasn't been the same since, because you don't mess with Tom Petty...EVER!