Thursday, August 23, 2007

Barney's Clubhouse Pow

If you grew up in the Green Bay area during the late 70s – early 80s, you’ll remember this reference. But all it does is set up another round of bullets. Sorry about that, fellow nostalgic cheeseheads!


  • The blame game continues on the bridge, with the odious Nick Coleman now feeling bold enough to assign the entire responsibility to T-Paw and his henchwoman, Carol “Frau Blucher” Molnau. But now word comes that the NTSB is investigating something that I suspected from the moment I first heard about the collapse – the automatic de-icing system that had been installed on the bridge back in the late 1990s. That would have been during the administration of Jesse Ventura, whose MnDOT commissioner was Elwyn Tinklenberg, the fellow who was first out of the gate in blaming the current administration for the collapse. Tinklenberg managed to get his shots in on the day of the collapse itself, so sure was he of culpability. Here’s the thing – the de-icing system is likely one factor, since it released chemicals that may have helped to corrode the structural steel bridge supports. But it’s only one factor – the 288 tons of construction equipment parked on the bridge, the years of pigeon guano (as always, minty fresh!) and the normal wear and tear of 40 years of extraordinarily heavy use were all factors. But let’s not reality get in the way of a good witch-hunt. Nick Coleman would have felt right at home in Salem, Mass back in 1692.
  • Some weird stuff in baseball over the past few days, and all you have to do is look at one team that was involved – the woebegone Texas Rangers. The Rangers were absolutely handcuffed by our Johan Santana on Sunday, striking out 17 times over 8 innings. This same team went into Baltimore and put up 30 runs in a single game last night. Baseball is the most capricious of our games – while the better team usually wins, strange things like this happen. Meanwhile, I know the Rangers lead the league in twill lettering on the back of their uniforms, thanks to Frank Cattalanato and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They ought to get those two on an Olive Garden commercial or something.
  • We’re going to the State Fair this afternoon. The kids really love going and we rarely miss it. It’s difficult to explain to a non-Minnesotan how big a deal the State Fair is in this state; it’s really part of the DNA. I didn’t understand it until I went – growing up in Wisconsin, the State Fair there is not really that big a deal. But it is here. We’ll have a full report on our exploits anon.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pow (#$%^&*)

Pow (*&^%$#)

Damn it ... Pow

Mother ____ Pow

Mr. D said...

That's exactly how I remember Clubhouse Pow, too. Along with the classic result from the Bozo Grand Prize Game. Scene: kid misses throwing the ping pong ball into the final cup, thus losing out on the big prize. Dialogue follows:

Kid: Damn!
Bozo: That's a Bozo no-no!
Kid: Stuff it, clown!

Anonymous said...

Mr Dilletante's recollection of the Bozo incident reminds me of how times have changed. Back in the stagflating 70's Bozo got a "Stuff it Clown." Today the kid would most likely put a cap in his behind after the show. Frazier Thomas would be rolling in his grave.

Anonymous said...

Good stuff guys. Who was the guy on WGN in the mornings who had a Cub/Sox hat? Can't recall his name. He used to intro "Clutch Cargo, with his pals Spinner and Paddlefoot" though.

Anonymous said...

That was none other than Slippery Rock graduate Ray Raynor. He and his pals including Cuddly Duddedly did their best to give Captain Kangaroo and Mr Green Jeans a run for their money. This WGN in moment has been brought to you by the True Link Fence Company in Oak Lawn.

Mr. D said...

There goes one over the fence - the True Link Fence Company of Oak Lawn.

Our next guest on the Lead-Off Man is Cubs pitcher Willie Hernandez. Willie, could you tell the fans how you were able to get through that tough Phillies lineup last night?

Well, Lou ah, you know, ah, you know ah, you know I trow de curb-ball, den I trow de fasball.

That's great, Willie. We're now joined by Cubs backup catcher Tim Blackwell. Tim, can you get down in your crouch and demonstrate to the youngster how to do it?

Love that late 70s-era WGN. And don't forget about Garfield Goose while you're at it.

Anonymous said...

The commercial between "Cell Block H" and the lead-off man was always "Dial 1-800-EMPIRE...."