Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

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Saturday, April 25, 2009

It's 1957! 49ers vs. Lions! "Alley-Oop" into Jimmy Rod's Time Machine!

Back in '57, if you wanted to pull for a Bay Area pro sports team, the 49ers were it! The baseball Giants didn't migrate from New York until '58. The Raiders weren't born until 1960. The A's were still several years from bringing their mule and fireworks "thang" from "K.C." The Warriors were still in "Philly." If you wanted to love somebody pro and local, it had to be the Niners. And love them, the Bay Area did! They were always colorful! From the days of ex-Stanford QB Frankie Albert and his... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

It's 1957! "Alley-Oop" into Jimmy Rod's Pre-Game Time Machine!

It was a key Kezar moment in 49er history. They led the NFL West by a tenuously single game. They were to face the powerful Detroit Lions on Sunday. The Lions had the great Bobby Layne at quarterback, ex-49er star John Henry Johnson at fullback and defensive back Yale Lary doing their punting. Lary's distance and "hangtime" were otherworldy in their dimensions. Field position was difficult to acquire against the always tough Motown crew. On the other hand, the 49ers were fielding one of their... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Ultimate Recording Studio? Theta Sound! -- Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

When you land in L.A. with your best ideas or songs in hand, it can be the turning point of a lifetime. It's the "Yellow Brick Road" with "Lions and Tigers and Bears," everywhere. One wrong turn and you can be "gobbled up." Finding true ethics and talent under one roof is what you need, but seldom is it what you get. I got lucky when I arrived in L.A. many years ago and stumbled into Theta Sound Studio. The owner, engineer, musician, website builder there is Randy Tobin. He's the very definition... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, April 20, 2009

So, how do the L.A. Dodger's do it? They cheat! -- Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

I spotted this a few years back. Adrian Beltre was having a career year for the Dodgers. The right-handed hitter was spraying homers in all directions. He never did it before and he hasn't done it since. So what happened during that particular year? He was peeking back at the catcher's targets. It's an established baseball no-no, but if "a bum" can cheat you, he cheats you. Cheating is and always has been "the L.A. edge." So, how do you handle a peeker/cheater. You target the outside corner,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Hey, Gi'nts! Its Time to Panic! At least Buster, Jesus & Bum would be fun!

As we watch our S.F. Giants puke their guts out in the basement, a question must be asked. Does defeat have to be boring, too? Not only does the Giants' lineup not hit, it also lacks the potential of hitting. They've got a roster of guys that couldn't scare a five-year old while wearing an "Alien" costume. Do you remember the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which they announce a starting lineup that contains, "First base, Bugs Bunny! Shortstop, Bugs Bunny! Centerfield, Bugs Bunny...!" Well, the Giants... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

In 1976 "The Bird" Fidrych WAS the Word! -- Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

One of the most irritating songs of the last century was based in the sentence, "The bird, the bird, the bird is the word..." It was designed to scrape a fingernail against the universal musical blackboard. Today, it somehow has a profound ring to it. I remember coming in from playing Oakland, sandlot baseball one day back in 1976. My dad who was not prone to getting really excited about anything, began to tell me about this rookie pitcher for the Detroit Tigers who had just beaten the Yankees.... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Grandpa Jimmy Rod's Rx for the S.F. Giants' Annual Case of "Fog Sniffles"

I've been a Giants' fan since the world became "round." At least it seems that way. In that half century or so, the orange and black has almost always gotten off to a "shaky to bad" start. So what's the problem? Are they allergic to April? When the weather warms up a bit, their hitting seems to improve. The way I look at it, San Francisco's "wet-cold" way of life may be the key factor. I recall a very logical sounding Giants' manager telling his team that The City's bone chilling propensities... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Putting the "Double off Dude's Head" in Perspective!--Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

If you're an ESPN sports fan you've probably seen it. It was the line drive heard 'round the world. The Brewer's Mike Cameron hit a 120 MPH "gun shot" back up the middle against the Giant pitcher Joe Martinez. It would have slashed it's way into centerfield for a single if Martinez' hadn't inadvertantly blocked it with his skull. Cameron, although shocked and dismayed with what happened to the Giants' pitcher, still managed to overcome his grief sufficiently to turn his would be single into a... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Stanford Band: From Dropping "Trow" to Kicking Ass! - Jimmy Rod

I guess the best place to start any story about the Stanford Band has to be the afternoon they unbuckled their pants and dropped them in front of 80,000 fans at the Rose Bowl. If you'd like to see proof of that particular event, go to Jimmyrod.com, Stanford, The Band. You can decide if the drum major had the legs "and stuff" for this kind of a "southern exposure." At any rate, the first time I became aware of the peculiar nature of the Leland Stanford University "Marching" Band came when I was a... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Of Pumas, BBQ Chips and "God"--a happy ending! Maybe...

