Missouri Weathers Okla. St. Attack to Win Cotton

OK, so it was cold outside Friday. As if it never has been. As if it never will be again. With the driveway and sidewalk having been shoveled sufficiently Thursday, that meant staying inside Friday, where it was considerably warmer. In fact, the only reason to go outside would have been for an emergency. Or close to it.

If Ellie Gonsalves wants to go around like this (which is perfectly OK with us), may we suggest she do so somewhere warm.

Well, that certainly explains the trip to a nearby grocery story to purchase some potato chips and dip in anticipation of the Cotton Bowl between Oklahoma State and Missouri, the latter school being your humble correspondent’s alma mater sometime last century (gee, that makes me sound possibly older than I am; Dan Devine was the football coach when I was a freshman on the Columbia campus — how’s that?)

When I asked 21st century Siri on my cell phone when the Cotton Bowl was, she provided a time that was more than 30 minutes before kickoff. Guess she’s a fan of the pregame show.

Which meant I could watch something other than the buildup to the game. With “Jeopardy” being on, that seemed a reasonable alternative. And then The Wife pointed out there was a sports category, as I was preparing dinner (OK, putting a frozen pizza in the oven). When one of the questions mentioned a “Mr. Cub” who set the team record for home runs by a shortstop, I calmly, but quickly blurted out “Ernie Banks” before any of the contestants could. Amazingly, none of the three contestants knew the answer. So, for one brief, shining moment I felt as smart as — if not smarter than — a “Jeopardy” contestant while realizing my knowledge base is vastly inferior to those who make it onto the show.

And this is how we entertain ourselves to avoid cabin fever or related weather-driven doldrums.

Of course, the Cotton Bowl itself helped, although the closeness of the contest — before a Missouri fumble return in the final minute relieved the stress of a close contest — did little to keep blood pressure down for fans of either team. A 41-31 victory is what the record book will show. The game was far closer than that with Oklahoma State moving downfield deep into Mizzou territory for at least a tying field goal, if not a game-winning touchdown.

Whew!

Of course, no one in his/her right mind would spend close to five hours watching a game. But then again, no one ever has said — at least not recently — that yours truly is/was/ever will be in his right mind.

And now the plan for staying warm is staying inside for most of the weekend with NFL playoff games providing the diversion. Well, staying inside unless the chip and dip supply dips perilously low.

The Everly Brothers might not have a whole lot to do with sports, but they were a part of my long-ago youth. Their music — which was part of the early days of rock ‘n’ roll — was fresh and exciting, even if I didn’t really grasp the essence of some of their tunes. To some of decades later, that music remains fresh and exciting. So it was sad to read the news that Phil Everly, 74, died Friday in California.

The music lives on, as does that eternal youth we can envision in our mind’s eye:

Here is where to go for a daily dose of non-gratuitous video (thanks to the enlightened efforts of the editorial and video departments at ElliottHarris.com):

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