So the nice guy in me sometimes wins, after all. Indie the princess/cat let out a demanding yowl, yesterday. I found her under a chair in the corner of the room. She appeared to be telling something behind a golf bag to come out "and die like a man." I pulled her away, moved the golf bag and there was a petrified alligator lizard with its tail missing. She had apparently found the other half of the lizard tail she had brought in earlier. (See the earlier episode). The lizard, who I immediately... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, April 3, 2009

The 2009 NFL Draft: Hey, 49ers! No "Wussy SC QB!" - Jimmy Rod

As the 49ers approach the draft, I'm seeing a lot of wild-eyed, silly-ass speculation about drafting S.C.'s quarterback Mark Sanchez with their otherwise valuable first pick. San Francisco already has a guy who has proven he can win with nothing more than "mirrors" working for him. Shaun Hill managed to pull out victories despite a patchwork offensive line and a moronic offensive coordinator. (Yes, I know Mike Martz was once the best in the game, but I guess creeping senility eventually catches... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Of Pumas, Barbeque Potato Chips and "God"-- James Rodrigues

It's five a.m. and my nightmare/dream just ended in, "All crash! Game over!" As in "Conversation With God's" literal, "There is naught but you!" I am truly the world--- such as it is... Like the moment yesterday when I stepped onto the front porch and everything was suddenly, totally and seemingly forever, NOW! The universe of now is more weird than anything else. It has no relativity. It is what it is. No bad, no good. No up, no down, no sideways. My suddenly nameless block had dissolved into... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Life under the Knife! A final chapter -- Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

Well, sports fans. I'm back!! After a few days of feeling ultra-mortal, God, whoever that might be, leaned in and said, "You are hereby healed. Go forth and never again play basketball on a ten-foot hoop, again. (A nine-footer in the backyard will be okay, but only backhanded lay-ups, No Slams!") Well at least that's how it felt. One night I fell asleep feeling 70 and the next morning I felt 50 again. That may not sound like much to all you 40-year old youngsters out there, but to a relative... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

49er "Brain Trust" slates surprise uniform change! "Rotsa Ruck!"- Jimmy Rod

When you mess with your own NFL uniform, you're trodding on hallowed ground. When you mess with Niner "colors," you're putting your ass on the line. Ask ex-49er owner Eddie DeBartolo. He tried changing the SF red and gold helmet into something sissified and damn near got tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail. From what I read, I gather our present-day ownership has decided to put a marketing ploy ahead of their own personal safety. When DeBartolo tried to go from the gorgeously simple... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Life under the Knife! A Few Tips from a First-Timer!--Jimmy Rod's Best Shot

It's kind of funny. The best part of the hernia surgery process was the operation itself. It all started routinely enough. I was wheeled into a room where V.A. patients were being prepared for surgery. The first step was having an I.V. stuck into a vein in the top of my arm. Now, this is not an event designed for happiness. Thankfully, there was a lovely UCLA med student there to watch the procedure. I couldn't tell she was lovely until she reversed the I.D. card that was hanging from her neck.... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Did the Giants get the best of the Dodgers on the Ramirez deal after all?

Throughout the supposed competition between the Giants and the Dodgers for the services of Manny Ramirez it was generally assumed the Giants didn't have the money to grab him. So why did the Giants "stick around" in the bidding. The fact is, Ramirez would have been a serious liability to the Giants defensively. With the Giants stressing pitching this year with their three Cy Young Award winners plus other strong starters that could run "six deep," they couldn't afford to put a "stumbler-bumbler"... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

My Favorite San Francisco 49er Quarterback?"---John Brodie (Part Three)

When it comes time to sum up John Brodie's life it's going to all come down to "the stories." He was a fine NFL QB, intelligent enough to deal with a Stanford education, tough and courageous enough to take a physical beating and still throw completions. But the things that make Brodie a Hall-of-Famer, in my book, are " the stories." One of the 49ers' greatest receivers, Dave Parks, told a story about Brodie's accuracy as a passer. It was getting late in the afternoon on a chilly Kezar Stadium,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Why it's a Great Idea to Join Blogit! -- By Jimmy Rodrigues

If you like to read or write or both, "Blogit" may very well be your heaven on earth. I joined up about a week ago and in that time everything has gotten better. I'm a writer not a computer expert so putting my work on my website has been difficult. Using the "HTML" technique for putting stories onto my website "Jimmyrod.com" has been like trying to communicate in "Martian." I don't have "the bread" handy to buy "Dreamweaver," so getting onto the WWW has been a royal pain in the backside... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The December Butterfly -- By Jim Rodrigues

He shouldn't have been there, but he was! The biggest orange and black butterfly I had ever seen. He was fluttering around the block-long Bresee Park near Vermont and Second Street in the Wilshire District of Los Angeles. I guessed he was part of a North America to South America migration of Monarch/Viceroy type butterflies. On a nature TV program I had heard that these guys were really big! He certainly fit that part of the biological bill. What made him stop at Bresee Park remains something of... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, February 27, 2009

My Favorite 49er Quarterback?"--John Brodie!-By Jim Rodrigues (Part Two)

With his rather jolting "welcome to the NFL" introduction out of the way, Brodie began to deal with more of professional football's details. I'm not sure if his first pro football contract "negotiations" came before the college All Star Game or after it, but it was the best and most succinct signing story I'd ever heard up to that point in time. Brodie was drafted in the first round by the San Francisco 49ers. When his time came to negotiate a deal, he drove to the 49er headquarters and sat down... Sign in to see full entry.

About this Blog

This is what I call "sports and stuff!" I'm starting out with a story that could make the 49ers champions if their coaches are smart enough to read "the instructions." If they fail to read this, oh well, 2009 will just be another losing year. Have you ever wondered why they don't run the option play much in the NFL? Laugh while John Brodie wakes up in the locker room in "my favorite 49er Q.B." Who was the most entertaining recording group ever? Do you believe it's the 1997 Hansons? Well, read on! I've added a story about the guy with what I believe is the best baseball name ever, "Buster Posey." And "get an autograph" from Willie Mays while you annoy Orlando Cepeda and Curt Flood "At the Baseball Card Show..." If you ever wanted to bond with an insect try "The December Butterfly." Why is Blogit great? That's here too! The goal with this blog is to bring "total love" to the entire known universe. If I fall short of that, I'll keep trying or go to "plan B." Whatever that might be

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